In September 2021, Goodhue presented plans at a public meeting to redevelop their boatyard property. Part of their plans included three requests for exceptions to the Zoning Ordinance. Prior to the public meeting in November 2021, it was brought to the attention of the Zoning Board that the Goodhue Plans included building on top of an existing deeded Right of Way running along the waterfront from the Lower Town Parking Lot to the Tall Pines Condominium property for the benefit of the Tall Pines property owners. The Zoning Board decided to delay hearing the Goodhue Plans until the Right of Way issue was resolved.
In December 2021, Goodhue filed a lawsuit against the 12 Tall Pines property owners contesting the Tall Pines Property owners’ claim to the Right of Way. In January 2023, the Belknap County Superior Court ruled that Tall Pines property owners did enjoy the rights to the Right of Way and that it could only be moved or altered by mutual agreement. Meanwhile, ever since December 2021, there had been no indication from Town Officials, even despite regular inquiries by concerned residents, about any plans afoot to redevelop the Goodhue property.
On April 14, 2023, abutters to the Goodhue property received a notification of a planned hearing scheduled for the Planning Board where the Town of Meredith was proposing a “Boundary Line Adjustment with an equal area land exchange.” After MerNIA contacted the Town to inquire about the details of this Planning Board hearing, MerNIA learned that the Town was seeking to adjust the boundary lines over the water so they could proceed with their own plans to improve the Public Docks at Lovejoy Landing. Upon request, the Town released a copy of a proposed Boundary Line Adjustment for this project. The Town’s Survey displayed the adjusted property lines over the water, but surprisingly it also displayed designs for Goodhue’s redevelopment of their private docks. The Town needed the Select Board to ratify the Boundary Line Adjustment before it went before the Planning Board.
On April 17, 2023, MerNIA’s counsel sent a letter to the Meredith Select Board expressing concerns about the inclusion of Goodhue’s dock redevelopment plans on the Town’s Boundary Line Adjustment Survey. MerNIA contended that the Town’s Public Dock project had nothing to do with Goodhue’s redevelopment plans, especially since Goodhue had not made any plans public as of yet. At the April 17th Select Board Meeting, the Select Board decided to delay approval of the Boundary Line Adjustment until the Town Counsel could review MerNIA’s concerns.
On April 18, 2023, MerNIA became aware of a written Boundary Line Adjustment Agreement and associated Consent Letters. The details of these documents were deeply concerning as they expanded a simple Boundary Line Adjustment to a bundle of Agreements binding Town Officials to consenting to an overall redevelopment of the boatyard. Notably, the parties sought to agree to include the construction of 30 additional parking spaces in the Upper Trailer Lot on Lovejoy Sands Rd. at the Town’s expense. At first glance this sounds appealing because public parking is scarce at the site. However, the additional parking would greatly benefit the boatyard by providing more spaces for its customers and employees to park. Tax paying residents would continue to compete to park at an ever-busier boatyard. Furthermore, Town residents and/or the public would be completely excluded from the entire lot for seven months for the benefit of the boatyard to store more customer boats. Lastly, this deal would circumvent the Planning and Zoning Board reviews in violation of Town Regulations. The Town would be seeking approval to violate its own zoning regulations and Master Plan by seeking approval to expand and to intensify a commercial use in the Shoreline District.
On June 19, 2023, the Meredith Select Board met to consider the Boundary Line Adjustment Agreement and Consents. However, at the outset of the public portion of the meeting, the Select Board acknowledged the public outpouring of concern and their general discomfort with the proposed Agreement. The Select Board then voted unanimously to discontinue consideration of the Boundary Line Adjustment Agreement and Consents. The Select Board suggested that Goodhue proceed with its own development plans, which would include public review through the Planning and/or Zoning Boards. The Town would also be able to move forward as it sees fit with their proposed waterfront project, but the Town did not address whether it intended to do so. The Select Board should be applauded for taking a measured, cautious, and pragmatic approach to this.
On October 10, 2023, MerNIA became aware that the Town of Meredith Administration dispatched a crew and equipment to remove trees and clear the remaining undeveloped land adjacent to the Upper Public Parking Lot on Lovejoy Sands Rd. This is the same lot expansion that was part of the failed Boundary Line Adjustment Agreement from June 2023. We were very concerned that components of Goodhue’s development plans were already underway with the Town’s blessing, at taxpayer cost, without any protections in place for resident parking. While additional parking for taxpayer residents is clearly needed here, any commercial business expansion to store more boats on this lot requires Planning and Zoning Board approvals and will increase the demand for parking without solving the resident parking shortage problem.
On October 16, 2023, MerNIA counsel and supporters spoke at the public comments section of the Meredith Select Board Meeting. After hearing the public’s concerns, the Select Board directed the Town Manager and Meredith Public Works Department to cease all action on the lot, to promptly install physical barriers to address stormwater runoff onto the abutting property, and to block access to anyone from using the lot area until a review of our attorney’s letter and a discussion of a path forward takes place at the next meeting.
On March 21, 2024, Goodhue Meredith submitted two applications with the New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services (NHDES) seeking a Major Impact Wetlands permit and a Shoreland permit to:
The plans (click here to open Wetlands Permit Application) represent an expansion into an entirely new commercial area of the shoreline property with long commercial docks extending out into the lake. Pay particular attention to the following pages:
This proposed commercial expansion will increase boating and parking congestion, interfere with Meredith taxpayers’ lake access, and negatively impact abutting property owners. We are currently working to respond to this application.
On May 10, 2024, Goodhue Meredith received a letter from DES requesting additional information supporting their application. Click here for the DES Request for More Information.
MerNIA remains very concerned about expansion efforts by Goodhue that will not only have detrimental effects to the physical environment of our residential neighborhood but will also result in further encroachment on the public land and water access for resident taxpayers and their guests.
We truly appreciate your interest, commitment, and support for our shared goals of protecting our lake access, the water quality, and our property values. Maintaining the character of the Neck and Islands is certainly worth our combined efforts! MerNIA will keep you informed, as future developments may unfold quickly.
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