ZBA allows professional office at 591 Center Street, citing prior commercial use; conditions attached

On April 7 the Wolfeboro Zoning Board of Adjustment approved a variance permitting a professional office use at 591 Center Street (Tax Map 148, Lot 17), finding the property’s long history of commercial occupancy and limited exterior change supported the request.

Attorney Philip Marbury, representing Ali Mahadeeshi and the property owner (CNS McLean Realty Trust LLC), told the board the property “has, since the time it was first built, been used exclusively for commercial purposes” despite being located in a Shoreland Residential zoning district, and asked the board to allow a professional-office use consistent with prior commercial activity. The applicant proposed interior renovations only, with no exterior changes.

Board members discussed the distinction between nonconforming structures and nonconforming uses and concluded that the proposed professional office (medical services) was consistent with previous nonresidential uses on the site and would not change the building’s external character. The board combined the variance criteria and found the application met the tests for a variance: no substantial public harm, reasonable use, and no diminution of neighboring property values.

Conditions attached to the approval included obtaining all required federal, state and local permits (including the Town of Wolfeboro building permit), recording the notice of decision at the Carroll County Registry of Deeds at applicant expense, and observing the two‑year exercise window for the variance unless extended. The board recorded the application date of March 17, 2025, in the file.

A roll-call vote approved the variance; board members repeated standard instructions about permitting and appeal rights following the vote.