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Laconia ZBA approves variance for 35 Blueberry Lane allowing up to 21 apartments
Summary
The Laconia Zoning Board of Adjustment approved a variance permitting multifamily use and density equivalent to nine units per acre for 35 Blueberry Lane, clearing the way for a proposed 21-unit development; the application drew one written objection and no public speakers at the hearing.
The Laconia Zoning Board of Adjustment on an evening vote approved a variance for 35 Blueberry Lane that allows multifamily residential use and density equivalent to nine units per acre, enabling a proposed 21-unit apartment development.
Attorney Kyle Emel of Westcott Law, representing Promen LLC (owner), told the board the 2.4-acre lot is currently zoned residential single-family and used as an intermittently used conference center. He said the applicant requested variances from Laconia Zoning Ordinance sections 235-28 and 235-33 to permit multifamily use and a density of nine units per acre. "That would allow a max 21 units on this lot," Emel said.
The applicant argued the parcel sits amid both single-family and multifamily properties and that the proposal would bring additional housing consistent with nearby apartment complexes. Planning staff confirmed the residential apartment district allows nine units per acre, and the requested variances would allow the project to proceed under a site-plan review process if approved.
The ZBA opened the hearing to public input; no members of the public spoke in person. The board read a written objection from Stacy and Douglas Sarois citing concerns about lot size, inadequate green space, and potential impacts to the Pearly Pond conservation area. Board members asked planning staff about easement boundaries and site-plan review requirements; staff said detailed site-plan issues including landscaping and shoreline concerns would be handled at planning review.
Board member Richard Boddy moved to approve variance application 202502335 for 35 Blueberry Lane; Marsha Hayward seconded. After brief board discussion — during which several members said they preferred a zoning-district change but found the variance process appropriate for this application — the board voted to approve the variance and closed the matter to move to planning review. The board did not record a roll-call tally in the transcript.
The approval allows the applicant to proceed toward formal site-plan review before the planning board and does not itself change the underlying zoning district for the parcel.
