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Selectboard presses developer on site access and escrow shortfalls after compliance dispute
Summary
Town officials discussed a series of emails and site visits with developer Drew (Copley Properties) after contractor crews told the town inspector not to interfere; the board directed its attorney to send a collaborative compliance letter and flagged overdue escrow funds for at least one parcel.
The Lincoln Selectboard on Jan. 5 debated how to respond after a local developer’s contractor instructed town staff and inspectors not to enter several active construction sites, and it moved to have the town attorney pursue a written, collaborative resolution rather than immediately issue a cease-and-desist order.
The dispute centers on work at multiple properties owned or developed by Copley Properties, including a Crooked Mountain Road parcel the town identified as Escrow Account 3911. Sean, the town staff member who inspects sites, told the board he had been ordered not to enter the sites and that he had turned documentation over to the town engineer. “I have personally instructed my crews that your illegal stop work order is not to stop our progress,” he read from a contractor’s message, saying the contractor also told him all communication must go through the contractor or their lawyer.
Board members said they want the town attorney, Jason, to reach out directly to the developer before escalating enforcement. One selectboard member summarized the chosen approach: have the attorney “draft a more collaborative document that states the facts … and then the agreed-upon solutions into a document and get that signed so that we can move forward.” The board directed staff to send an email tomorrow flagging immediate safety mitigations and requesting the contractor’s attorney contact information so the town’s attorney and the developer’s counsel can talk directly.
Staff also told the board that escrow accounts tied to two active applications linked to Copley Properties have been spent and not yet replenished, and that at least one escrow (the Crooked Mountain/3911 account) is overdue. The board discussed administrative options, including putting new applications from the same applicant behind the existing, unresolved applications and billing the applicant for third-party review costs if staff cannot safely finish inspections. “If the same applicant is coming forward with a new application, that should be put behind the first and second one … pending the restoration of the escrow funds,” the selectboard member said.
Members emphasized caution about starting litigation, noting the town has not adopted a full building code and that legal advice is still pending about access rights in the town’s particular circumstances. At the meeting, another selectboard member recited a general legal principle raised by counsel: in New Hampshire a code compliance officer typically cannot be restricted from entering a site already permitted for construction, but the board said it would await a written opinion before ordering staff back on the properties.
The board asked staff to include a specific notice about site safety when the attorney sends correspondence. It also asked staff to estimate likely legal fees and to include a suggested replenishment amount for escrow accounts in the letter to the developer. No formal enforcement motion was adopted during the meeting; instead, the board approved asking the town attorney to draft the collaborative compliance letter and to attempt direct attorney-to-attorney contact with the developer.
Next steps: the town attorney will draft and send a document laying out known facts and proposed remedies for signature; staff will follow up on escrow replenishment and may place future Copley applications on hold until funds are restored.
