Lovell board to hear storage company appeal Thursday

The Conway Daily Sun should not take at face value either Mr. Lopez’s account of Phase 1 of the project, or his threats about what he might do if Phase 2 is denied.

In Phase 1, the Planning Board determined that self-storage, which is how Mr. Lopez described his proposed use, was not listed in the Table of Uses. In doing so, the Planning Board specifically found that “[the proposed] facility is in fact not a warehouse.” Because the use was not listed, the Planning Board was obligated under the old version of Zoning Ordinance Section 6.2 to determine to which use in the table the applicants’ use was “most similar” and to consider the application as though it was for that “most similar” use. The Planning Board determined that while a self-storage facility, in fact, was NOT a warehouse, of all things listed in the table, it was “most similar to” a warehouse and proceeded to analyze the application as though it was for a warehouse.

Lovell voters, by an overwhelmingly margin, adopted an amendment to Section 6.2. There is no longer any “most similar to” analysis. Now the Planning Board can only consider applications for uses that are “expressly listed” in the Table of Uses. Self-storage is not expressly listed so, under the amended Section 6.2, it is prohibited. The Planning Board has no authority to even consider the application.

Mr. Lopez has no unfettered right to open a chemical storage facility on his land. Storage of chemicals is a conditional use meaning that Planning Board approval is required and may be subject to “such conditions in addition to those required in this ordinance that [the Planning Board] finds necessary to further the purposes of this ordinance.” Given the proximity of his property to the Route 5 corridor and to Alder Brook, those conditions should be expected to be substantial.