Town's patience wearing thin over storage trailers on Dunkin Donuts lot

Echo Acres residents also concerned about appearance of property and plans for outdoor display area

The owner of the property on which Dunkin Donuts and three retail businesses sit is being given one last chance by the planning board to comply with town regulations governing storage trailers on the site.The storage trailers are located behind the building that houses Pearl Izumi Factory Store, Ski and Snowboard Liquidation Center and Northern Extremes Snowmobiling Inc. Town regulations allow for storage trailers as long as they are "screened from sight from abutting properties and streets by means of an opaque or vegetated buffer" approved by the planning board.The trailers and buffer must also be shown on an approved site plan.The town has initiated enforcement action against Brian Fram, of Fram Real Estate, asking that he bring the storage trailers into compliance. Frustrated by the lack of response, however, board members said last Thursday they would give Fram one last chance before taking legal action.Fram was not at the meeting when the matter was discussed, but he said the next day, "I do have certain professionals working on it. Some light should be shed on that between now and the next meeting. We want to do what we need to do and what is correct to the town."The storage-trailer issue is surfacing as part of a site-plan review application to convert some of the parking spaces at the rear of the property to an outdoor display area. Northern Extremes Snowmobiling, one of the tenants, is looking to use the outdoor display area for snowmobiles in the winter and canoes in the summer.Northern Extremes is not responsible for the storage trailers and does not use the trailers.The planning board began its review of the application in December. Review was scheduled to be continued last Thursday, but nothing new had been submitted to the town addressing the issues raised at the first hearing. However, several people from nearby Echo Acres subdivision were in the audience, and board Chairman Connie Briggs gave them the opportunity to speak.Residents expressed concerns about the appearance of the site as well as the proposal for an outdoor display area.Kim Perkins said members of Echo Acres Association had met previously with Briggs, Town Planner Tom Irving and Northern Extremes owner Peter Gagne "to gain as much insight as possible" into the situation."Let me make it very clear that at our initial meeting no one wanted to eliminate the general program as it now exists," Perkins said, referring to the Northern Extremes operation. "There are concerns about the possible growth of the business in the near term as well as in the future. We discussed with Tom Irving if there could be any restrictions as to the number of machines (snowmobiles) that could be on site and available for rent. Tom said as of now there are no restrictions."Peter Gagne said his plans for this year will be the same as last year's number," Perkins continued. "That was no more than 40 machines. But we still would be concerned with the future if ownership changed or Peter wanted to enlarge his operation."Sam Dyer, another Echo Acres resident, listed a number of questions he had about the use of the property and what was being proposed. He, like Perkins, was also concerned about the potential growth of the snowmobile business and its impact on the neighborhood."Our biggest concern is not the level it's at now, but the level it could be in two years," Dyer said. "It doesn't impact us a great deal now, but if it gets bigger it could."Part of the application includes a waiver request for a larger outdoor display area than what the town regulations allow. In a written statement, Echo Acres resident Jeffrey Lathrop urged the planning board not to grant the waiver."While it is not the applicant's initial intent, this (waiver) would essentially allow a semi-permanent outdoor retail sales operation there," Lathrop said. "It could be basically an ongoing tent sale that could go on indefinitely and could be operated as late in the evening as future owners wished. This would involve a substantial increase in traffic, noise, lights and transients immediately adjacent to a very quiet qualitative neighborhood. This waiver would allow on an ongoing basis a substantial change in the viable uses of that property."Lathrop added, "Without a waiver, the viability of this site, for purposes which cause us real concern, is relatively limited and our neighborhood has been somewhat protected and would continue to have some protection from further encroachment."Lathrop also addressed the existing appearance of the site."One of our concerns is the continuing eyesore this property has been over the last couple of years," he said. "It has been poorly maintained, extremely unsightly on a continuing basis, has had people illegally living in a RV and had trailers parked there that to the best of my knowledge have not been in compliance with Conway regulations."Some planning board members were tempted not to grant the applicant's request to continue the formal hearing to another date. That would have ended the board's review and set the stage for legal action. However, Irving said, the board by granting continuations has generally been successful in getting developers and property owners to comply with regulations."This is a process by which the town and the applicant can get an appropriate approval," Irving said.Larry Martin, selectmen's representative on the board, said he didn't want to put Gagne out of business, but he also sympathized with Echo Acres residents who drive by the property every day."I'd like to give the applicant one more shot," Martin said. "I lean toward denying it, but I don't think it would produce a win/win for anybody."An immediate concern was the location of a portable gasoline tank on the property for fueling snowmobiles. The board passed a motion instructing Irving to ask the building inspector and North Conway fire chief to take steps to have the tank removed for safety reasons.North Conway Fire Chief Pat Preece said Friday he recently sent a letter to Gagne, stating that the tank needed to be at least 40 feet from the building. He said Gagne had already relocated the tank and had put up protective barriers to prevent vehicles from hitting it. Preece said there is also a wiring issue that needs to be addressed before the tank can be used.Review of the site-plan application for outdoor display and storage trailers was continued to Feb. 10.