Effingham—December 7, 2023—January 3 is the new date for Effingham’s Zoning Board of Adjustment to consider an appeal of the Planning Board’s approval of a gas station at the former Boyle’s Market.

Meeting on Wednesday night, the ZBA Chair said the continuance was necessary because Lakes Region Planning Commission (LRPC) and nine towns affected by the development were not properly notified of Wednesday’s meeting.

The ZBA voted on October 27 that the appeal was a Development of Regional Impact (DRI) matter.

DRI regulations, RSA 36:54 – 36:58, require land use boards to notify the LRPC and affected communities by certified mail within five days of the DRI determination and provide a copy of the meeting minutes.

At least 14 days prior to a public hearing on the matter, the same recipients must be notified by certified mail of the meeting date and time, and their right to testify concerning the development.

Ossipee Lake Alliance on Monday reported that none of the towns it contacted about the DRI ruling had received notification as of December 1.

The appeal of the Planning Board’s approval was submitted to the ZBA on September 13 by Ossipee residents whose homes abut the proposed gas station site. They said the Planning Board’s July decision violated the setback requirements of Article 4, Section 402, of the zoning ordinance.

Additionally, they alleged that the decision violated Article 8 of the town’s Site Plan Review Regulations, which requires site plans to comply “in all respects” with the ordinance, and the board “overlooked” the issue of the convenience store’s ‘grandfathered’ status, which they said had expired.

The Boyle’s Market property, previously known as Dy-No-Mite, pumped gas until 2015, when the owner closed it and had DES oversee the removal of tanks and equipment.

The property, consisting of a convenience store, several apartments and a laundromat, was sold to Conway real estate developer Meena LLC in February 2021. The store and laundromat were subsequently closed to the public, but the apartments remain occupied.

Meena owns gas stations and other commercial properties around the region, including a gas station on Route 16 in Ossipee.

The webpage https://bit.ly/meenagas has a chronology of the Effingham gas station case and access to all case documents.