Attorney Chris Meier represents the owners of Cranmore Mountain Lodge, at left, Shirley Chu and Wilson Kwok at the Kearsarge Lighting Precinct meeting last Thursday. (DAYMOND STEER PHOTO)
CONWAY — The Cranmore Mountain Lodge can once again host weddings and events as an owner-occupied bed-and-breakfast, but within limits, the Kearsarge Lighting Precinct Zoning Board of Adjustment decided at a public hearing held last Thursday.
The ZBA’s decision partially overturns a notice of violation sent to the lodge owners by Kearsarge Lighting Precinct commissioners.
The hearing began at 6:30 p.m. at the North Conway Water Precinct Building, 104 Sawmill Lane. About 20 people attended.
The owners of Cranmore Mountain Lodge — Shirley Chu and Wilson Kwok —had appealed to the Kearsarge Lighting Precinct Zoning Board of Adjustment about four violation complaints filed by the KLP commissioners.
The Cranmore Mountain Lodge owners also filed a federal lawsuit against the KLP seeking $7 million.
The ZBA’s decision came after nearly three hours of debate and deliberation. The upshot was that the Cranmore Mountain Lodge property is grandfathered to host weddings and events as an owner-occupied bed-and-breakfast. There can be no more than two non-family-member employees; food and beverage may not be served to the general public; and the property can’t simply be an event venue.
“My hope with this is if it’s a little too restrictive or not restrictive enough, that both parties go back and start talking mediation, so we don’t end up here again,” said ZBA Chairman Scott Lee.
Lee said there is precedent that events have taken place at the inn since before the 1950s, when the KLP was created.
The decision was unanimous among Lee, Mark Bettencourt, Stephan Karnopp, and alternates Vicki MacDougall and Jim Umberger.
The alleged violations at the 859 Kearsarge Road inn were outlined in a Dec. 3 letter from KLP commissioners to the owners by attorney Jason Dennis of Hastings Law Office in Fryeburg. They were listed as:
1) Violation of the requirement that a bed-and-breakfast establishment be owner-occupied.
2) Violation of the requirement that no more than two persons other than the owner, spouse and their children may be employed at any one location.
3) Operating a non-permitted bar/dining establishment, evidenced by serving alcohol to the general public and also serving lunch and dinner to the general public.
The ZBA’s attorney, Cordell Johnston, said the ZBA granted the couple’s appeal on violation 4; denied the appeal on 1 and 2; and partially granted the appeal on 3.
Either party can request a rehearing within 30 days, said Johnston. In an email Monday, he said a formal written notice of the ZBA’s decision will be issued no earlier than Wednesday.
The lodge owner, through their attorney, Chris Meier of Cooper Cargill Chant in North Conway, said the lodge predates the KLP zoning ordinance by nearly 100 years and therefore the zoning ordinance doesn’t apply to the lodge.
The couple has owned the lodge since 2021.
“Shirley and Wilson bought this property reasonably thinking that they could run weddings. Every owner in the past had been able to run weddings,” said Meier.
But Dennis and Commissioner Lyman said the property was becoming an event venue, and that’s inconsistent with zoning.
“That a pre-existing, nonconforming use at some point in time does not establish essentially, the ability for the owner of that property or that business to essentially do whatever they want indefinitely and expand the scope and nature of that business,” Dennis said.
He said the couple wanted to change the scope of what the property was used for — from being an owner-occupied bed-and-breakfast that hosted weddings to a non-owner-occupied event venue with a bar and restaurant that was open to the public.
Dennis said the grandfathering protection in terms of weddings could be considered void because some past owners didn’t host weddings. He said the ZBA could also decide that the property was morphing into a wedding venue and thus was growing further non-compliant.
Dennis said “un-permitted events” means outside events.
Lyman said, “It was not our intention to disallow them from having weddings for their guests inside their facility. The problem has arisen to because of having events outside and the noise ... They’re planning on having 20 to 30 weddings a year.”
Meier said the commissioners told his clients no weddings were allowed at all.
“It’s nice to hear that the commissioners are backing off their notice of violation,” said Meier. “I’m hoping that the (ZBA) recognizes that fact.”
Meanwhile, the couple wants a federal court to award them $7 million in damages from KLP for unlawfully interfering with their business. Their lawsuit also suggests racial discrimination was at play when the KLP made them stop holding wedding receptions.
The lawsuit was filed in U.S. District Court in Concord on March 10.
On May 5, KLP commissioners also announced they will be enforcing the guest provision that any residential properties rented short-term need to be owner-occupied. Enforcement is to begin June 2.