Board approves Dive base on Weirs Blvd.

LACONIA — The Dive, a floating restaurant and bar that has operated from several fixed locations in recent years, has the go-ahead to use a dock off Weirs Boulevard as a staging area for its summer operation.

The Planning Board voted 8-1 to allow the business to tie up at a dock opposite 427 Weirs Boulevard overnight and to pick up staff in the morning and drop them off in the evening.

Customers will not be allowed to board or debark from the vessel at the location, under the approval granted by the board. Customers will need to access The Dive by boat which will be stationed at locations in the lake, including a sandbar in Paugus Bay off the Margate Resort.

City Councilor Bruce Cheney, who sits on the board as the council’s representative, cast the one dissenting vote. He did so, he said, because of problems the city had with the Dive’s operation at the Weirs Docks a couple of years ago might recur.

The Dive entered into a three-year contract with the city in 2020 to operate at the city-owned Weirs Docks. But that contract was dissolved by mutual agreement after a few months because of problems dealing with trash removal among other issues.

Attorney Ethan Wood, who represented Dive owner Jamison Merriam at Tuesday’s Planning Board meeting, said that Dive employees will be using the property at 427 Weirs Boulevard as a place to park their vehicles while at work.

A cottage colony on the property is currently not in operation, but Wood noted that even if the cottages were to reopen there would still be enough parking for both the guests and The Dive workers.

The property is in the resort-commercial zone.

Eight people called in on Zoom during the public hearing portion of the meeting to urge the board to approve the application.

Some criticized the board for creating roadblocks to The Dive’s potential to be a successful business.

“They want an even hand, not special treatment. They want equal treatment,” said Frank Donlan of Gilford.

The Dive submitted its current application on April 6, but was placed on the agenda for the May 3 meeting strictly for the acceptance of the application because the Planning Department was still waiting for answers to questions on how The Dive was going to use the Weirs Beach site, Planning Director Dean Trefethen said Wednesday. The Dive was given advance notice that the board would neither be considering nor voting on the plan at the May meeting, he added.

No commercial deliveries will take place at the Weirs Beach address. However, a septic truck will periodically have to park on the street while the sewage and graywater is pumped off the vessel. Wood said the process should take about 10 minutes and would occur early in the morning. He said traffic cones would be placed in the roadway to warn motorists.

Employees arriving in the morning would be carrying some supplies from their cars across the street to The Dive’s dock.

Board member Charlie St. Clair said he was concerned about employees who would be crossing the busy street after dark at the end of the day. But the board was told that The Dive would be returning to the dock before dark.

As part of the condition of the approval, trash will have to be stored in bins kept in a fenced-in area of 427 Weirs Boulevard and will need to be removed by a commercial trash hauler. In addition, bushes near the highway will need to be trimmed to improve visibility and sight distances for motorists.