Noisy weddings? Sanbornton woman asks court to force neighbors to keep it down

SANBORNTON — A Knox Mountain Road woman has petitioned Belknap County Superior Court to stop a gathering-venue rental business located near her home from operating, saying it is a "private nuisance".

Laurie Graham owns a home at 170 Knox Mountain Road which is nearby to a "venue rental" business located at 195 Knox Mountain Road known as "Longlook Farm."

Graham contends that because of the weekend rental of the Longlook Farm for gatherings like weddings, she has lost the "quiet enjoyment" of her home.

Specifically, she said that she had contacted the Sanbornton Police repeatedly because of "unreasonable noise caused by music played through speakers," noises from the crowds, cars speeding by her home, and shuttle buses going past her home.

Longlook Farm is owned by Colm and Katie Brophy who also live at the site. Planning and Zoning Board records obtained online indicate that in March of 2012, the ZBA granted the Brophys a special zoning exception for allowing up to 10 (from a maximum allowed of 6) bedrooms for a tourist home and for cooking functions.

Minutes indicate that the property is in a Forest Conservation District and the Brophys plan was to rent the barn and a guest house for weekend functions — especially weddings — from May through October.

The events are limited to one rental at a time and there is a maximum occupancy of 120 people, although there is some confusion over whether the site plan granted by the Planning Board on June 21, 2012 allows for 150 total people.

In her pleading, Graham said they Brophys had already been renting the property as a venue since 2010, without proper land use board approvals.

Graham said since the proper land use board approvals were granted in 2012, the noise and number of events has escalated and because the events can last over a four-day period, the Brophys' activities have cost her the enjoyment, quiet and safety of her own home.

She has asked the court to order the Brophys to not used amplified music, to reduce the number of annual events, and to order that all events are supervised.

In the alternative, she has asked to court to stop the Brophys from using the home as a rental venue.

Minutes from the Planning Board public hearing held on June 21, 2012 indicate that Graham was at the meeting and voiced similar concerns and complaints even before the site plan was granted.

She told the board that she had lived there for four years and moved there for the beauty and serenity. She noted that she had invested money in her cars because the condition of Knox Mountain Road is not that good but, for her, it was an equal tradeoff. Her request to the Planning Board in 2012 was similar to her recent request to the court—– that the Brophys scale back their enterprise.