Sandra Mucci: Concerns about Moultonborough ZBA Castle changes

To The Daily Sun,

The Castle in the Clouds is a regional landmark, visible for miles around.

I grew up visiting my grandparents at Severance Farm in the valley below the Castle. About 70 acres of that farm is now the Severance Farm Conservation Area owned by the Lakes Region Conservation Trust (LRCT).

The Castle’s recent application for high-impact outdoor recreational uses on its property is deeply concerning. The applicant seeks permanent approval from the Moultonborough Zoning Board for unspecified events with up to 5,000 attendees. The Castle event fields are within the LRCT’s Castle in the Clouds Conservation Area, which allows only low-impact recreational use. High-impact commercial uses are not compatible with conservation land.

The Moultonborough Zoning Ordinance was enacted “to impose limitations on uses of land” and to protect the community from “incompatible uses … given the character of the area.” The Castle property is in the rural agricultural zone, surrounded by conservation land. High-impact uses which are “expected to produce increased levels of traffic, parking, noise, lighting, runoff, and other impacts on abutters and natural resources” will disrupt neighboring properties.

Also, any environmental contamination entering Shannon Brook on the Castle property travels down the brook, through the valley, and directly into Lake Winnipesaukee. What happens uphill affects everyone downhill.

Generating revenue is, of course, a necessity, and the Castle does a good business with weddings and other functions. The Great Waters concerts and the Castle Car Show have received annual Town board approvals in past years, and this application was originally understood as a way to formalize this process. However, recent hearings indicate that approval is now being sought for expanding and more frequent uses without meaningful limitations.

Please attend the Moultonborough Zoning Board hearing on Aug. 5, at 7 p.m.

Sandra Mucci

Meredith