By BOB MARTIN
Eagle Times Staff
NEWPORT, N.H. — The Hillsborough Superior Court recently ruled that developers for Runway Heights did not need to re-obtain variances that the town of Newport said were necessary for their senior housing project, thus making a decision by the Newport Zoning Board to deny the new variance moot.
Following this ruling signed on Oct. 4 by Associate Justice Michael A. Klass, Developer Doug Campbell of North Newport Land Holdings said that they will be continuing with building a 32-foot, six inch “L” shaped building with 96 units for residents 55 and older. This court decision paves the way for the developers to move forward with the project after years of meetings, adjustments to the plan and input from the community.
The town does have a chance to appeal this hearing. The Eagle Times reached out to Town Manager Kyle Harris about the ruling, and questioned whether there was a plan to appeal this decision. Harris replied, “We have no comment at this time.” Campbell said he does not know if the town will be appealing.
According to information released titled Avanru Development Group, Ltd. and North Newport Land Holdings, LLC v. Town of Newport, this was an appeal by the group relating to the ongoing efforts to build on land they own next to Parlin Field Airport.
In 2021, North Newport Land Holdings bought a 15.54-acre parcel of land between the runway of Parlin Field Airport and Route 10. Campbell partnered with President and CEO of Avanru Development Jack Franks, who is developing 42 units on Spring Street, as well. The project is part of a revitalization effort by the Newport Sunshine Initiative, which has worked for positive change in Newport, aka the Sunshine Town. The initiative was founded by Jay Lucas and his wife Karen in 2018.
There were “peculiarities” of the location due to the airport, Campbell said in a previous interview, and they needed to work to follow FAA guidelines. Campbell said this took about a year, making various design changes.
On May 16, the Newport Zoning Board voted 5-0 to deny a variance to allow for the multi-unit senior housing project. The site plan was approved by the Newport Planning Board on March 19, but the town said they needed to have two variances to be approved before moving forward. One was to permit a multi-use senior housing project, and the other was to permit a structure that exceeds the 30-foot height limit. Variances were approved in 2022, but town officials said they had lapsed after a two-year window and needed to start this process over.
Those representing the project felt that the variances did not lapse, and the town and the developers were involved in litigation as these votes were being made. Residents came forward at the ZBA meeting to speak out against the project, citing safety concerns as it is within 300 feet from the Parlin Field airport runway. There were also concerns over traffic and aesthetics.
Avanru originally submitted a site plan application on Oct. 18, 2022, and a public hearing on the request was delayed while the petitioners addressed concerns over the proposed building height. They consulted with the FAA and altered the design from a single building to two buildings with reduced heights, according to the information provided by the court.
Avanru submitted a revised site plan dated Jan. 23, 2024, which was accepted by the Newport Planning Board. However, on Jan. 31, Town Planning and Zoning Administrator Christina Donovan informed Avanru that the public notice of the hearing in the site plan application was incorrect, and didn’t include the people who leased hangars as the airport. This resulted in the site plan not being reviewed at the planning board’s meeting in February 2024, and the final review was delayed until March.
The court records show that in an email dated March 13, Donovan informed Avanru that variances granted in March 2022 would expire before the next planning board hearing, so new variances were needed. Avanru requested an extension for the variances on March 14 via email, but they were not granted by the ZBA.
A public hearing on the site plan application was held on March 19 and the application was determined to be complete, and the planning board approved the application with conditions that included Avanru re-obtaining variances as they said they expired. Avanru reapplied for the variances on April 3, and the ZBA held a public hearing on April 18 to consider the applications. This was continued to May 16, where it was denied. The petitioners appealed this decision, and the Superior Court sided with Avanru.
The petitioners argued that the town acted “unreasonably and unlawfully” when they determined that the March 2022 variances expired. The petitioners also said any delays that led to site plan approval occurring more than two years after the variances were granted were caused by the town, court documents showed. The town argued that the March 2022 variances expired as “a matter of law prior to the site plan approval and the imposed conditions are reasonable.” They also said Avanru’s lack of due diligence was why the delays existed.
The Superior Court ruling was a major win for the developers in what has been a back-and-forth battle between them and the town.
“The court decision nullifies the need to re-obtain the variances, so the May ZBA meeting has no impact,” Campbell said.
When asked if there will be any changes to the project after what they heard in the discussions, Campbell said, “Our design will follow all applicable codes and take into consideration the planning board comments.”
Campbell said that this project will bring 96 affordable senior housing units to Newport and Sullivan County, and noted the benefit that it will bring to the community.
“The main reason for the housing crisis is a lack of supply, which the project directly addresses,” Campbell said.
Campbell said that they need to wait 30 days from the court decision, as this is an appeal window. The decision is binding after this point, he said.
“Our next milestone will be to submit our design to the New Hampshire Housing Finance Authority to qualify for funding for the construction of the property,” Campbell said.
