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Friends of
Mount
Sunapee have felt great relief since the denial of
the proposed expansion of the ski area at
Mount
Sunapee
State Park by Governor
Lynch almost three years ago. Lynch’s action in May 2005 culminated nearly five
years of public discussion and organizing by FOMS and many of you.
While this matter is temporarily “off the table,” it has not
gone away, and continues to deserve our attention and engagement, as well as
other important issues. Here’s a brief roundup of news affecting
Mount
Sunapee
State Park.
Read this article as a pdf or continue to read as a webpage ...
Okemo Sues Lynch for Breach of Contract
Some remember Okemo publicly threatening a lawsuit against
the state in the summer of 2005 over their failure to gain access to an
additional 175 acres of public land to expand the ski area and facilitate their
private development on the western flank of the mountain in
Goshen. Then the matter seemed to quiet down,
at least, until October 11, 2007, when Okemo filed a suit against the State of
New Hampshire alleging breach of contract because Governor Lynch refused to let
the expansion move forward and refused to submit the plan to Executive Council
for review.
The Governor repeatedly said that he does not support
expanding the ski area lease for the purpose of condo development on private
land. And, in a recent AP report, the Attorney General’s office said Governor
Lynch cannot “be ordered by a court to change his mind” and the Governor and
Executive Council “cannot be ordered to approve the expansion plan.”
On February 25, attorneys for both the state and Okemo met
with Judge Mangones of the Merrimack County Superior Court to set a schedule
for the lawsuit. Discovery is expected to stretch throughout 2008, unless the state
is successful in having the case dismissed. Trial is set for early November.
FOMS continues to actively monitor the matter. To read the
suit and other information, see our "Okemo Lawsuit" resources page.
Mountain Reach Gains Approval, Scales Back Plan
After two years before the Goshen Planning Board, the
Mountain Reach Development Group (MRDG) gained approval in November for its
real estate development abutting the park. (See our Spring 2007 newsletter (PDF, ~600kb) for a full report of this project.)
Throughout 2005, 2006 and 2007, FOMS representatives spent
many hours before the planning board advocating for limited access to the state
park by condo owners and for minimizing the environmental and visual impacts of
the development.
While greatly disappointed to see residential sprawl
encroaching upon our beloved park and cutting into the beautiful western
landscape of
Mount
Sunapee, FOMS is pleased
that the planning board required MRDG to create a permanent deeded, open space buffer
between the condos and the state park. This easement is owned by the town of
Goshen and prohibits any mechanized
or commercial activity from occurring in the buffer. If strictly enforced, this
easement will forever preclude “ski across” trail and lift development, and
limits access to the park to human-powered pedestrian access only.
NEHSA Looks to Build New Facility in Province Area
In the Province Area of the park, along the historic
Province Road and just
above the original beginner rope tow, the New England Handicapped Sports
Association (NEHSA) is seeking approval to build a new 12,000 square foot
facility. In December, NEHSA went before the Goshen Zoning Board seeking a
Special Exception to allow the new lodge in the town’s rural zone, and
succeeded in gaining conditional approval.
FOMS attended the Goshen Planning Board hearing and asked about
use and ownership of the proposed new facility. The building’s uses will be
limited to the activities of NEHSA’s core mission, and will not include
commercial rentals or activities. NEHSA also clarified to the board that should
their programs ever end at
Mount
Sunapee, the State of
NH would become the owner of the new facility.
NEHSA’s next step in the permitting process is to present an
application to the planning board for Site Plan Review. Since the plan includes
a significant amount of parking and road development in Newbury, the Newbury Planning
Board will also review the proposal. In December, the Goshen Planning Board
identified the project as one with Regional Impact, which requires NEHSA to
notify affected area towns and organizations, including FOMS, of future
hearings.
FOMS continues to learn about NEHSA’s proposal. Download a scanned copy of NEHSA's proposal to the Goshen Planning Board. (PDF ~1mb)
Read about the proposal, as discussed before Newbury Planning Board in December, 2007.
What Happened to the Ski Area Advisory Committee?
When the ski area within
Mount
Sunapee
State Park was first
approved for leasing ten years ago this spring, a mitigating concession made by
Governor Shaheen and the Department of Resources and Economic Development
(DRED) was the creation of an advisory committee comprised of state and local
representatives to review all activities related to the ski area. Since its
first meeting in the fall of 1998, the
Mount
Sunapee
Ski Area Advisory Committee, or MSSAAC, has provided the only consistent
opportunity for the public to gain insight and information about planning and
decisions about our state park.
While the committee has no veto power over decisions or
actions, the mere presentation of information to the committee offered a
glimpse inside the management and policy-making that control the public’s park.
However, in the past three years, the MSSAAC has met only three times, to review
Okemo’s Annual Operating Plan.
FOMS believes that the advisory committee has played a
central role in bringing to light important public information about the future
of
Mount
Sunapee
State Park
and has helped air critical public policy questions. We believe the public and
the park will benefit, if the committee convenes regularly and more often, with
meetings posted well in advance and made handicapped accessible.
The commissioner of DRED heads the MSSAAC, which includes
the Director of the NH Division of Parks and Recreation and representatives from
the Natural Heritage Bureau of the NH Division of Forests and Lands, NH
Department of Environmental Services, towns of Newbury and Goshen, Lake Sunapee
Protective Association, Lake Sunapee Region Chamber of Commerce, Society for
the Protection of NH Forests, and Upper Valley Lake Sunapee Regional Planning Commission.
The on-line link to the MSSAAC is: www.nhstateparks.org/about-us/commissions-
and-committees/mountsunapee- advisory-committee.aspx
Mount Sunapee a State Park Again
For much of the last decade, visitors to
Mount
Sunapee
State Park had a hard time recognizing
Mount
Sunapee as, well, a state park. Official
state websites had dropped the words “Mount” from online listings. Also, the traditional
state park sign at the traffic circle welcoming visitors was gone.
Campers coming to stay at the campground (sited near the Sun
Bowl lift base on the historic Johnson farm) wondered how to get to their camp spot.
To many new visitors,
Mount
Sunapee was just a
“resort” with winter downhill skiing. More than fifty years of public access
and involvement in our treasured park became hard to see or find.
However, with some encouragement by FOMS, the Division of
Parks and Recreation recently restored the full name of the park online, and placed
new signs at the traffic circle proudly pronouncing
Mount
Sunapee
State Park ahead.
Our thanks to NH State Parks Director Allison McLean, a
Sunapee native, and her staff for making
Mount
Sunapee
a state park again in the public’s eye.
State Park System Advisory Council to Meet March 28
The next meeting of the NH State Park System Advisory
Council is March 28 at 9 a.m. at the Department of Resources & Economic
Development,
172 Pembroke Road
in
Concord. Council
meetings are chaired by Senator Bob Odell and are open to the public.
The Council, created as a result of the State Park Study Committee
(reported in our spring 2007 newsletter), advises the director of the Division
of Parks and Recreation on issues relating to the operation and development of
the state park system.
For more information and to receive an agenda for coming
meetings, contact Program Specialist Torene Tango-Lowy, by email:
This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
or call (603) 271-3556.
If you have questions or comments for FOMS about these and
other Public Policy & Public Lands matters, please contact us or call (603) 863-0045.
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