Newcastle Publick House, LLC, the Newcastle Harbor House applicant, did not meet conditions of approval set by the Newcastle Planning Board, rendering the applicant’s permit “moot,” town attorney Peter Drum said.
Drum made the announcement at a Jan. 19 meeting of the Newcastle Board of Appeals. The Board met to continue discussion of an appeal of the approval by Stetson House, LLC, a neighbor of the Newcastle Harbor House site.
Newcastle Publick House, LLC received two extensions from the Newcastle Planning Board of the initial 30-day deadline to fulfill two conditions of approval. The conditions included the delivery of a letter of credit to Newcastle Code Enforcement Officer Stanley Waltz.
In the event that Newcastle Publick House, LLC failed to complete the project within a specific time frame, a letter of credit would have allowed Newcastle to complete the exterior of or demolish any incomplete structure.
The Newcastle Board of Appeals adjourned without further discussion.
According to a Jan. 19 letter from Drum to the Board, “a decision [on the appeal] at this time would be inappropriate.”
“I can confirm that Newcastle Public [sic] House worked diligently to ensure that the terms of the letter of credit acceptable to Newcastle were approved,” Drum wrote. “While Newcastle Public [sic] House LLC did obtain approval on the terms necessary for the Town, the Letter of Credit was not signed and provided to the Town by the date necessary.”
“I’m not sure why [the condition] was not ultimately met,” Drum said at the meeting. According to Drum, The First, the bank working with Newcastle Publick House, LLC on the project, “approved the terms” of the letter of credit.
More details will follow in a full report here and in the Jan. 27 print edition of The Lincoln County News.
