Rowe v. Town of North Hampton

This case once again demonstrates the fundamental tension in our State between the forces of development and a town’s effort to protect ecologically sensitive areas. The plaintiff, Donna Rowe, appeals a Superior Court (Groff, J.) order which upheld the North Hampton Zoning Board of Adjustment’s denial of her application for a variance from the town’s wetlands ordinance to permit construction of a house and septic system. The plaintiff raises three primary issues on appeal: (1) that the board’s denial of the variance was unreasonable or unlawful; (2) that the plaintiff’s lot is exempt from the…