Huge 100-Foot Structure to Replace Hampton Beach 'Wasteland'?

The same Hampton Beach developer that ignited controversy earlier this year is looking to erect another towering structure to replace what they feel is a "wasteland" along Ocean Boulevard, and current plans indicate it will dwarf the building that contributed to the ousting of the chairman of the Hampton Board of Selectmen.

Green and Co. Building and Development Corporation will go before the Hampton Zoning Board later this month for variance approval on a roughly 100-foot, eight-story, 56-unit multi-family structure on the burned-down A Block site that once was home to the Surf Hotel and Happy Hampton Arcade.

The same company recently sought variances on behalf of the same property ownership group for a five-story multi-family structure where the Aegean Motel and Shirley Inn currently stand. Selectmen heavily debated the maximum height of that structure after the zoning board approved the project, eventually agreeing to a height limit of 65 feet during negotiations that helped Hampton avoid a lawsuit.

Locals feel the new building — the roof for which has a proposed height of 88 feet, 3 1/2 inches and a tallest point of 99 feet, 8 inches, according to the variance application — could soon refuel some of the public vitriol and controversy because selectmen have firmly stated they don't want structures higher than 65 feet along Hampton Beach.

Tom McGuirk, the zoning board vice chairman and a Hampton Beach business owner, said he's not sure whether the proposal will make it past his board because he hasn't yet "seen the opinions for or against it." 

That said, he does expect plenty of opposition to the project when it comes up for a zoning board hearing, likely on Aug. 22.

"I think it's kind of ballsy," said McGuirk of the proposal, which calls for 56 two-bedroom, one-bath rental units in addition to about eight retail units along Ocean Boulevard on the ground floor. "It’s on the heels of their last building, which they had a lot of problems with. It just seems counterintuitive. They fought to get to 65 feet. There was a fight and they almost didn’t get approval, [and that makes them think] 'Let's now do 85 feet?' It's a little strange."

The developers state in the variance application that the proposed height for the building, which they call a potential "landmark," isn't "excessive." They also state it "serves no public purpose to leave a large empty hole in the center of a resort area at one of the most prime locations at the beach which, prior to a devastating fire, was one of the most vibrant parts of the beach." 

Despite the expected opposition, McGuirk said Green and Co. isn't wasting their time with the application, nor does he want to discourage any developers from proposing new structures on their properties. That's because he said anyone has the right to take "land that they own and [try] to build whatever they want on that land, as long as it's within reason and zoning ordinances." 

Hampton's and Hampton Beach's "antiquated" zoning restrictions — which cap the maximum height for structures like these at 50 feet — are part of the reason why these large proposals are challenging and tend to lead to controversy, he said. 

McGuirk said Hampton Beach’s needs have changed since those laws were enacted for the entire town, and he said town meeting voters should be asked to re-vet some of the zoning ordinances shaping the beach area to help address the problems brought on by subjective limitations imposed on top of outdated guidelines.

"We let the limitations rule us in Hampton," he said. "They basically say, 'Here’s a roadblock, there's no way around it,' and that’s not true. There’s a way around every roadblock. The people aren’t happy. They’re effing miserable around Hampton... In Hampton, we have a public relations issue. The taxpayers are customers to the town of Hampton, and the customers are miserable. If we were a business, we would be out of business.

"We never fix the problem. The germination of this problem is the inappropriateness of our zoning."

To date, various changes to the zoning ordinances have been discussed for the 2014 town meeting warrant, although McGuirk said building height hasn't yet specifically been mentioned in those conversations.

Renderings of the proposed structure, including a couple showing its size relative to the adjacent Mrs. Mitchell's building, are attached to this story. 

The zoning board's next meeting is at 7 p.m. on Thursday, Aug. 15, although officials believe the hearing on the A Block project will get continued to the Aug. 22 meeting because it is the last item listed on a busy agenda.