Laserfiche WebLink
Zoning Bulletin June 10, 2013 ( Volume 7 ( Issue 11 <br />Case Note: <br />In its decision, the court also concluded that Dryden Resources Awareness Coali- <br />tion (`DRAC')—an association of residentsand landowners in the Town —did <br />not have standing to intervene in the matter. The court found that DRAG had <br />failed to demonstrate a substantial interest in the outcome of the action different <br />from other residents of the Town. <br />Standing —After BA grants <br />variance to competitor, <br />supermarket challenges decision <br />Town argues supermarket Tacks standing to <br />appeal because it failed to show proximity or <br />injury <br />Citation: Hannaford Bros. Co. v. Town of Bedford, 2013 WL 1769794 <br />N.H. 2013) <br />NEW HAMPSHIRE (04/25/13) This case addressed the issue of <br />whether a commercial business that operated within four miles of its <br />competitor's proposed site had standing to challenge the grant of a vari- <br />ance to the competitor. <br />The Background/Facts: Hannaford Brothers Company ("Hannaford") <br />owned and operated a 36,541-square-foot supermarket in a commercial <br />district on Route 101 in the Town of Bedford, New Hampshire (the <br />"Town"). Hannaford's supeiniarket had been approved in November 2006, <br />shortly -after the Town enacted a zoning ordinance amendment restricting <br />the size of any single building in the commercial district to 40,000 square <br />feet (the "Ordinance"). <br />Retail Management and Development, Inc. ("RMD") developed <br />supermarkets for Demoulas Super Markets, Inc. RMD sought to develop a <br />78,332-square-foot supermarket in the Town's commercial district on <br />Route 114. The site of RMD's proposed supermarket was 3.8 miles from <br />Hannaford's supermarket. <br />In November 2010, RMD applied to the Town's Zoning Board of <br />Adjustment ("ZBA") for a variance to exceed the Ordinance's 40,000- <br />square-foot restriction. The ZBA granted the variance. In doing so, the <br />ZBA found, among other things, that: the "spirit of the ordinance" was <br />intended to limit the size of buildings on Route 101, but not on Route 114, <br />where RMD sought to build. It also found that: the area on Route 101 <br />where Hannaford's supermarket was Iocated could not support buildings <br />©2013 Thomson Reuters <br />5 <br />