Kittery Point Yacht Club calls on New Castle to approve new dock
NEW CASTLE – The Kittery Point Yacht Club’s proposal to build a new dock in the Piscataqua River tributary off Goat Island has run into murky waters, more than five months after the New Castle Zoning Board of Adjustment granted special permits for the project.
The 68-year-old yacht club, located in New Castle on the south bank of the river, with the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard on Seavey Island in the background, is reiterating its demand for the new dock to be built on land the club purchased from a local resident in late 2022. Club leaders had originally asked the city for permission to build a 150-foot dock, but after opposition, they have since scaled back the proposal to 100 feet.
In February, the New Castle Select Board requested a hearing to appeal the Zoning Board of Adjustment’s January decision to approve the project, claiming it made a mistake in granting the variances. The rehearing process is underway, and the dock proposal is scheduled to be taken up again by the Zoning Board of Adjustment on July 10.
Kittery Point Yacht Club again promotes mooring
Club leadership says the dock would provide a safer route for sailing students and instructors in the side channel than the current river dock. At the same time, they maintain that the club will not expand and would potentially increase traffic on Route 1B. Despite the presence of other docks nearby, a Select Board attorney argued that the club’s proposed dock would change the character of the neighborhood, disrupt navigation in the side channel, increase pedestrian traffic along the street and increase the risk of accidents for pedestrians and passing motorists.
According to Doug Pinciaro, harbormaster and board member of the Kittery Point Yacht Club, one of the club’s main goals is to create a second, safer access to the water.
“We’re not creating the ‘Dock Mahal’ here,” he said. “This is something that’s convenient for the club members.”
“We’re trying to build a nice club, not a bigger club,” added Dave Severance, club treasurer and board member.
The most recent rendering of the proposal cut 25 feet from each end of the dock, making it 100 feet long.
What is the Kittery Point Yacht Club?
The Kittery Point Yacht Club teaches about 400 children annually in its sailing school, which Severance said is open not only to members but also to the public. Providing the second dock in the back channel would allow the young, teen and adult sailors to be spread out between the planned building and the existing riverfront dock on the club’s main property across the street.
“We’re not trying to block the channel. We want to use that channel. It doesn’t make sense for us to build something that blocks things,” Severance said. “We’ve looked at this a thousand different ways. We want to build something that has as little impact as possible and fits into the overall scenery as well as possible.”
Critics of the new dock raise concerns in New Castle
Safety along the fast-flowing Piscataqua River is a top priority for the club and is a driving force behind the proposal for a second berth. Critics of the project, however, have repeatedly accused the club of posing safety risks on the adjacent road.
After New Castle’s Zoning Board of Adjustment granted the Select Board’s request for a rehearing of the proposal, a public hearing on the dock was held in May. Minutes from the May 21 meeting show that Select Board attorney Jason Reimers argued that the proposal did not meet the city’s five criteria for a zoning exception. Additionally, he said the dock would interfere with views and use of the Back Channel and create safety concerns because more pedestrians would cross the causeway.
The Kittery Point Yacht Club countered.
“The club believes that the pier promotes public health and safety and does not diminish the values of surrounding properties or alter the essential character of the community,” the public minutes of the May 21 meeting state.
Select board members including Bill Stewart, board chair Jane Finn and Pamela Cullen did not respond to multiple requests for comment this week.
On May 21, sailing coaches and club members from the local high school spoke in favor of the proposal, while some New Castle residents spoke out against the project, saying the dock could disrupt the aesthetics of the branch channel, affect navigation and increase traffic.
Club leaders said city public safety personnel could use the planned dock as a launching pad should a water rescue ever be needed.
“In our opinion, we have been very accommodating to the city of New Castle. We understand that. There are people who don’t want to see anything here,” Pinciaro said. “We would really like to just get access. This has been a fishing village for 400 years. Why did people move to New Castle as fishermen? Because of access to the ocean… We are here at this yacht club because of access. The city is basically trying to deny us access, which I think is not right.”
“Nobody has probably looked at this more closely than Doug and I,” Severance said. “Ultimately, we want to build something beautiful that can be appreciated by everyone and used by everyone.”
If finally approved, the dock would be installed between November 15 and March 15, 2025, to avoid disturbing the sturgeon population in the back channel, according to the May 21 meeting minutes.
The plan would ultimately need to be approved in a separate process by the New Castle Planning Board and the New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services.
Before the planning board heard the club’s proposal, the city’s building inspector rejected the proposal. Pinciaro said the club expected the building inspector to reject the plan because it did not meet building codes.
City Administrator Michael Tully did not respond to a request for comment Wednesday.
The July 10 Zoning Board of Adjustment meeting will be held at 7 p.m. in the Macomber Room at 301 Wentworth Road.
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