A variance hearing was held at the request of the Boothbay Harbor Rotary Club at the August 11 Boothbay Harbor selectmen's meeting.

The variance requested that the requirement for subdivisions having to hook into town water and sewer be waived for the lots they wished to create on Montgomery Road.

Since Board of Appeals Chairman Cyndi Watson resigned in July, it left the board with only two members. A board requires a minimum of three members to function, so all variance requests now go to the selectmen until such time as the Board of Appeals is reformed.

The Rotary Club wished to divide their land into three lots, and sell off two of them while constructing a new clubhouse on the remaining land. When three or more lots are created within a five-year period, it triggers a subdivision rule, requiring hooking into town water and sewer. Another lot was split off and sold in 2013.

Jim Stormont, a member of the Rotary Club, was present to present the request. Chairman Denise Griffin, due to her husband Chip Griffin being a member of the club, recused herself from the discussion due to a possible conflict of interest.

Stormont said that the most the club felt they could get from the land they were selling was around $70,000, and the costs of connecting to just sewer was in excess of $90,000.

The board asked if the club needed to sell the land quickly, or if they could wait, since the rule was only triggered if three lots were created within a five year period. Stormont said there was no rush.

“I'm torn on this,” Selectman Bill Hamblen said. “The Rotary does a lot of good for the town, but we can't just ignore the law.”

For a variance to be granted, four criteria need to be met: one, that the property, without the variance, is unable to yield a reasonable return; two, that the need for the variance is due to the unique nature of the property itself; three, the granting of the variance will not alter the general character of the area; and four, that the hardship being compensated for is not due to actions of the owner.

Since waiting was not a hardship for the club and doing so would allow a reasonable return, and the property in question was not unique to the area, the board voted 4-0 to deny the variance request.