A Dukes County Superior Court judge has ruled in favor of the town of Edgartown and the Harbor View Hotel in a lawsuit that has been in the works for more than half a decade.
Based on Superior Court Judge Raffi Yessayan’s ruling on Wednesday, the Harbor View Hotel is allowed to continue operating its new pool bar, despite concerns from residents living in the area.
Judge Yessayan approved a decision made by the Edgartown zoning board of appeals (ZBA) in 2019 that allowed the hotel to construct the pool bar in the face of complaints from abutting residents regarding excessive noise, the pool bar being constructed and operating outside its original permitted area, and lack of notification of a hearing that approved the construction.
“We are very happy and gratified by the court’s decision in the case,” said Rod Jané, vice president of development for Upland Capital Corp., owners of the Harbor View Hotel. “I believe the court’s decision was the right decision. It reinforces that the hotel has worked hard to do things in the right way and equally, so that the town’s boards and employees have been very professional and transparent in how they have handled all the projects at the Harbor View Hotel.”
Plaintiffs Lynne Allegaert, Mark Dalton, Hume Steyer, Joseph Smith, Geoff Caraboolad, and Richard Zannino initiated litigation after the zoning board granted a special permit in May 2019.
The plaintiffs claimed the town of Edgartown failed to properly notify residents of the ZBA’s hearing that approved construction of the new pool bar’s location, which they argued denied them the opportunity to voice concerns. The plaintiffs requested that the 2019 special permit granting the new pool bar be sent back to the ZBA for a new hearing where all parties can be heard.
But the defendants claimed the ZBA did mail notices to plaintiffs and others on a list of abutters, and that the plaintiffs failed to carry their burden of proving the notices were not mailed; they also argued that they were acting within their original 1992 permit.
The superior court ruled on Wednesday that the ZBA met requirements for notifying residents, and that the plaintiffs were not wronged in the notification process. The court also ruled that the pool bar met the requirements of a special permit from 1992 that allowed food and drinks to be served in the area.
Good for the Harborview. As long as they adhere to noise regulations, they did their part in moving forward legally. The pool bar will be a great addition to their lovely establishment that has been serving MV since 1891.
Too bad..The Harbor View always had a quiet mystique that added to the charm and elegance of the hotel..pool bars are trashy, no matter what you say, and in a neighborhood will always add noise, there’s no getting around it.
Absolutely ridiculous the Harborview can’t prove they sent notifications. As far as abusers go how can they prove they never got notices that were never sent? The Harborview pool area is way larger than they were originally granted.. Another case of ignore the rules and beg forgiveness from the court.
This is why we need tort reform and the losers here should be footing all the legal bills. This was a Nimby lawsuit.
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