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Friday, May 18, 2001

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Campsite OKd by a whisker

Bike Week panel attaches long list of conditions By JOHN KOZIOL Staff Writer LACONIA By the barest of margins, the Motorcycle Technical Review Committee first failed to kill then ultimately approved an application for a campsite at White Oaks Farm, the scene of a confrontation between law enforcement and Bike Week patrons last year. On Thursday, after several hours of hearings, the application of Joanne Pfeuffer for 21 camp sites was approved by a vote of 3-2 with a long list of conditions. The approval also covers installation of tents and portable showers at the site. Pfeuffer owns the farm with her parents, Nicholas and Patricia DeNigris. The committee also approved the citys application for vendor spaces on the Weirs Beach boardwalk. On the White Oaks Farm application, committee Chairperson and City Planner Amanda Simpson cast the tie-breaking vote in favor of the application. Earlier, she had cast the tie-breaking vote against rejecting it. The conditions include: Making 22-foot wide aisles between the parking and tenting areas. Closing the parking-only area at 1 a.m. and providing temporary utility-lighting to it. Prohibiting overnight parking. Installing snow fencing along the entire frontage on White Oaks Road. Allowing only registered guests onto the property. Having a parking attendant on duty at all times. Additionally, only one group campfire is allowed, and that with permission from the Fire Department; two designated, easily recognizable security officers must be on duty from 9 p.m. to 4 a.m. and one officer must work from 4 a.m. to 9 p.m.; the names and qualifications of the officers must be provided to the Technical Review Committee; and a log book, containing the assigned camping site and the name, address, and vehicle license plate information of guests must be kept. Also, the applicants must ensure that no people congregate along the gate to the property on White Oaks Road; provide a contract for the removal of waste water; and post signs along White Oaks Road and on

the farm informing visitors of the rules of conduct and of the consequences for not following them. The applicants have until June 1 to submit a revised plan and to meet all the conditions. The stringent conditions were seen as a reaction to the events at the farm on the night of June 17-18, 2000. According to published accounts, officers investigating a noise complaint filed by a neighbor, were threatened, radioed for back-up and were quickly reinforced by a contingent of state troopers and Belknap County Sheriffs Department deputies. What happened next, however, continues to be a matter of dispute between Pfeuffer and Laconia Police Chief William Baker. The officers cleared the revelers off the property, taking 16 who, according to reports, were too intoxicated to drive, into protective custody. After the incident, Baker said the response was proper and that Pfeuffer had violated the conditions of her permit which allowed overnight parking, but prohibited overnight camping, loitering, or tailgating. Pfeuffer, however, has maintained, and some of her guests were quoted in the press as saying, that the police stormed the area, roused people from their tents and cars with pepper spray and forced them to drive off the lot. After the committee meeting, Pfeuffer said the events at the farm last year were "not our fault or the fault of any of the people who were there." Pfeuffer has "tons of statements," she said, from individuals who observed the conduct of law enforcement, not only on the night of June 18, 2000, but during all of last years Motorcycle Week. She contradicted published accounts that police responded to the farm three times on the night of June 17-18 last year, saying, based on Laconia Police records she has in her possession, there was only one complaint "and they came in and threw everybody out." Pfeuffer said she would try to meet the conditions set by the committee for the farms permit this year. Her attorney, Lenora Boehm, will review them, she added. The citys application for 14 vendors on the Weirs Beach boardwalk sailed through by comparison by a vote of three in favor, one against, according to Planning Department Administrative Assistant Linda Potter. No food vendors are permitted and three of the spaces are reserved for non-profit groups, said Potter, who has conducted the department review of the applications for the MTRC. The hearing on the citys request was continued from last week, Potter said, because committee members had concerns about public access to park benches on the boardwalk north of the ticket office for the MS Mount Washington and Winnipesaukee Scenic Railroad. The city decided that it would move the benches while the space was being used, said Potter, although city officials have yet to provide the committee with the exact dates for which the permit is being requested. Additionally, the city must provide written statements spelling out their plan for trash removal and the

name and phone number of a person who can be reached anytime in an emergency, said Potter. John Koziol can be reached by calling 524-3800 ext. 5940 or be e-mail at jkoziol@citizen.com