Despite more than two months of discussion and a pending court case involving his application for an indoor gun range and retail store in Warner, Dragonfly Holdings LLC owner Eric Miller said he isn’t worried.
He’s so confident the Warner planning board will approve his application during their next meeting on June 19, Miller said he is holding fast to his June 20 closing date for the sale of the proposed site with property owner Richard George of Webster.
Yet, it might not be as hastle-free as Miller hopes. His proposal is already facing a legal challenge on procedural grounds, and the property owner has lined up a second buyer who’s waiting in the wings.
A Merrimack County Superior Court judge is scheduled to hear arguments on June 26 from abutter MadgeTech Inc., that Warner’s Zoning Board of Adjustment failed to properly notify the state of New Hampshire, one of the site’s abutters, before granting Miller a special exception on March 8. MadgeTech is arguing the application should go before the Warner ZBA again after Warner’s planning board determined the project had regional impact, and to give abutters who were not properly noticed the chance to speak.
The town of Hopkinton and Dragonfly Holdings have made motions to intervene on the case, which are still pending. State officials replied and said they do not wish to comment on the application, according to Merrimack County court documents.
Meanwhile, the clock is ticking. According to state law, a planning board has 65 days to approve an application, unless a request for an extension is made. Dragonfly Holding’s application was accepted as complete on April 17.
None of that concerns Miller.
“I’ve given them (Warner planning board) everything they’ve asked for,” Miller said. The board requested Miller hire a consultant to study his proposed lead reclamation methods, which is due on June 19.
“I’m positive that we’ll start building in July and be watertight by winter,” he said.
It’s unclear how the court case will affect Miller’s application. But Richard George, the owner of the proposed gun range site, is also not concerned about the outcome: he’s taken down the “for sale” sign on his property on Old Warner Road because a second party has expressed interest in the property, he said recently.
Miller has said he does not know who the other interested buyer is, and MadgeTech lawyers have declined to comment. MadgeTech has expressed a desire to complete a $3 million addition to their facilities, but has said they will not do so if the indoor gun range is completed.
George isn’t saying who the second party is, either. “I don’t see how that’s anyone’s business,” he said.
(Caitlin Andrews can be reached at 369-3309, candrews@cmonitor.com or on Twitter at @ActualCAndrews.)