[fatlazyless]

What really surprised me was when the Laconia board approved replacing two hillside, Weirs, Lakeside Ave, homes with a parking lot. It approved tearing them down and leveling the sloping lot down to a parking lot even with Lakeside Ave.

That was bizarre, and it sent a message that the board did not give a hoot how the street looks. It's like they had a row of old civil war era residential homes running along the street on hillside lots with trees and grass. And , the Laconia board of (?) approved digging it out level for a parking lot. The thinking must have been "it's their property and they can do what they want to do."

Apparently, opinions at the Laconia Zoning Board of Appeal become more concerned with appearances in the last ten years, and probably, that dug out parking lot on Lakeside Ave would not get approved today. A lot of good planning from the ZBA helped make the nearby Weirs Cumberland Farm gasoline station look pretty good for a gas station. It blends with the neighborhood, and even the thin orange stripe on the 12 car, canopy has been changed to all-white. For a couple months, after the orange stripe was removed, I notice that Cumberland found a loop hole in the zoning rules by permanently parking a 53' van trailer with Cumberland signs for advertising.

From Sept to June, Weirs Beach is shuttered up and there's not much reason to make the side trip to Lakeside Ave despite its Winnipesaukee view. With a WOW Trail path, it could bring some new visitors to the boardwalk area from April to November.