TIVERTON — Because of the objections of neighbors and an order from the building inspector, it is possible that youngsters in Tiverton Yacht Club's summer swimming and sailing programs will have to make do without a bathroom. And without a bathroom, the swimming program might cease to exist.
The swimming program has been run during the summers in the yacht club pool at 58 Riverside Drive, above and across the street from the docks that serve as home base for the club's sailing program.
Right next to the pool lies the concrete foundation of the old Yacht Club clubhouse that burned in 2003. The club has about 150 member families.
The neighbors, David and Kathleen Campbell and John and Eileen Moran, whose homes and lawns abut the club's pool site to the north, south, and uphill, have been engaged in a years' long battle with the club about the design, permitting, and rebuilding of the clubhouse.
They sued, and last fall a Superior Court judge ruled among other things that swimming lessons may not be offered to non-members because that would be a commercial activity in violation of a zoning ordinance. That ruling knocked out about half the swimming lesson program.
The club's summer swimming program has been offered for years to about 35 club members' children (currently at $80 each) and the children of non-members (currently at $100 each) for seven summer weeks. The split is about 50-50 said Wayne Karzenski, the club's vice-commodore, who also heads the summer program.
The second impact oncerns the temporary bathroom facility the club is using in the absence of the destroyed clubhouse.
In the spring of 2005 the club placed an 8- by 28-foot trailer behind the swimming pool. Sitting up on jacks and off its wheels, the trailer has a men's room and a women's room, each of which has a toilet, sink, shower and a small changing area.
Last spring, town building official Gareth Eames granted a temporary building permit for the trailer, on the grounds it was a "temporary structure." The club says that the trailer is not a permanent part of any plan for a rebuilt clubhouse, just a solution for the meantime.
The neighbors appealed Mr. Eames' grant of a temporary permit to the Zoning Board of Review, in part on the basis that the bathroom structure is not temporary. The board upheld Mr. Eames' grant of a permit, and the neighbors promptly appealed to Superior Court. That appeal is still pending.
Whereas last year the dispute centered on whether the bathroom facility was temporary or not, this year the question hinges on whether the structure is "parked" or not.
Last fall's court decision (to which the club is considering an appeal), accepted an argument by the neighbors that "parking" in general is prohibited on the yacht club premises.
Citing that ruling, Mr. Eames on March 12, 2008 issued a notice of violation to the club, and in a letter told Mr. Karzenski: "You are hereby ordered to immediately remove the above cited trailer."
The club has appealed the orderto the Zoning Board of Review, which had been scheduled to meet Wednesday evening, May 7. However, since only four board members will be present, the matter will be continued to Wednesday, July 2.
The Campbells (Mr. Campbell is a lawyer) contend that "state and local law do not permit a commercial operation to use porta potties."
Mr Campbell said the structure on the trailer "is either a vehicle, located where the court said no parking, or if it's a structure it's an expansion of a non-conforming use," and presumably is in violation of the zoning ordinance.
Meanwhile, the club's appeal to the zoning board buys it some time, according to Mr. Eames. Until the Zoning Board has ruled, the trailer may stay put and the bathrooms it houses can be used.
In another matter, a large dumpster being used for cleanup sits next to the bathroom in the parking area near the pool. Mr. Eames said he "does not see the dumpster as presenting a parking issue."
Other wrinkles
Other scenarios seem to abound. The Yacht Club is presenting design and rebuilding plans to the building official at the end of this week, and if a building permit is issued for construction of the new clubhouse, temporary bathroom facilities would appear to be required by law at the construction site. The trailer already on the premises stands ready to meet the need.
And what if the zoning board appeal fails, and the zoning board rules against the club, Mr. Karzenski said "we have ideas. I can't tip my cards."
"I feel the Tiverton Yacht Club is a huge benefit to this town, he said. "I feel what the neighbors are doing is depriving the town and the neighborhood of a great place for kids."
By Tom Killin Dalglish
tdalglish@eastbaynewspapers.com