PORTSMOUTH — The end of the road — in this case, the flooded western end of Willow Lane — is nowhere in sight for Carnegie Harbor Village officials hoping to build a large marina on Portsmouth's west shore.

The group's latest plan, to flood the western end of the public road to facilitate a $5 million marina, will be sent to the zoning board of review a week from tonight, said Portsmouth Building Inspector George Medeiros. Though the board signed off on the original marina plan some two years ago, Mr. Medeiros said the group's latest plan "is a major change" from that and will need to earn a special use permit from the board before it can proceed.

The plan — dig out some 24,000 square feet of the road to facilitate marina facilities on both the north and south sides of the road — was approved by the Portsmouth Town Council last month despite protests from a large, vocal group of detractors in the audience.

It differs markedly from the group's original plan approved two years ago. Then, Carnegie officials proposed only to build a marina on the north side of the road, with parking spaces and roads to the south. That all changed for several reasons, Carnegie Harbor Village attorney Neil Galvin said, including regulatory red tape that convinced Carnegie officials that building on both sides of the road would be preferable to building just on the north. For one, he said, such a change would mean that workers would have to excavate substantially less material from wetlands on the north side of the road.

But, said Mr. Medeiros, that shift is not in keeping with the plan originally approved by the zoning board.

"Now (the marina) is going on a different lot and taking up original parking spaces," he said. "They're going to need a special use permit for that."

Tight timing

The timing of this month's meeting — even if approval is granted — could have a major impact on the Carnegie group's plans, which also need approval from a host of federal and state agencies, including the Rhode Island Coastal Resource Management Council (CRMC).

Carnegie is scheduled to appear before that board later this month, and needs to have all approvals in place before dredging can begin. As the state allows dredging only for a short period over the winter, Carnegie officials want to have all their approvals in place soon. If they don't, Mr. Galvin said several weeks ago, the plan will have to be put off until the next dredging window opens more than a year from now.

That's where things get tricky. Mr. Medeiros said it is possible that the zoning board might not be able to get to Carnegie's request at next Thursday's meeting, as the agenda is lengthy. If it doesn't, the board will either hold a special meeting or put it on the next agenda in October.

Given that CRMC officials don't like to sign off on plans unless they are approved by the town in question, said Mr. Medeiros, that could cause problems.

"It's going to be interesting to see" what happens, he said.

The plan

The new plan is to excavate and submerge some 24,000 square feet of town-owned Willow Lane, and build a 63-slip marina inland on either side of it. Wetlands on either side of Willow Lane would be excavated to a maximum depth of just over 13 feet to accommodate the slips, and workers in total would dredge about half an acre of wetlands. Also built would be a public boat ramp with 19 parking spaces and seven boat trailer spaces, and two public paths skirting the north and south sides of the marina leading to the shoreline beyond. Missing from the new plan is a large fishing pier Carnegie originally planned to install.

Nott's first case

Thursday night's zoning board of review meeting will be the first for newly-appointed chairman James Nott. Mr. Nott was named chairman of the board after the resignation of longtime chairman Robert Soares last month.

Want to attend?

What: Zoning Board of Review meeting

When: Thursday, Sept. 16, 7 p.m.

Where: Portsmouth Town Hall, East Main Road

Why: Carnegie Harbor Village officials need special use permit for new marina plan

BY TED HAYES

thayes@eastbaynewspapers.com