Rye Harbor shacks must be saved, owners say. PDA points to big cash losses.

PORTSMOUTH — Supporters and owners of the iconic Rye Harbor shacks came out in force Thursday to protest the Pease Development Authority's plan to potentially replace them with a new building. PDA leaders responded, explaining the harbor is losing hundreds of thousands of dollars and change is needed.

“This idea of a raised strip mall doesn’t belong at Rye Harbor,” said Adam Baker, owner of Vintage Fish Company. “The parking lot can barely support what’s there now."

The PDA's process to potentially develop a new one-story, 12-unit building is underway with a $1 million design study using American Rescue Plan Act funds. Schematic designs show an accessible ramp, with units ranging from 80 square feet to 445 square feet.

Rye Harbor business owners, including those from Rye Harbor Lobster Pound, Granite State Whale Watch, Vintage Fish Company and Black Dog Charters, attended Thursday’s PDA board of directors meeting, calling for collaboration and speaking against the potential new development. Rye residents and other locals implored the board not to ignore community pleas.

Rye Harbor business owners advocate for existing shacks

Baker pointed to the PDA’s long-term contracts with tenants at Pease International Tradeport, such as Lonza in Portsmouth, noting the shack owners’ right of entry agreements to operate at Rye Harbor are on a year-to-year basis, lacking security.

"Not only do I not know if I’m going to lose my business and investments, but now I’m also incurring legal fees, as I’ve retained counsel as I prepare for decisions you may or may not make," Baker said.

“(These) buildings, I don’t know when they became a problem because we have always been self-sustaining with them,” said Rye Harbor Lobster Pound co-owner Sylvia Cheever. “They are built to suit our businesses and have grown and evolved with our businesses as time went on. They’re very specific to us.”

Her father, Rye Harbor Lobster Pound co-founder and co-owner Nathan Hanscomb, feels their current business model cannot operate from the potential new elevated facility, which would share walls with other tenants and make transportation of equipment and fresh catch difficult.

Hanscomb said Thursday he has invested over $150,000 into his holdings, including Rye Harbor Lobster Pound, to make them hurricane-proof and safer from high water levels.

“We’ve learned to live with nature down there. We know that water comes in and water goes,” he said. “If we wanted to save the harbor, I think that an investment into keeping the water out with a properly designed seawall and a floodgate would help manage the water. You have to think down the road (to) what’s going to happen in 20 years. The idea is (that) to secure the harbor and to secure the land, you’ve got to address the water.”

PDA leaders say Rye Harbor is not 'self-sustaining' financially

Stephen Duprey, the chairperson of the PDA’s board of directors, reported that Rye Harbor is not “self-sustaining” and regularly loses money. Legally, he said, the board of directors cannot authorize the allocation of any Pease airport-related revenue to offset the losses at Rye Harbor.

Damage from recent storms has played a large role in the financial strain at Rye Harbor. Suzy Anzalone, finance director for the PDA, said Rye Harbor saw $375,000 in cash loss last fiscal year as coastal storms and flooding battered the region and infrastructure was worn down.

Anzalone said if Rye Harbor continues to operate at a loss, it could lose all its cash in six years. Duprey said he worries it could come even quicker.

“Whether it’s six years down the road, or it’s two years down the road, it’s of paramount importance that we address it. It would be derelict if we didn’t, so we have to come up with a plan that is financially viable,” Duprey said.

In June, Duprey asked PDA staff to research the history of right of entry agreements for Rye Harbor users and the process of being granted a permit to operate.

For too long, the harbor has had an “opaque set of rules” and it’s not immediately clear how much the business owners are paying for their right of entry agreements, Duprey said after Thursday's meeting.

The board of directors are aiming to establish “clear, transparent and open rules” for anyone who wants to apply to own and operate a shack or commercial space at Rye Harbor, according to Duprey.

“It’s an asset that belongs to all the state, not just the people who are there now and just the people who have been there for a short time,” Duprey said.

What will happen to the shacks at Rye Harbor?

No decisions have been made on the future of the shacks. Duprey, a former state legislator and owner of Foxfire Property Management in Concord, said more could be added, or they could remove the structures, which would require answers about the compensation owed to business owners for the loss of personal property.

““We would be derelict in our duty if we didn’t explore different ways to try and get rid of that deficit and build up a fund to fix the harbor long-term,” Duprey said.

Parking availability on the Ocean Boulevard lot is an oft-cited concern from the business owners and community members due to boat storage at the site, an issue being reviewed as part of the design study.

“The impetus for doing a quick study was to see if it was feasible to do additional shacks or replace and relocate the shacks. I think we can do that,” Duprey said. “We’ve had the staff doing a lot of work. We haven’t seen a lot of those reports yet.”

Duprey is confident in the PDA’s ability to find solutions for the future of the harbor, projecting the study will make progress this fall.

Paul Brean, executive director of the PDA, previously said the federal grant covering the design study expires at the end of 2024.

“We have to make this harbor totally environmentally sustainable, but we (also) have to make it financially viable,” Duprey said.

Supporters, owners of harbor shacks speak out at PDA meeting

Peggy Balboni, a Democratic state representative for Rye, called on the PDA’s board of directors to work with the business owners and better communicate their intentions. In an interview, she suggested a PDA board liaison report back to the Rye Harbor shack owners and operators as the design study and future proceedings progress.

Around Balboni, supporters of the Rye Harbor businesses piled into the PDA meeting room and lined the hallways Thursday morning.

“It’s a part of our community,” she said of the shacks. “That’s why we’re here.”

Granite State Whale Watch could not operate as it does currently in a smaller unit within a new building at Rye Harbor, according to Pete Reynolds, the owner of the company.

During a thunderstorm last weekend, about 50 people sought shelter in the Granite State Whale Watch’s existing building.

“I just hoped you guys would open up this process a little more,” Reynolds said Thursday. “Seems like it’s been a little closed door thus far. Things are kind of behind the scenes and you’re seeing today where everyone’s a little frustrated with the lack of information.”

Duprey said it’s “not an unfair criticism” from business owners.

“We’re going to have lots of hearings,” Duprey said. “I guarantee when we’re done with this process, there will be nobody who thinks they haven’t been heard. They may not like our decision, but nobody will be able to complain that they weren’t heard.”

Appledore Marine Engineering has been contracted to assist with the design study for the possible Rye Harbor development, which has not yet gone to Rye's land-use permitting procedures for approval.

“We’re not making any decisions today, or imminently,” Duprey assured. “What is going to happen? We are going to have a full discussion, and we have asked the staff to look into past practices about who has shacks, who uses the harbor, what’s the best use of the harbor? How do we deal with things like that massive storm that we had this spring?”

This article originally appeared on Portsmouth Herald: Rye Harbor shacks must be saved, owners say. PDA points to big cash losses.