PARIS — The attorneys for a group seeking to convert a Newry bed and breakfast into condominiums have reaffirmed an appeal of the town’s change-of-use denial, saying a trio of murders at the site in 2006 makes it impractical for use as an inn or rental property.

Newry Redevelopment LLC is seeking to convert the former Black Bear Bed and Breakfast on Sunday River Road from eight bedrooms and six bathrooms into four condos.

Attorneys William Kany and James Mason, representing Newry Redevelopment, also argue that the town’s Planning Board misinterpreted requirements of a shoreland zoning ordinance. The Planning Board denied the application for a permit in November.

The Board of Appeals upheld the decision in February. It also denied the variance requests, saying Newry Redevelopment had not proved that it would suffer “undue hardship” and a loss of a reasonable return if the project were not approved. The board’s finding of fact states that the property was being used as a rental property for employees at the Sunday River Ski Resort and could also be sold as a single-family residence.

Newry Redevelopment appealed the decisions to the Oxford County Superior Court, but the court remanded the matter back to the Board of Appeals. The board upheld its decision in July. Newry Redevelopment has since filed a brief supporting its appeal and asking for a reversal of the second decision or an approval of the variances.

“Being able to convert the inn into four condominiums . . . is not an attempt to maximize the return of the applicant but is instead an attempt to acquire a reasonable return on what was once a very valuable piece of property with a now unfortunate history,” Kany and Mason state in the brief.

The owner of the Black Bear Bed and Breakfast, as well as her daughter and daughter’s friend, were shot to death at the inn over Labor Day weekend in 2006. A guest at the inn was also shot and killed in a remote area near Upton.

Christian Nielsen, a then 31-year-old cook who had been renting a room at the inn, pleaded guilty to the four murders in October 2007 and was sentenced to life in prison. Jonathan and Karen Trudo of Kennebunkport purchased the property one month before Nielsen’s conviction.

Kany and Mason say the Trudos tried to continue running the property as a bed and breakfast, but found it impossible due to its association with the murders. The attorneys say it has also been difficult to rent the property to Sunday River employees for the same reason, and the large size of the residence makes it impractical for use as a single-family residence.

In addition, Kany and Mason say the Planning Board was incorrect in determining that the project did not meet the standards for minimum lot size and shore frontage under the shoreland zoning ordinance.

The ordinance states that such developments need one acre of land and 200 feet of frontage for each dwelling unit, and the Planning Board determined that the condo project would require four acres of land and 800 feet of shore frontage. The property has 3.8 acres and 236 feet of frontage on Simmons Brook.

Kany and Mason say the board had determined that Newry Redevelopment met the standards for change of use, and that the project did not need to be approved for a shoreland zoning permit. They argue that the project would not have an increased adverse impact on the brook, and disputed the board’s determination that a section of the ordinance allowing exemptions of certain requirements only applies to vacant lots.

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