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In sharp contrast to the Governor’s Island standard, which “favor[ed] the integrity of the ordinance and [said] the regulation stands unless it fails to provide any permitted use to the property owner,” Grey Rocks Land Trust v. Town of Hebron, 136 N.H. 239, 247 (1992) (Horton, J., dissenting) (emphasis added), Simplex and Boccia loosened the reins of the unnecessary hardship test and instructed zoning boards to apply an approach more respectful of the constitutional rights of property owners to

Governor’s Island Club v. Town of Gilford, 124 N.H. 126, 130 (1983); Grey Rocks Land Trust v. Town of Hebron, 136 N.H. 239, 243-44 (1992).

The focus of the prior test was on “[t]he uniqueness of the land, not the plight of the owner.” Grey Rocks Land Trust v. Town of Hebron, 136 N.H. 239, 243 (1992).

Thus, just as a variance acts as a safety valve that “saves the otherwise valid zoning ordinance from death at the hands of property owners with site-specific constitutional claims,” Grey Rocks Land Trust v. Town of Hebron, 136 N.H. 239, 246 (1992) (Horton, J., dissenting), this balancing test provides a safety valve for otherwise reasonable ordinances passed pursuant to a town’s police powers that may be unconstitutional when applied to a property owner with a site-specific constitutional claim

Grey Rocks Land Trust v. Town of Hebron, 136 N.H. 239, 242 (1992).

In overturning the grant of a variance that allowed a landowner to expand his pre-existing nonconforming marina with a boat storage building, we stated: “The uncontroverted fact that the Marina had been operating as a viable commercial entity for several years prior to the variance application is conclusive evidence that a hardship does not exist.” Grey Rocks Land Trust v. Town of Hebron, 136 N.H. 239, 243, 614 A.2d 1048, 1050 (1992).

“The standard of review for this court is not whether we would find as the trial court did but whether the evidence reasonably supports the finding.” Durant v. Town of Dunbarton, 121 N.H. 352, 357, 430 A.2d 140, 144 (1981); see, e.g., Grey Rocks Land Trust v. Town of Hebron, 136 N.H. 239, 248-49, 614 A.2d 1048, 1053 (1992) (Horton, J. dissenting) (noting that “[o]ur role on review is also limited, requiring deference to the trial court’s findings” even where the evidence was “essentially limited

Further, “[a]ny expansion of a nonconforming use must be evaluated in the context of the zone in which it is located.” Grey Rocks Land Trust v. Town of Hebron, 136 N.H. 239, 245, 614 A.2d 1048, 1051 (1992).

Healey, 140 N.H. at 237, 665 A.2d at 366 (recognizing that variances may be granted to preserve “spirit of the ordinance”); Grey Rocks Land Trust v. Town of Hebron, 136 N.H. 239, 245, 614 A.2d 1048, 1051 (1992) (holding that permitting construction of new building would be contrary to zoning intended to protect “scenic, recreational and environmental values”).

Grey Rocks Land Trust v. Town of Hebron, 136 N.H. 239, 242, 614 A.2d 1048, 1049-50 (1992).

Where, as here, the plaintiff does not seek “an expansion of a nonconforming use that involve[s] more than the internal expansion of a business within a pre-existing structure,” Grey Rocks Land Trust v. Town of Hebron, 136 N.H. 239, 244, 614 A.2d 1048, 1051 (1992), and the circumstances are such that “there is no substantial change in the use’s effect on the neighborhood, the landowner will be allowed to increase the volume, intensity or frequency of the nonconforming use,” Town of Hampton, 122

The ZBA, after considering the five requirements for a variance, see Grey Rocks Land Trust v. Town of Hebron, 136 N.H. 239, 242, 614 A.2d 1048, 1049 (1992), voted unanimously to deny the variance and therefore did not reach the special exception issue.

*478 “The variance is the ‘safety valve’ of zoning administration.” 3 E. Ziegler, Rathkopf’s The Law of Zoning and Planning, § 38.01[1] (4th ed. 1994) (footnote omitted); see Grey Rocks Land Trust v. Town of Hebron, 136 N.H. 239, 246, 614 A.2d 1048, 1052 (1992) (Horton, J., dissenting).