The Boothbay Board of Appeals concluded deliberations Oct. 17 regarding a permit for Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens. The board has met seven times since March to hear an appeal filed by the Anthony family challenging a December 2016 planning board decision providing CMBG a permit.

The appeals board met twice on Tuesday. The first time was at 3 p.m. during a nearly two-hour site visit to the CMBG expansion project. The board reconvened at 6 p.m. to begin deliberating on all the evidence and testimony heard during the previous hearings. The Anthonys’ appeal centered around whether CMBG was a school or museum and whether CMBG met all criteria required by state and local ordinances. On Sept. 21, three members concluded CMBG “was more like an educational facility.”

But on Tuesday, one member changed his mind. Chairman Dick Perkins joined Scott Adams and Steve Malcom in believing CMBG is more like “a museum” which is prohibited in the Knickerbocker Lake Watershed than a school or educational facility which is allowed.

During the deliberations, Adams and Malcom had concerns about whether or not CMBG had satisfactorily met standards in protecting the Knickerbocker Watershed from contamination. But Perkins and members James Tonon and Jeanne Fuller consistently stated CMBG had met Department of Environmental Protection standards in obtaining a permit.

“They have met the standards, minimally,” Tonon said.

The board will make a final decision at 6 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 9 in the municipal conference room. Board attorney John Shumadine will draft a decision and members will cast an official vote after reviewing it.

Editor’s note: This article has been edited since its original posting.