A Boothbay summer resident entered into a consent agreement May 10 requiring her to replant a parcel bordering her Barters Island Road property. Mary Lou Teel of New York City avoided a fine by agreeing to replant land owned by Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens.

In November 2016, Code Enforcement Officer Art Dunlap ruled Teel violated the land use code by cutting vegetation within 250 feet of the upland edge of the coastal wetland. The property is in the Shoreland Overlay zoning district. Teel cleared vegetation on property owned by the Botanical Gardens. She claimed her deed provided her with the right to trim vegetation on the abutting property to establish a view scape. The Botanical Gardens claimed she had no right to trim vegetation on its property without permission.

Both parties filed lawsuits against each other in U.S. District Court in Portland.

Under the consent agreement, Teel is required to replant the land at her expense based on a planting plan prepared by Penobscot Environmental Consulting, Inc. The planting should occur between April 1 and Nov. 1. All initial planting activities must be fully complete before July 14, according to the agreement.

The Botanical Gardens shall cooperate with Teel in good faith in her efforts to implement the plan. The agreement calls for 100 percent replacement of all dead plantings between Jan. 1 and Dec. 31, 2018. Successful retention of 80 percent of all plantings is required between Jan. 1 and Dec. 31, 2019.

The agreement requires Teel to withdraw her land use violation appeal. She is also required to pay $10,777.73 for the town’s outside landscape architect consultant and attorney’s fees. Teel also agreed to pay $5,000 for an outside architect’s fees for 2017, 2018 and 2019.

Once Boothbay’s code enforcement officer determines Teel has fully complied with the agreement, her $10,000 fine shall be suspended. The selectmen, Teel and CMBG officials negotiated the agreement in an executive session prior to the May 10 board meeting.