Although David Stimson gathered over 200 signatures by March 25, his petition to change Boothbay's ordinances to allow boatbuilding in a residential district was not included in the town meeting warrant on May 6.

On April 22, the Boothbay Board of Selectmen unanimously voted to include Stimson's petition on the next available warrant, which might not happen until as early as November 5, the day of the state referendum.

Due to time constraints, the board of selectmen said it would have been difficult for the petition to have made it onto the May 6 warrant.  

“Looking at (the petition) as such a serious thing that affects this entire community, yes it needs to go on a warrant, but I feel like it needs to go on a warrant that's going be given to an entire town with the opportunity vote on it,” said Francis McBrearty, a member of the Boothbay Planning Board who attended the selectmen meeting.

The selectmen agreed with McBrearty, but discouraged scheduling a special town meeting because voter turnout is typically low and they want the largest sample of Boothbay to be represented in a vote for an ordinance change.

Stimson is currently seeking to change the town's definitions of “commercial fishing activities”  and “maritime activities.” The petition recommended adding the word “construction” to the allowed use list, and removing the “construction of boats as a principal use,” clause from the zoning ordinances.

While some critics claim Stimson's petition enables anybody to start up a boatbuilding business in a residential neighborhood, Stimson claimed it would be the planning board that has the final say in regulating commercial boatbuilding operations.

“By voting this in, people are not going to risk having large scale operations springing up in residential areas,” Stimson said. “Anybody wanting to build boats would have to meet all the conditions that the planning board puts forth.”

Two months ago, the Boothbay Planning Board granted Stimson a permit to repair boats. He's been barred from finishing the 50-foot steel schooner that has sat dormant on his property for nine months. The steel schooner has since been moved from Boothbay to Bowdoinham, where Stimson and his two sons have resumed work.

According to Stimson, there has been no effort made to revive his commercial business back in Boothbay, especially since the postponement of the petition.