Dear Editor:

The Boothbay Harbor Board of Appeals received a letter on Jan. 13, 2022 from the Maine DEP stating that it had “received materials” related to the Waterfront Preservation “Park and Marina building permit”. The DEP found that our parking area was non-compliant with state law because the parking lot was not pre-existing but in fact “new” and not behind the 75-foot setback. An attorney representing a Park abutter had been making this same claim for months.

The abutter’s anti-Park website, damaging to Waterfront Preservation’s reputation, was launched based on the DEP letter. These claims that the parking area was “new” were absurd. The proposed parking area pre-existed as the Cap’n Fish Motel. The parking area has been relocated to the greatest practical extent exactly as the Planning Board determined both in 2020 and again in 2021.

On June 22, 2022, the DEP withdrew their objection to the East Side Waterfront Park parking area. Waterfront Preservation has requested FOAA materials to understand how such a costly misunderstanding could persist for so long despite our repeated requests for answers. With the DEP parking area concern withdrawn, Waterfront Preservation will proceed with developing the Park and requesting permits for individual structures as our ordinance dictates and in accord with our approved 2020 Park and Marina site plan.

The current “Park and Marina building permit” under appeal is the only building permit the Planning Board has ever reviewed and approved to our knowledge. Our land use ordinance specifies that building permits are the responsibility of the Code Enforcement Officer with the Planning Board responsible for review of site plans. Perhaps this explains why this building permit is now in the 10th month of review and appeals.

The FOAA materials received thus far unequivocally confirm that our 2020 Park and Marina site plan review by the Planning Board was complete and thorough. Before committing any further financial resources to the permit under appeal, Waterfront Preservation will be seeking to understand if the “Park and Marina building permit” actually conveys any rights beyond what our approved 2020 “Park and Marina site plan” already provides and how exactly they differ.

Boothbay Harbor Waterfront Preservation Board