The Boothbay Planning Board tabled Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens’ expansion permit application Jan.31 after the applicant requested more time to present information. The board examined three possible Knickerbocker Lake Watershed Overlay Zone boundary locations before selecting one based on the 2004 WOZ District approved by voters and updated, in December, by an Eliot engineering firm.

The watershed overlay boundary line is a central point in CMBG’s expansion permit. Municipal land use code restricts uses within the WOZ. In December 2016, the board approved phase one of CMBG’s project. In February 2017, CMBG began construction and completed most of the project before Nov. 9 when the appeals board revoked the permit.

The appeals board ruled a botanical gardens wasn’t a permitted use within the zone. The Boothbay code enforcement officer issued a stop work order on the nearly completed project. The order allowed continued work outside the WOZ, if CMBG submitted a new application. The Gardens complied by submitting a new application, but disagreed with the boundary line’s location. Code Enforcement Officer Art Dunlap drew an “approximate” boundary line on CMBG’s site plan based on Boothbay’s voter-approved 2004 Watershed Overlay Zone map.

CMBG’s new application includes the Gardens’ interpretation of the boundary line and shows the expansion project’s  location outside the WOZ. Both the 2004 WOZ map and recent survey, the expansion, a portion of a road and a new visitor center are located within the WOZ. The Gardens’ protested Dunlap’s hand-drawn line resulting in Boothbay hiring Attar Engineer “for projecting a more detailed scale map.” The firm submitted its finding Dec. 11.

During the Jan. 31 planning board meeting, CMBG explained its interpretation of municipal ordinances in determining the WOZ’s boundary. CMBG representatives proposed that watershed overlay zone boundaries move over time. “When a project begins moving dirt then water moves resulting in a changing boundary line,” said CMBG attorney Mary Costigan.

Citing several municipal ordinances, Costigan explained CMBG’s conclusion for where the current boundary line exists. She defined the watershed overlay area as located outside the water reservoir’s protection district to the upland edge of Adams Pond and Knickerbocker Lake watersheds. She also noted a second ordinance citing that boundaries of shorelines, streams ponds, tributaries, etc. all move after construction.

“Grading, changing topography and treating water results in water moving in a different direction. You need to look at how water flows in determining a boundary location,” she said.

According to CMBG representatives, the planning board allowed a changing watershed overlay zone boundary for Boothbay Harbor Country Club’s expansion project in 2015.

But Gaecklein Road abutter Kevin Anthony disagreed with CMBG’s interpretation. He characterized boundary line changes as occurring naturally, not man-made. “If you follow Mary’s logic then, the Botanical Gardens or any entity can bulldoze right up to the edge of Adams Pond or Knickerbocker Lake and that would be the new boundary. The ordinance’s intent is a natural change and we feel the boundary should remain as it was pre-development.”

The four planning board members present agreed with Anthony and reached a consensus for using the December 2016 pre-development one as the boundary. The board offered CMBG an opportunity to “put (the) application on hold” or seek an appeals board opinion regarding the boundary line’s location before proceeding with the review.

The board granted CMBG’s request for a recess to discuss the Gardens’ options. After a 15-minute break, CMBG declined both options offered by the board. Instead, CMBG requested to table the current proposal. “We’d like to continue this to the next meeting,” Costigan said. “We believe the ordinance is pretty clear. This comes to us as a surprise and we’d like to present more information at the next meeting.”

The planning board voted 4-0 to table the application.

Prior to hearing CMBG’s application, the board voted 4-0 to approve a permit for the David Brett family of St. Petersburg, Florida to renovate its Negro Island cottage. The board approved plans for raising the roof’s ridgeline and grandfathered use regarding volume. The expansion also calls for exterior front porch renovations including a deck, porch cover, bench seating and an attached storage shed.

The board will meet next at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 21 in the municipal building’s conference room.