Boothbay selectmen will hold an executive session Monday morning regarding two pending lawsuits against the town. Both suits involve the same parties: Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens and the Anthony family. On Wednesday, Jan. 24, Town Manager Dan Bryer notified the Boothbay Register of the executive session.

The two parties are both suing Boothbay regarding a Nov. 19 appeals board decision which denied a permit for CMBG’s expansion project. The appeals board’s decision left neither party satisfied. The board voted 4-1 that CMBG met all the municipal standards except one. The board concluded a botanical gardens was “more like” a museum which is not allowed inside Knickerbocker Lake’s watershed.

CMBG filed suit Dec. 20 in U.S. District Court in Portland claiming Boothbay denied CMBG its constitutional right to due process. A day later, the Anthonys filed suit in Wiscasset Superior Court. The family agrees with CMBG that the appeals board made the wrong decision, but for a different reason. The Anthonys’ suit claims the family was  “aggrieved by the appeals board’s alternative finding because the development doesn’t satisfy all ordinance requirements.”

“The Board of Appeals alternative finding and conclusion of laws were arbitrary and capricious,” according to the Anthonys’ suit. The family also claims the appeals board decision has damaged them. They believe the decision violated their “peaceable enjoyment of the property,” diminished property values, and endangered their and the region’s drinking water supply.

Vaughn and Joanne Anthony are CMBG’s largest abuttor. They live at 117 Gaecklin Road. V. Their son Kevin Anthony lives at 93 Gaecklin Road. Jason Anthony is also a plaintiff in the Superior Court case.

No date has been set for proceedings in either lawsuit.