The Boothbay Harbor Board of Appeals granted the Harbor Theatre permission to display an illuminated sign on the front entrance of the cinema. The board voted 4-1 with Cynthia Watson dissenting.

When new mall owner Boothbay Holdings purchased the Meadow Mall in 2011, they disposed of the Meadow Mall pylon, forcing Harbor Theatre owner Jason Sheckley to put up a temporary sign next to the road.  

“The original sign had room for movie listings, which is a standard operating procedure for any healthy theater business,” Sheckley said. “It was the way we have survived.”

But last month, mall owner Tom Ellis requested the removal of the temporary sign, to make way for a new mall pylon to be put in its place. The new mall sign will read “Bank of Maine Plaza,” and will list all the businesses, including the Harbor Theatre, but no movies or show times will be displayed.

Heidi White, the lease administrator for Boothbay Holdings said there will be no movie listings on the pylon because space requirements are maxed out in accordance with Boothbay Harbor's zoning law. The law requires all business signs north of Route 96 to be no more than 64 square feet in total dimensions.  

“In order for all the tenants to be fairly represented, we only have enough space to put each of them on the sign with just their name,” White said. “Even if every spot is not filled we still have to leave each tenant that could possibly be there a spot. It's only fair.”

Boothbay Harbor's zoning codes also prohibits internally lit signs, neon lights, kinetic, moving, rotating or flashing signs, so Sheckley applied for a variance from the board of the appeals to allow a changeable letter LED marquee, to promote movies on the building overhang.

At the June 9 board of appeals hearing, board member Cynthia Watson claimed that many people only access movie listings from the local newspaper.

While the Harbor Theatre's listings are printed frequently in the Boothbay Register, Sheckley said that not only was there a noticeable sales decline when the sign was removed, but tourists who are unfamiliar with the area rely on roadside signage when they are driving past the theater.

“People tend to go to the movies more on impulse, when they are reminded that a particular film is there. That's the critical function of the sign,” said Hamilton Meserve, a supporter of the Harbor Theatre.

The majority of the board found Sheckley demonstrated that the Harbor Theatre met the criteria of an existing hardship and issued him a variance.

In an email to the Boothbay Register, Sheckley wrote, “I am relieved there is a permanent solution in sight, event though the movie titles will no longer be displayed as close to Route 27 as I would have liked.”