NORTH HAVEN, Maine — A judge will decide whether the town’s appeals board was biased and erred when it approved an expansion of a historic lodge owned by U.S. Rep. Chellie Pingree.
Lawyers for the town, Nebo Lodge and neighbor Steven Wolfram made their arguments Wednesday morning in Knox County Superior Court before Justice Daniel Billings. The judge took the matter under advisement and did not indicate when he might issue a ruling.
Wolfram filed an appeal nearly a year ago of a March 2014 decision by the North Haven Zoning Board of Appeals that upheld a December 2013 planning board’s approval of the construction of a two-story 40-by-26 building on the lodge’s property.
The neighbor’s attorney Catherine Connors argued Wednesday that the matter should be sent back to the zoning board and that the chairwoman of the board should be disqualified from participating because of what the lawyer said were comments that showed a clear bias against her client.
The chairwoman, Kim Alexander, made a comment at a planning board meeting that Wolfram’s actions were objectionable and un-American, Connors said.
Attorney Paul Gibbons, who represents North Haven, said there is no evidence Alexander made such comments other than from allegations made by Wolfram who was listening to the meeting by telephone from Paris, France. Gibbons said when the zoning board heard Wolfram’s appeal, neither he nor his attorney raised any objection to Alexander’s participation.
Connors also argued that construction of the building, which replaced a deteriorated bungalow, violated town ordinances because the lodge is a non-conforming use. The construction exceeded the amount allowed for an expansion and exceeded the amount of development allowed on a lot, she claimed.
Gibbons disputed those contentions in his argument to the judge, saying the restrictions did not apply to the building, which is used for storage, an office and for two employees to live.
Wolfram is a U.S. citizen who lives in France but summers at a home next to the lodge he bought in 2009.
Nebo Lodge Real Estate LLC is owned by Rep. Pingree, whose daughter, Hannah Pingree, oversees operations at the lodge.
The building was completed during the appeals process and the court challenge.
The inn has nine rooms as well as a restaurant and bar.