APPLETON, Maine — The attorney for the owner of a house that was built in violation of town zoning regulations six years ago acknowledged Wednesday that the structure may have to be removed.
Attorney Christopher MacLean conceded the possibility in the wake of Tuesday’s vote by local residents who soundly rejected a proposed agreement that would have allowed the house to remain where it is rather than be moved or torn down.
Owner Jacob Boyington had offered to pay the town $2,500 as a penalty in an effort to keep the house where it is. The proposal was rejected by voters at referendum Tuesday 284-80.
Code Enforcement Officer C.Toupie Rooney said Wednesday afternoon she did not know what would happen next. Rooney said she would be consulting with the town attorney on Tuesday to determine how to proceed.
But MacLean said later Wednesday that his client had few options. He said Boyington would meet with town officials to see if there is any way the house can be modified to meet the setback requirements. The attorney said he does not know if that is feasible and if it isn’t, the house will be moved or torn down.
The cost to move the house is at least $20,000 and possibly $30,000, MacLean said.
The attorney emphasized, however, that his client has only done things that have been authorized by the town. He said the town issued the initial building permit and later authorized a variance.
The saga of the house began in 2008, when the town auctioned off a 0.18-acre lot in the village center for $4,100 to builder Boyington, who owns Appleton Ridge Construction LLC. The next year, he obtained a building permit from the town to construct a two-bedroom rental house — though abutting neighbors challenged his right to do so from the beginning. They argued that under local ordinances the lot was too small and the house would be built too close to the road. The permit was granted based on an inaccurate description of the property provided by the property owner to the code office, according to court documents.
The home has a 24-foot-by-32-foot footprint and is located 15 feet from the road right-of-way. The town ordinance requires buildings to be 25 feet from the right-of-way.
The issue wound its way through the courts until Justice Jeffrey Hjelm ordered the town in February 2011 to rescind the building permit. He later ruled in May 2014 that the town’s zoning board of appeals also erred in granting a zoning variance.
The town’s code enforcement officer then ordered Boyington to comply with the town ordinance, and last year said she did not know how that could be accomplished without the house being removed. The town filed a land use complaint against Boyington at the end of February, and a hearing on it had been scheduled for April 27 in Rockland Unified Courts but was postponed at the request of the town in order to let the town vote on the proposed agreement offered by Boyington and MacLean.
A request by neighbors Paul and Rita Gagnon and Lorie and Patrick Costigan to intervene in the court case has been opposed by the town.
The neighbors are arguing that the town cannot waive the enforcement of a zoning law.
The town has spent more than $33,000 in legal fees on the case.