VINALHAVEN, Maine — A judge will decide whether a building erected 10 years ago near the water can remain standing.
Owner John Stevens said the building is a marine-dependent research facility and he cannot understand why the town has worked so hard to try to get him to remove the structure.
“This could happen to anyone. They could come in and ask for a building permit from 13 years ago, and if you don’t have it, they could tell you to tear it down,” Stevens said Monday by phone from Saudi Arabia, where he was on business.
The town, however, contends the building is nothing more than a guest house built illegally too close to the shore.
The second day of a three-day nonjury trial before Justice Daniel Billings was held Thursday, Jan. 28, in Knox County Unified Court. The trial began Jan. 21, and the third and expected final day is scheduled for Feb. 26.
Attorney David Sherman, who represents Vinalhaven, said Stevens moved an old shed located near the shore and replaced it with a new structure. Sherman said Stevens’ contention that the new building is a marine research facility is not credible.
The building had a bed and a couch in it, the town’s attorney pointed out during opening statements on Jan. 21.
Sherman asked the court to rule that the 480-square-foot building was constructed in violation of town ordinances and order its removal.
Stevens’ attorney, Christopher MacLean of Camden, said his client’s view is dramatically different.
Stevens purchased the property in 1990 and had multiple renovations done on various buildings. At every point, he obtained a permit, MacLean said.
Stevens said Monday that he received a permit from the planning board in 2003 to expand the existing building by 30 percent. He maintains that state law allows him the option of building a new structure that is within that size if the existing structure is more than half dilapidated. There was approval for a slab and for the building to be connected to the existing sewer system. A sink, shower and toilet were added in 2007.
The landowner said he consulted with the code officer throughout the process and received his approval to build in 2006 what is there now. Contractors who worked on the project testified at last week’s hearing that the code officer — who since has died — was aware of what was occurring.
The building that was completed in 2006 has been taxed by the town each year since, Stevens said Monday.
“How can the town say it didn’t know the building was there if it has been taxing me since 2006?” Stevens asked.
He said the town record-keeping has been sloppy.
Stevens is a former professor who now operates a business called Visible Assets Inc. He also has worked on marine-related projects, including developing a tag that could be attached to lobster traps to measure the temperature of the water at the bottom where the traps were located. He said this has the potential to help the industry because there is a direct correlation between water temperatures and the amount of catch.
Stevens acknowledged he had put a bed in the building and his brother-in-law had slept there 21 times over four years. He said once the town said the bed needed to be removed, he removed it.
“No one will sleep in that building again,” he said.
Stevens said he stores equipment in the building, including submersible devices that can travel on the ocean bottom.
The Maine Department of Environmental Protection issued him a land-use permit in May 2013 for the building to be located in a natural resource protection area.
MacLean argued that the problem began in 2011 when a new code enforcement officer, Jacki Robbins, was hired. He said the case involves the abuse of government power when the code officer audited his property for permits because of personal animosity.
Robbins said Friday she disputes that contention.
“I didn’t even know the guy,” she said. “Code officers may not be the most popular person when citizens are found to have committed a violation.”
She maintained that all the town planning board did in 2003 was give Stevens permission to renovate and expand his shed by up to 30 percent as allowed by state law.
The building is 5 feet from the shore on Tip Toe Mountain Road. Robbins maintains that the town never issued a permit for the new building. Both state law and local ordinances prohibit structures from being within 75 feet of the shore unless they were there before the law, she said. Robbins said that Stevens has enough land to move the structure to be in compliance with state law and local ordinances.
Stevens said he won’t back down and has spent considerable money to defend the legal action being taken by the town.
“If they can do this me, they can do it to anyone,” he said.