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Permit Mix-Up on Messalonskee Lake Construction Project Brings Appeal

August 07, 2007 - Oakland - An appeals board will examine whether a homeowner should be allowed to continue a construction project, now that the code enforcement officer has realized he made an error in approving it.

Code enforcement Officer Robert Ellis admits it was his mistake to issue a permit for a building project on Messalonskee Lake, but he still had to stop construction when he realized there was a problem.

Homeowner Dennis Soule obtained a building permit about a year ago and in June began building an addition on his house at 56 Cedar Village Place, but halted operations a couple of weeks ago when Ellis issued a stop work order. A neighbor's complaint had prompted Ellis to take a second look at the ordinance, and the Maine Department of Environmental Protection advised him he had made an error.

Soule plans to appeal the decision before the Oakland Board of Appeals at 7 p.m. Thursday at the town office. He had already completed 60% of the project.

Town shoreline zoning ordinances limit the volume increase Soule can make to his house to 30% of the existing living space, Ellis said. Ellis said he mistakenly told Soule that he could count the basement space in his calculations.

"He did everything he was supposed to do, according to what I told him," Ellis said.

"But it turns out that he shouldn't have been allowed to use the downstairs portion in his calculation."

The 30% restriction refers to cubic feet. Soule estimates that the difference between his plans and what the ordinance allows you 643 cubic feet, or the equivalent of a medium sized bathroom with a 10 foot ceiling. The addition he is building is about 285 square feet, and the original structure is about 590 square feet.

Soule, a Florida resident who is originally from Yarmouth, said he hopes the Oakland Appeals Board will allow him to finish the project.

"It's a delay," Soule said. "I'm anticipating that they are going to do the right thing and say it's okay to continue. If not... to change the plan at this point would be a significant financial burden for me."

The issue is not quite so straightforward, according to Maine Municipal Association Director of State and Federal Relations Geoff Herman.
The city ordinance is based on state-mandated minimum guidelines, which are administered by the Department of Environmental Protection.

In one sense, the fact that Soule built his addition in accordance with what the code enforcement officer told him should mean that the homeowner can go ahead with construction, Herman said.

"Essentially, if you get a permit to build a house, and you go ahead and build a house, and you act in good faith and do everything you are told, the government is a estopped," Herman said.
But the decision could go either way, depending on the facts to come out in a hearing.

"That's a very interesting story," Herman said. "I think the Board of Appeals will have its work cut out for them."

This article appeared in its original form in the Morning Sentinel August 1, 2007.

Lakes: Messalonskee Lake
Regions: Belgrade


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