Property

Months after the plans for the Maine State Pier in Portland were supposed to have been set, it has fallen through.  The problem is ownership of the ocean floor beneath the pier, and who actually owns it.

City officials and a spokesman for the developer confirmed Wednesday night that negotiations broke down after the state asserted its rights to ownership of the sea floor beneath the pier.

The city has consistently maintained that it owns the ocean floor beneath the pier, based on a deed it was granted by the Maine Department of Transportation in the 1980s for a Bath Iron Works project in Portland.

In a letter dated Oct. 14, Maine Attorney General Steven Rowe said, “After reviewing the history of the Bath Iron Works project in Portland, we do not believe the facts support a stipulation that the city has clear and complete title to these submerged lands.”

– Press Herald

BangorDailyNews.com:

BAR HARBOR, Maine — A land trust that held a conservation easement on a local stable is the new owner of the Crooked Road property, now that it has been sold at a foreclosure auction.

Maine Coast Heritage Trust, which had lent the previous owner the money she needed to buy the 37-acre property, acquired it on Sept. 23 for $410,000.

Joanne Sullivan, former owner of Eochaidh (pronounced yawkee) Stables, defaulted on her mortgage on the property after she became involved in a custody battle with the state over her horses.

Citing concerns about the health of the animals, the state seized 18 horses from the farm in April 2007, about a month after a horse died of colic at the property. Sullivan successfully took the state to court to get back custody of the animals. A judge in Ellsworth District Court ruled last summer that the Maine Animal Welfare Program could keep five of the horses temporarily, but that the rest were healthy and should be returned to Sullivan immediately. The others were to be returned to Sullivan when they regained their health.

Horses not owned by Sullivan that were being boarded at the stables had been returned to their owners while another died in state custody. Eight of the horses were returned to Eochaidh Stables last October.

The EPA released this press release about a recent fine for filling in wetlands.

Robert and Gayle Greenhill, owners of more than 3,200 acres of land on the western shore of Moosehead Lake, will pay an EPA fine of $115,000 for filling 1.5 acres of freshwater wetlands on their property between 2001 and 2005.The filling of wetlands without a permit, which occurred during the expansion of a private airstrip and the development of a rock quarry, is a violation of the federal Clean Water Act and other federal requirements designed to protect wetlands.

This is the second violation of wetlands protections in the federal Clean Water Act by the Greenhills. In 1997, the Greenhills constructed a trout pond on the property, altering approximately 0.4 of an acre without first seeking a permit from the Army Corps of Engineers, as required by the federal Clean Water Act. The Greenhills also did not apply for the necessary permit for the more recent violation. The recent work included the clearing, grubbing, grading, and filling of several segments of forested evergreen and deciduous wetlands – totaling 1.5 acres – on the site.

Central Maine Power’s upgrades are not doubt necessary.  But since it means getting more land and putting up bigger powerlines, many people will fight it.  The Press Herald reports on the beginnings:

Handsome capes and colonials, mature trees and nearby schools make Oakwoods one of this town’s more desirable family neighborhoods. Two high-voltage electric lines strung from 35-foot wood poles on the edge of the subdivision don’t bother most residents. At this time of year, they’re hidden by dense foliage.

That could soon change. As part of a statewide transmission system upgrade called the Maine Power Reliability Program, Central Maine Power Co. wants to expand the width of its utility corridor here by 120 feet and add larger lines strung from towers that would be twice as tall.

That proposal is upsetting to Sheryl Watson, whose backyard abuts the corridor. A mother of three young children, she worries about the potential health effects of electromagnetic fields and humming noise from the more powerful lines. She’s also mindful of how higher towers might affect property values on a street where a neighbor’s home was recently listed for $520,000.

“Is this really a necessary part of CMP’s plan?” Watson asked.

Press Herald:

NORTH WATERBORO — Dale Tarbox says he’s glad to share his small corner of Maine, a picturesque pond with clear water and plenty of bass.So he allows anyone to use a dirt road and trail across his land for launching kayaks, canoes and small motorboats on Isinglass Pond. “It doesn’t bother me, as long as they respect it,” he said.

But he’s had to think twice this summer, Tarbox said as he stood on the road near a pile of discarded roofing shingles, a half-dozen empty beer cans and the carcass of a dead skunk. Posted on a tree above the shingles is a yellow “No Dumping” sign, with a clear warning that abuse could result in loss of access.

“We put those up (in May) after they brought the hot tub in,” Tarbox said.

Landowners like Tarbox are the keepers of a distinctive Maine tradition — open recreational access to privately owned woodlands and waterfronts. But it’s a tradition that may be in jeopardy, as lands are subdivided, populations spread out and abuses test the limits of landowner hospitality.

PressHerald:

The Friends of Great Diamond Island filed a lawsuit in Cumberland County Superior Court this week that seeks to block a 32-unit hotel and condominium project on the site of historic Fort McKinley.

“We think it really is inconsistent, incongruous with the nature of the island. The island is a quiet place,” said William Robitzek, head of the group.

The lawsuit asks a judge to overturn a vote by an island homeowners association in support of the project. The plaintiffs allege that the city of Portland illegitimately voted in the election, casting 23 ballots that tipped the decision in favor of the project and allowed the developer to clear a key hurdle in a quest to build the hotel condos.

City officials deny the allegation.

“We voted in an appropriate, legal way,” City Manager Joseph Gray Jr. said Thursday.