WATERFORD – The appeals board has decided the town can enforce the removal of sheds, porches and decks from recreational vehicles parked by Keoka Lake.
In an unanimous vote, Waterford’s three-member appeals board voted against the owners of Keoka Beach Camping Area, taking the latest step in what has been more than a year-long dispute. The town is trying to gain control of what they consider unregulated expansions of RVs in a protected ecological zone surrounding Keoka Lake. Local officials insist that the RVs, many of which are stationed there year-round, resemble cottages and need to be treated like any lakeside residence.
In December 2004, the town’s code enforcement officer issued three letters to the campground owners, Searles Excavation, informing them that certain RVs parked at their camping sites were violating town ordinances.
The major zoning problem – out of three that Code Enforcement Officer Albert Holden found – was that RV owners closest to the lake appeared to have added structures to their vehicles, such as walled-in porches or sun rooms, without asking for town permission.
According to a town law, which has been in effect since 1989, no new building is allowed within 100 feet of the lake. Also, if a property owner within 250 feet of the water wishes to add to a structure, he must apply for a permit, and the addition must not increase the size of the main structure by more than 30 percent.
This matter originally went before the appeals board last February, but that meeting was continued. Over the past year, lawyers from both sides have tried to negotiate, but have failed, local officials said, bringing the case back before the board.
Selectman Whizzer Wheeler at the Tuesday meeting read tax documents that he said showed that about 22 RVs within 100 feet of the lake had expanded more than 30 percent since 2000, some by as much as 200 to 300 percent.
“Fifty-three percent of taxes come from the lakefront alone. We can’t do anything to damage that property,” Wheeler said, of land around the entire lake.
But the Searles’ attorney, James Belleau of Auburn, said that those additions were grandfathered because they predated 1989. And he argued that the town did not have sufficient evidence to prove the accessory structures were built after that.
Chris Searles, who manages the campground, said he’s been working at the campground for 19 years and can remember many of the structures from that time.
Wheeler said in a phone interview Wednesday that the decks may once have been cement pads, pallets or even steps, but had grown to be porches with windows and roofs in over the years.
Searles conceded at the meeting that a few RVs were breaking town law. But he has asked these owners to reduce decks that are too big or remove porch walls, Belleau said.
After a meeting that went on for more than three hours, the appeals board made its decision.
Board member Larry Stretton said he was convinced by Wheeler’s descriptions of the changes in RV dimensions between 2000 and 2004, as well as by photographs the town presented that documented changes. Belleau argued these photographs were questionable.
Board member John Eaton did not vote because he missed the original meeting, but he said he would dissent from the board because the RVs were around before the laws came in.
“A lot of people are not going to be very happy about this,” Wheeler said Wednesday. “Now that there is a decision, there might be impetus for us to work something out with the Searles.”
Belleau said he would discuss possibilities with his clients, including appealing the board’s decision to the Superior Court.
The town and the Searles did come to an agreement over two other matters. The town had asked that the campground provide permits for additional structures attached to RVs set 250 or more feet from the water. The town dropped this demand. And the Searles agreed to apply for retroactive permits for any additional structures, from decks to sheds, built between 100 and 250 feet from the lake.
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