OXFORD — Selectmen unanimously voted Thursday night to tell a subdivision owner to comply with town ordinances or face legal action.
According to a note to selectmen from Oxford Code Enforcement Officer Rodney Smith, a subdivision on Bennett Lane near the Mechanic Falls town line and owned by Rick and Karen Bennett does not meet conditions set at the time of approval that the roads be paved.
According to the minutes of the Jan. 13, 2005, meeting of the Oxford Planning Board, the Bennetts were permitted to subdivide the land, and plans said the road would be tarred.
Rick Bennett, in a letter to Smith in 2008, said the only home in the subdivision is his. He requested the town allow him to hold off on road upgrades until he begins selling subdivision lots.
“We have been paying property taxes faithfully on each of the subdivision lots,” Bennett wrote. “If we are required to develop the lane to town standards, we will do so before conveying any more lots on the lane.”
Town attorney Geoff Hole had recommended that the town advise the Bennetts to apply to the Planning Board to see if they would modify the conditions so that paving isn’t required until they seek to sell other lots.
Several selectmen said it would be unfair to other subdivision owners who had complied with the conditions.
“What do you say to the other people who played by the rules?” Chairman Floyd Thayer asked Thursday. “There’s no question he knew what was involved with this.”
Selectman Scott Owens agreed. Bennett “just blatantly thinks he doesn’t have to follow any of the ordinances.”
The board voted to direct Town Manager Michael Chammings to send Bennett a letter, telling him to comply with the Planning Board’s request.
Editor’s note: A previous version of this story said paving was required by town ordinance .When the Bennett Lane subdivision was approved in 2005, town ordinances did not require paving subdivision roads. It was a reporting error.
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