RAYMOND — The town announced Tuesday that it has asked Cumberland County Superior Court to order the restoration of two properties on Sebago Lake at the center of a series of shoreland zoning violations involving Auburn businessman Donald Buteau.

The Maine Department of Environmental Protection confirmed to the Sun Journal this month that it is also seeking “after the fact permitting” and formal enforcement to restore the site at 18 Fernwood Road and 28 Whitetail Lane.

Separately, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers confirmed it is also still investigating whether there were discharges of fill material below the ordinary high water mark of Sebago Lake, which would be a federal violation.

The properties are owned by Management Properties, the company that controls Buteau’s real estate holdings. Buteau is listed as the managing director of Management Controls and president and chief executive officer of Futureguard Building Products, an awning and door canopy products company headquartered in Auburn. He is also listed as CEO of Dough Masters, a wholesale pizza dough manufacturer also in Auburn.

The contractors hired by Buteau to do the work, Q-Team Inc., Durant Excavating, Big Lake Marine and Robert Durant have also been cited by the town and Maine DEP. The primary contractor, Robert L. Durant and his companies, Big Lake Marine and Durant Excavating, filed for Chapter 13 bankruptcy protection Nov. 30, 2022.

In October 2021, the shoreland in front of the homes at 18 Fernwood Road and 28 Whitetail Lane was transformed in two weeks from its natural landscape of towering trees, native vegetation and rocky shore to an open landscape of at least 400 linear feet of riprap — rock — lining the shore. The town and Maine DEP investigated and discovered no permits were filed for the work, resulting in notices of violation for numerous violations of the state’s shoreland zoning ordinance and unpermitted work.

A news release from the town Tuesday offered its version of events, including the following new details:

“The town has since filed enforcement claims asking the court to order restoration of the properties, assess penalties for the violations, and order the parties to reimburse the town for its legal fees, all of which are provided for in Maine statute.”

“The court asked the parties to give their views to it about how the court should proceed with all of the claims, which the parties have done.”

“The parties are currently waiting to hear from the court about how the lawsuit will proceed.”

Buteau has not spoken publicly about the case, but after being notified by the Sun Journal on Tuesday, offered the following statement:

“Today the town of Raymond issued a press release without the respect of sending me a copy. The continuance of misinformation contained in this document and the constant fight put up by the town’s attorneys is why this is not settled. We have asked the town to issue permits based on the engineering studies submitted by Ransom Engineering to them and the DEP to no avail. It doesn’t require a court order to complete the work, but it does require permits of which none have been issued. There is only fight and fines. The whole process is disgusting. We will continue to fight for fairness regardless of cost and time.”

Lakefront property owner Abel Bates is one of the residents who has spoken out about the violations and has offered support for the town and its code enforcement officers.

“The town is still pursuing the matter and at a pretty high financial cost to the town in legal fees,” he wrote in an email.

Referring to Chris Hanson, assistant code enforcement officer, Bates added, “He, as well and the rest of us, are disappointed that we are getting no support from the state. The town of Raymond should not be totally responsible for protecting a resource that benefits the entire state.”

In a statement from his attorney, Buteau added, “This case has been enormously expensive for the town and everyone else involved, which I attribute to the town being more focused from the beginning on punishment and the fight, rather than just addressing the problem. I can’t think of any other reason why we have not been able to find a solution to fix this issue in the nearly two years it has been ongoing.”

In its news release, the town concluded that “nothing would make the town happier than for restoration to be started as soon as possible. The town has been working with the property owner regarding a plan for over a year now, but the property owner has refused to provide a plan that conforms to the town’s requirements and that adequately restores the property as much as possible to its pre-violation condition.”

Copy the Story Link

« Previous

The Golden Rule docks in Maine to spread anti-war message

Next »

South Portland, state agree to provide transitional housing for asylum seekers