An alleged violation was the subject of Monday’s Planning Board meeting.
BUCKFIELD – Town officials are not sure who to bill for a five-acre lot in Hallie Estates, which is on Hallie Way, a dead end road off Route 124.
In a discussion before the Planning Board Monday night, it was established that the five acres belong to Tony Starbird. Starbird says it was conveyed to him by his father, Chuck Starbird, and not to lot 2, which contained 1.44 acres and at one time belonged to him. His lawyer, Ted Kurtz, argued that the parcel was conveyed directly to Starbird and not to his lot.
However, that creates a fifth lot that the Planning Board did not approve in the original subdivision proposal. In 1999, Chuck Starbird developed the land plan of three building lots with 79 acres remaining.
Lot 2 minus the five acres belongs to Jesse Richter and Angela Cobisi. Another abutter to the five acres is lot 4, which contains 79 acres, less the five acres conveyed to Tony Starbird, and belongs to Lisa Pugh and Lisa Brackvill.
Planning Board Chairman Wes Ackley clarified the violation by saying when lot 2 was conveyed to Richter and Cobisi, it should have contained the five acres. He also asked owners of lots 2 and 4 if they knew five acres did not go with their purchases. They all agreed that they were aware that the five acres belonged to Starbird. Pugh and Brackvill said they assumed the five acres would go with Lot 2 when it was sold.
Kurtz said that a division accomplished by donation from family does not create a lot. He asked for evidence from the town that Starbird intended to circumvent the law by not selling the five acres with Lot 2. He asked Ackley if he had consulted with Maine Municipal Association legal counsel. Ackley countered that it was not his job but that of the code enforcement officer to seek legal advice. He added that the board was not an enforcer for the town but it passes opinions to the code enforcement officer and Town Manager Cindy Dunn.
Board member Judy Berg offered a motion to say the Planning Board did not establish a buildable lot when it granted the five acres to Starbird and the code enforcement officer should be aware of this.
Two other motions written by Ackley were passed to submit to the code enforcement officer and the selectmen. They were as follows. “The failure of Tony and Cathy Starbird to include all their contiguous land within Hallie Estates in their sale of Lot 2 from that subdivision to Jesse G. Richter and Angela D. Cobisi is a violation of the state subdivision regulations, which must be corrected by the town with legal action by the town if necessary.
“The failure of Tony and Cathy Starbird to convey to Jesse G. Richter and Angela D. Cobisi five acres, which were separated from Lot 4 of Hallie Estates to be conveyed to Lot 2 of that subdivision, is a violation of the approved revision 1 of that subdivision.”
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