The owner of Maine-ly Pawn is seeking administrative relief from the Damariscotta Board of Appeals due to his belief that the business has experienced unfair discrimination.
The Damariscotta Board of Appeals will hold a public hearing about the matter at 7 p.m., Friday, Nov. 6. A regular meeting of the board will immediately follow the hearing.
Maine-ly Pawn owner Mark Hoffman submitted the administrative appeal application requesting the meeting Oct. 9. According to the application, Hoffman is seeking administrative relief because his business is “being unfairly discriminated against, again.”
“We’re being singled out as the only business on Business Route 1 being forced to put up a buffer to hide our merchandise,” Hoffman said in a phone interview Friday, Oct. 30. “We shouldn’t be held to a different standard than everyone else in town.”
Hoffman and the town of Damariscotta have been in discussion since June after Hoffman began to display merchandise on his lawn without a conditional use permit. In the C2 zone, which includes most of Main Street beyond the downtown, a conditional use permit is required to display items outside.
After receiving verbal and written notices from Code Enforcement Officer Stan Waltz, Hoffman submitted a request for a conditional use permit Aug. 7. Following a spirited public hearing, the Damariscotta Planning Board ruled Hoffman’s application incomplete at its Aug. 31 meeting. The board said Hoffman failed to submit a plan to show how he would display his merchandise outside.
Hoffman resubmitted his application with a sketch of his plans for outdoor storage for the Sept. 14 meeting of the planning board. Board member Bruce Garren said the plan Hoffman submitted lacked measurements, which would create problems for enforcement.
Board member Wilder Hunt asked Hoffman if his plan included a buffer or screen between his property and neighboring residences as required by the site plan review ordinance. Hoffman said his plan did not include a buffer or screen.
The board again found Hoffman’s application to be incomplete. Following the meeting, Hoffman put a tent up around his merchandise on the front lawn.
In the phone interview Oct. 30, Hoffman said he believed Maine-ly Pawn should be considered “grandfathered” under the ordinance and allowed to display merchandise on the front lawn, as the previous owner of the location used the building as an art gallery and displayed sculptures outside.
“What we’re doing is no different,” Hoffman said. “We’re just displaying things outside in a greater volume.”
Hoffman said he hopes the board of appeals meeting will bring an end to the discussion.
“We need to resolve this,” Hoffman said. “It should not have even gotten to this point.”
Damariscotta Town Manager Matt Lutkus said the board of appeals will be determining whether the planning board and Code Enforcement Officer Stan Waltz upheld the site plan review ordinance.
