York Town News
Dock enlargement project detailed during rare on-site public hearing
By Larry Favinger
Jeff Donnell and Mark Sewall, owners of Sewall's Dock on the York River, have proposed a project to strengthen the pier, enlarge and extend the dock and build a bait show and workshop on the land to better serve local commercial fishermen. The plan requires approval from the Board of Selectmen. Pictured are, from left, Selectman Len Dorrian, Eileen Sewall, Selectmen Vice Chairman Dwight Bardwell, Selectmen Chairman David Marshall and Town Manager Rob Yandow looking at the plans for the project.
Photo by Larry Favinger
YORK - A sparsely attended public hearing was held Monday, Sept. 25, at Sewall's Dock, located at 2 Seabury Road near Sewall's Bridge, to discuss improvements to make the area more conducive to commercial fishing.
Three of the five selectmen, Chairman David Marshall, Vice Chairman Dwight Bardwell and Selectman Len Dorian were on hand for the session, along with Town Manager Rob Yandow and Eileen Sewall, the wife of Mark Sewall, who owns the property with Jeff Donnell.
Although Sewall and Donnell own the land, the York Land Trust owns the development rights to the property, ensuring that it will remain a place for commercial fishing or marine-related activities in perpetuity.
Eileen Sewall sketched the history of the property, including the time in which a home was proposed for the area. When approval for that project took too long, the property owner decided to seek a place elsewhere and put the property on the market.
"That's when the magic started," Sewall, adding "It was a rough road" for a while as the Sewalls and Donnells worked to get the York Land Trust involved in this first-of-its-kind project, but "eventually we worked it out."
Rob Snyder of the Working Waterfront Coalition described the purchase of this property as "widely regarded as having produced a breakthrough method for preserving fishermen's access to the sea."
There is farmland protected in Maine, but this was the first property protected in such a way for commercial fishing.
Snyder wrote that the York Land Trust was able to become involved "because it felt that the dock was part of the historic and scenic beauty of the York River, and as part of the viewshed, it fell within the land trust's mission to attempt to protect the piece of land from unwanted development."
A proposal is now before town and state agencies to strengthen the pier for commercial use, enlarge the dock and move it out into the York River about two feet.
As it now stands, the dock, which was not built for commercial fishing use, grounds out at low tide due to the build up of silt in the area. The move will allow the dock to remain afloat at all times and will not hamper anyone's use of the river.
Also in the plan is a bait shed and workshop, along with several new pilings.
The York Harbor Board has approved the project and verbal approval has been obtained from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
Still in the works is an approval by the Maine Department of Environmental Protection and as required for the town's building permit process.
The cost of the land was about $700,000 with the land trust paying nearly $400,000 for the development rights and Donnell and Mark Sewall paying the other $300,000.
The selectmen's approval after an on-site hearing is mandated by the state as the dock project is not a hazard to navigation. There were no negatives expressed during the public hearing at the pier.
The proposal will be on the agenda for the board's next meeting at the York Public Library beginning at 7 p.m. on Monday, Oct. 2.
