York Town News
Dock proposal brings residents, officials out to water's edge hearing
By Larry Favinger
Approximately a dozen people attended an onsite public hearing conducted by the Board of Selectmen at property owned by Dana Willis. Willis is seeking to place a dock on his property, but the proposal has been met with staunch opposition. It has since gone all the way to the York County Superior Court and is now before the Board of Selectmen. Residents, local officials, Willis and three selectmen attended the hearing on Monday, Nov. 20, but no decision has been made on the pending license.
Photo by Larry Favinger
Willis' proposal for a dock near the mouth of York Harbor opposite 121 Western Point Road has fostered controversy from its inception. There have been denials, inspections, court cases and, Monday afternoon, Nov. 20, an onsite public hearing on the proposal.
The hearing was held before Selectmen Chairman David Marshall, Michael Estes and Torbert Macdonald, Jr. More than a dozen people were in attendance, including representatives of the applicant, neighbors and others who the placement of the dock will likely impact. Both recreational and commercial boaters were on hand to discuss the project and make their feelings known.
Marshall made it clear from the start that the onsite hearing, mandated by law, would be recessed and the topic taken up at the selectmen's meeting on Dec. 11 at the York Public Library. Following that session, a decision by the selectmen is expected.
The project has most of its needed permits but must have a license from the selectmen to proceed.
The dock has faced opposition throughout the local approval process, but a York County Superior Court judge ruled the project could go forward in face of a denial from the Harbor Board, the local group that usually has the final say on such proposals.
Attorney David Ballou represented the Willis proposal, as did Sara Newick, former local harbormaster, now a project consultant.
Harbormaster John Bridges spoke out against the dock, stressing his interest in the safety of the people who come in and out of the harbor.
"I want to make sure we can present our side of this," Bridges said. "I'm concerned for the safety of the people."
Bridges said those opposed have "been blindsided before" during the process and he doesn't want to see that happen again.
Pat White, a commercial fisherman, spoke in opposition, noting the dangers to fishing vessels as well as private crafts.
"We have a lot of questions," White said, expressing "a very serious concern" of the impact on commercial fisherman of what is viewed by some as an obstruction to navigation coming into and leaving the harbor. He said if the project goes forward "someone is going to be seriously hurt" in the future.
Macdonald said he has serious problems with a dock in the area proposed, and he is particularly interested in the concerns of "men who use the area on a daily basis for their living."
Joseph Donnelly, a member of the Harbor Board, speaking as a private citizen, opposed the dock based on over 50 years of sailing in the area.
He said a sailboat will not be able to sail into the harbor against the tide without power should the dock be allowed.
Code Enforcement Officer Tim DeCoteau said the project's building permit has been issued in compliance with the court order.
"We had to issue the permit," he said.
The permit was issued only after consultation with the town attorney.
Most of those opposed see the dock as an obstruction to navigation, but Ballou countered with the approval of the Army Corps of Engineers, which did not see it that way. The Army Corps approval is already in hand, he said.
Several people echoed concern expressed earlier that those opposed have an opportunity to voice their opposition when the public hearing is continued, and repeatedly received assurance that would be allowed.
The construction of the dock was opposed in two letters read by Marshall at the start of the hearing, one by the Rt. Rev. Mark Hollingsworth, the Episcopal Bishop of Ohio, who termed it dangerous, especially for people coming and going in boats without power. Hollingsworth's family lives on Western Point and he has sailed the area for years.
A court stenographer recorded the hearings. Ballou said this was done because several aspects of the project have already been in court and an accurate record was needed in case more legal action is required.
