Charlton v. Town of Oxford

2001 ME 104, 774 A.2d 366, 2001 Me. LEXIS 110
CourtSupreme Judicial Court of Maine
DecidedJuly 12, 2001
StatusPublished
Cited by72 cases

This text of 2001 ME 104 (Charlton v. Town of Oxford) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Supreme Judicial Court of Maine primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Charlton v. Town of Oxford, 2001 ME 104, 774 A.2d 366, 2001 Me. LEXIS 110 (Me. 2001).

Opinions

RUDMAN, J.

[¶ 1] William and Barbara Charlton appeal from a judgment entered in the Superior Court (Oxford County, Gorman, J.), after a nonjury trial in favor of the Town of Oxford, its Code Enforcement Officer, Rodney Smith, its Planning Board, and Carl Delekto. Finding no error, we affirm the judgment.

I. BACKGROUND

A. Procedural History

[¶ 2] Count I of the Charltons’ amended complaint contained an appeal, pursuant to M.R. Civ. P. 80B, from the decision of the Oxford Zoning Board of Appeals (“ZBA”). Count II alleged that Delekto’s construction constituted a nuisance pursuant to 30-A M.R.S.A. § 4302 and sought injunctive relief. Count III requested a declaratory judgment and injunctive relief against the Planning Board and Delekto. Count IV of the amended complaint requested a declaratory judgment finding that Delekto had violated various land use statutes and ordinances. Count V alleged negligence by Delekto and sought compensatory and punitive damages. Count VI demanded damages from Delekto for nuisance, pursuant to 30-A M.R.S.A. § 4302 and the common law.

[¶ 3] The court first considered Count I, the 80B appeal from the refusal of the ZBA to hear the Charltons’ appeal, concluding that it was untimely. The ordinance required that an appeal be filed within thirty (30) days of the issuance of the building permit to Delekto. See Oxford, Me., Code § 19(G)(4)(a)(1) (March 12, 1994). The permit was issued October 1, 1997; the appeal was taken August 5, 1998. The Superior Court (Oxford County, Perkins, A.R.J.) affirmed the decision of the ZBA. The Charltons did not appeal from the Superior Court’s decision affirming the decision of the ZBA.

[¶ 4] The remaining counts in the Charl-tons’ complaint were tried by the court without a jury. The court found in favor of the defendants on all counts in the complaint. The Charltons timely appealed and Delekto cross-appealed from that portion of the court’s order that was adverse to him. Because we affirm, we do not reach the issues raised by Delekto’s cross-appeal.

B. Factual History

[¶ 5] The Charltons own land and a cottage located on Thompson Lake in Oxford. Delekto owns an adjacent parcel of land. On August 28, 1997, Delekto submitted a Shoreland Zoning Application to the Oxford Planning Board seeking to build a new structure; the application was approved that day. On October 1, 1997, the Town issued Delekto a building permit. Despite an ordinance requiring notification, the Town failed to notify the Charl-tons, who reside in Massachusetts, that Delekto had applied for, and was granted, a building permit.1

[369]*369[¶ 6] The trial court, in its well-reasoned and thoughtful decision, found that Delek-to’s house, garage, and breezeway violated the permit issued by the Planning Board in several ways:

1. [T]he Ordinance mandates that a “replacement” structure within the Shoreline Zone cannot be more tha[n] 30% larger than the footprint or the volume of the nonconforming, existing building. Measurements taken by Richard Baker demonstrate that the shoreline floor area of the existing building was 632 square feet. Therefore, the shoreline floor area of the new building could only be 822 square feet under the Ordinance. According to Richard Baker, this building exceeds that by more than 1000 cubic feet. Mr. Baker also measured the volume of the existing building at 5412 cubic feet. Again based upon the Ordinance’s 30% rule, the new building could be no larger than 7036 cubic feet. Plaintiffs exhibit 18.
2. The permit allowed Mr. Delekto to construct a 28' x 44', two-story house with a full foundation, a 28' x 40' garage on a slab, a 12' x 16' deck, and a 12' x 16' breezeway between the garage and the house. The breezeway exceeds the measurements allowed by the permit.
3. The permit required that the house be set back a minimum of ninety feet from the high water mark. Parts of the structure are approximately eighty-six feet from the high water mark.
4. The permit allows the structure to be no higher than 24 feet. It is 32 feet high at the garage. The height of the house is unknown, but any measurements taken on the non-water side of the house must be increased by 3.5 feet to accommodate the fill Mr. Delekto added to the land. Ordinance definition of “height of a structure,” p. 72.
5. There are more than 492 square feet within 90 feet of the high water mark.
6. More than 492 square feet of the structure are within 100 feet of the high water mark.

[¶ 7] The court also found other violations with the building construction and site:

1. The garage and the breezeway both have full foundations. The permit does not provide for a full foundation for any structure except the “house.” The basement under the garage is currently being used to store building materials, snowmobiles, and water craft. The basement under the breezeway will be used as living space.
2. Mr. Delekto built a drainage ditch that also serves as a retaining wall immediately next to the boundary between his land and the Charltons’ land. The ditch/retaining wall is a structure pursuant to the definition contained within the Ordinance:
[A]nything built for the support, shelter or enclosure of persons, animals, goods or property of any kind, together with anything constructed or erected with a fixed location on or in the ground, exclusive of fences[,] streets and sidewalks. The term includes structures temporarily or permanently located, such as decks and satellite dishes. [370]*370Ordinance, p. 76. The permit requires that there be a minimum of twenty-five feet between any structure and the boundary line.
3. As noted above, the permit granted to Mr. Delekto did not grant permission for the construction of this ditch. In addition, Mr. Delekto did not obtain a permit from the DEP as required by 38 M.R.S.A. § 480-C.
4. The Ordinance allows for some clearing of trees and brush to allow for construction, but no greater than 10,000 square feet. Ordinance § 17(I)(3)[.] Before constructing his home, Delekto cleared a quadrangle measuring 100' x 85' x 167' x 118'. Plaintiff exhibit 18.
5. The permit allowed for a two-story house and a garage on a slab. The house site slopes down to the water. Rather than remove earth at the road side to create a level area, Mr. Delekto built up that side, and constructed a basement under the house, the breezeway and the garage so that it is entirely above grade on the water side. As a result, the house and the garage rise three stories above the ground at the water side.
6. During the trial, Mr. Delekto installed a 4' x 5' concrete slab next to the garage to allow for the installation of a generator. He was unable to state whether the slab was closer than twenty-five feet to the boundary line, and asserted that he did not believe he needed a permit to install the slab.
7. The Ordinance states that terms not defined therein “shall have the customary dictionary meaning.” Ordinance, § 20(A)(2). The common dictionary meaning of “breezeway” is a roofed open-sided passageway connecting two buildings.

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