Letter
from Jeff Lewis, noted author and Castine resident, to
Maine's elected officials
Dear
People,
I'm writing you with some urgency on behalf of myself and a
fair number
of others who are uniformly distressed and dismayed by the
Maine
Maritime Academy's attempt to purchase one of Castine's
most beautiful
and historic structures and the large parcel of land
accompanying it,
blatantly ignoring the stated intention of Castine's zoning
ordinance.
Castine is one of Maine's treasures, beloved in books of
New England's
"most beautiful villages" and a magnet for tourists. But it
is a
delicate treasure. The streets and houses surrounding the
Maritime
Academy are the thin representations on which its historic
charm rests.
It was for this reason that, years ago, and explicitly, the
town voted
to confine the Academy's institutional footprint in Castine
to a
limited district which directly adjoins the historic
village.
What is happening now is a slow-moving trainwreck, which
will likely
entail expensive litigation on all sides, a black eye for
the Academy
in many public forums, great distress and long-term
disharmony with a
large proportion of Castine's citizenry, and an enormous
waste of
everybody's time and true institutional interests.
I am aware that the Academy wishes to expand and that it is
considering
doing so where it is legal and welcome to do so, in
neighboring
Penobscot. It does not need to defy the wishes of its
neighbors, which
have been legally expressed in Castine's ordinance, nor
does it need to
spend precious resources buying up Castine, nor does it
need to bull
ahead in the hopes--which in this case may prove
futile--that it can
outspend or outwait the town in court, nor does it need to
unbalance
the delicate harmony which makes its host village a jewel
of the entire
state.
As I say, a trainwreck is coming. Really, only you can
prevent it.
And time, as I'm afraid you know, is short.
Sincerely yours,
Jeffrey Lewis
