TEXT OF ARTICLE THIRTEEN: 

Shall the Town (1) approve the acquisition of approximately 42.35 acres of shorefront property from the Estate of Roger R. Norton, Jr., containing a portion of Long Sands Beach located between Long Beach A venue and the Atlantic Ocean, beginning at the intersection of Juniper Road and Long Beach A venue, and running north approximately 3,270 feet to the approximate area of 87-89 Long Beach A venue, consisting of approximately 1.99 acres of upland land (above the high tide line), and approximately 40.36 acres of intertidal land (between the high and low tide lines) and, (2) appropriate a sum not to exceed $4,000,000, plus any additional bond premium, for the costs of the acquisition; and (3) to fund this appropriation, authorize the Treasurer and Chair of the Selectboard to issue, at one time or from time to time, general obligation securities of the Town of York, Maine, including temporary notes in anticipation of the sale thereof, in an aggregate principal amount not to exceed $4,000,000, plus any additional bond premium, with the discretion to fix the date(s), maturity(ies), denomination(s), interest rate(s), place(s) of payment, premium(s), call(s) for redemption(s), form(s), refunding(s), and other details of said securities, including execution and delivery of said securities against payment therefore, and to provide for the sale thereof, to be delegated to the Treasurer and the Chair of the Selectboard? 

Financial Statement: 

Total Town Indebtedness 

A. Bonds outstanding and unpaid $47,889,100 

B. Bonds authorized and un-issued $70,000 

C. Bonds to be issued if the Article is approved $4,000,000 

Total $51,959,100 

Costs. At an estimated interest rate of 3.03%, the estimated costs of these bonds over a period of 20 years will be $1,277,500 interest or a total debt service of $5,277,500. 

Validity: The validity of the bonds and the voters’ ratification of the bonds may not be affected by any errors in the above estimates. If the actual amount of the total debt service for the bond issue varies from the estimate, the ratification by the electors is nevertheless conclusive and the validity of the bond issue is not affected by reason of the variance. 

S/Nancy Graves, Town Treasurer

 A YES vote authorizes an appropriation of $4,000,000. A NO vote authorizes an appropriation of $0.

VOTER GUIDE STATEMENT OF FACT: 

The property that is proposed for purchase is owned by the Estate of Roger R. Norton, Jr. Family members who represent the Estate have decided to sell the property. The Estate approached the Town, and wanted to provided the Town with the initial opportunity to negotiate a potential purchase of the property. 

After negotiations, the Estate accepted an offer from the Town to purchase the property for $4.0M. The Town has performed an appraisal on the property, which returned a valuation of $4.36M on the property. 

The purpose of this purchase would be to preserve continued public access to the beach in perpetuity. If the Town does not purchase the property, it is possible that another buyer could restrict public access to this property. 

Recommended by the Selectboard: 5-0 
Recommended by the Budget Committee: 4-3

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS:

Q: Has the property been taxed? 

A: The property is not currently taxed by the Town of York. It was discovered that the property was not taxed midway through our negotiations to purchase the property. Regardless of the outcome of the proposed purchase, the Town will enter the property into property records in future years, where it will be subject to taxation if privately owned.

Q: Why was the property not taxed?

A: The answer is not known with certainty. It has been speculated that an informal agreement in the distant past was made between the Town, and the previous owner(s), where the property would not be taxed if provided for public use. The Town has not been able to find any written evidence of such an agreement, but it would be consistent with the facts surrounding the property. Either way, this is not a valid way to value the property, so this will be corrected moving forward.  

Q: Can the property really be closed to public access?

A: Privately owned intertidal land in Maine can be closed to public access for all users except those actively involved in “fishing, fowling, and navigation”. Privately owned upland land in Maine can be closed to all users. The Long Sands Beach parcel in question contains both upland and intertidal portions, the upland section can be closed completely, and the intertidal section can be closed to users who are not actively participating in fishing, fowling, or navigational uses.

Q: What is the Moody Beach case? 

A: Moody Beach in nearby Wells is currently the subject to a legal challenge to the above mentioned “Public Use Doctrine”. Landowners of private sections of beach who have decided to post sections of Moody Beach to public access are being challenged in court. The case will likely be heard by the Maine Supreme Court and possibly by the United States Supreme Court. The outcome will either affirm the current status quo in private beach access in Maine (as mentioned above) or possibly add other recreational uses such as sunbathing as public uses allowable in the intertidal.

Q: Will the Moody Beach case change the value of the property?

A: The Moody Beach case may change the value of the intertidal portion of the property, but it will not change the value of upland portion of the property. It is also important to remember that the upland portion of the property controls access across most of the frontage of the property except the area immediately adjacent to the Long Sands Bathhouse, where there is public access directly to the intertidal area.

Q: Can the property be used for other uses (besides a public beach) if it were privately owned? 

A: Initial review of the property by Town staff indicates that the property shows:

1. The property could be divided into two separate parcels.
2. The property could not be utilized for residential development or structures, according to Town ordinances.
3. The property could possibly be utilized for functionally water dependent commercial uses, however those uses would be subject to strict permitting review under the Natural Resources Protection Act (NRPA), which is a federal law administered by the Maine Department of Environmental Protection.

Q: Is the Long Beach Avenue seawall project being constructed on the property in question? Or is it contained completely within the Long Beach Avenue/US Route 1A right-of-way?

A: The seawall project (both the original “slanted” seawall section as well as the improved “granite step” section currently under construction) extends beyond the state-owned right of way along much of the length of Long Beach Avenue/US Route 1A. This includes the sections of seawall along the parcel that is being proposed for purchase.

Due to the age of the seawall, a “prescriptive easement” is considered to exist over the private parcels (including the parcel proposed for purchase) in favor of the Town and the State of Maine, to perform maintenance on the seawall, which supports Long Beach Avenue/US Route 1A.    

Q: What about York’s other beaches? 

A: Long Sands Beach – other than the Town-owned bathhouse parcel, the remainder of the land between Rt. 1A and the ocean is privately owned.

Short Sands Beach – is owned by the Town of York and managed by the Ellis Short Sands Park Board of Directors.

Cape Neddick Beach – is privately owned.

Harbor Beach – The portion of the beach north of the concrete access ramp (toward the Reading Room) is owned by Hartley Mason Trust and made public by agreement with the Town. The portion of the beach south of the concrete access ramp (toward Stage Neck) is privately owned.