Falmouth widow forces vote in zoning ‘war’

FALMOUTH – A wealthy widow who claims the town is waging “war” on her by restricting development of her property is gathering enough signatures to force a zoning ordinance referendum on the November ballot.

“I’m like on top of the world because I think I’m really going to make a difference and help people,” said Mary Alice Davis. She said the ordinance is about “giving people back their liberty.”

If approved, the ordinance would require the town to compensate property owners for value lost because of zoning or other land-use regulations.

Davis is the widow of Howard Davis, son of the millionaire co-founder of Shaw’s Supermarkets. She owns about 180 acres on a stretch of Woodville Road that features upscale homes set on rolling green fields.

A former cosmetologist, Davis said she wants to support herself by opening a spa in her home. She also wants to build a cemetery on her land and says the town has unfairly blocked those proposals.

“I have inalienable rights to my hands and my land,” she said.

Falmouth’s planning board last year approved Davis’ plan to build a subdivision of a dozen million-dollar homes on 60 acres, though Davis wanted to build twice as many.

The Town Council will review Davis’ petition at its July 19 meeting and can either enact the proposed ordinance or send it to voters.

Falmouth attorney William Plouffe is reviewing the proposed ordinance to ensure its legality.

He said the Maine Supreme Judicial Court generally has said that “property has to be rendered substantially useless by virtue of the government regulation before the courts will find a compensable taking.”

The term “taking” comes from the U.S. Constitution, which says private property can’t be taken for public use without just compensation.

Lawyer Sheila Galvin, who drafted the proposed ordinance, said it aims to compensate landowners for property that is less dramatically reduced in value. “You might be left with something but you’ve had your rights reduced,” Galvin said.

Attempts to pass similar laws at the state level since the 1990s have been unsuccessful, said Geoff Herman, the Maine Municipal Association’s director of state and federal relations.

He said the association believes such laws are too difficult to administer.

“You’d have a flurry of appraisals,” he said. “Which appraiser would you believe?”

Herman said such laws would have “an extremely chilling effect” on zoning regulations, which he said generally improve property values by giving owners confidence that new development will be compatible with existing uses in an area.

He also noted that some land-use regulations add to a property’s worth.

“There doesn’t seem to be any ideology that if your property value is increased by zoning that you would pay the government to reflect your gain,” he said.