Lincoln stepping up shoreline inspections

LINCOLN – To safeguard shoreline development and keep the town’s 14 lakes pristine, Code Enforcement Officer Jerry Davis will be regularly boating lakefronts with Maine Department of Environmental Protection officials.

The inspection trips, said Ruth Birtz, the town’s code enforcement supervisor, will supplement the more than 100 inspections and site visits Davis said he annually makes town-wide in response to complaints, permit follow-ups and other business. They will not be pleasure cruises.

“It’s a good idea because it gives us an opportunity to educate shoreline homeowners, who don’t always know about shoreline regulations, and to stay on top of what’s going on out there,” Birtz said Tuesday. “With 14 water bodies, an unusual amount of water bodies in a town of this size, that’s a lot of work.”

Davis toured Upper Coldstream Pond for about two hours Monday with Jennifer Cayer, assistant shoreline zoning coordinator with the DEP’s Bureau of Land and Water Quality’s Bangor office, photographing the entire shoreline and inspecting a house construction site off Crane Pond Drive.

No violations were found, Davis said.

“It’s in pretty good shape,” Davis said of the shorefront property, additionally describing the construction site as flawless.

“They have pulled all the right permits and are doing everything right,” Davis said of the new homeowners. “They are very conscious of everything they need to be conscious of.”

Maintaining the shoreline and its vegetation is a key part of maintaining water quality and keeping property values up, Birtz and Davis said, particularly as more construction occurs on lakefront property. The vegetation buffers act to keep pollutants out of the water.

A massive lease sale last year of shoreline property along town lakes, Birtz said, has helped increase new home construction from 14 new homes permitted last year to 24 so far this year – a significant number for this rural town of about 5,200 people.

Keeping the DEP satisfied with town enforcement efforts is critical, Birtz said. Heavy fines and even a moratorium on lakefront development construction can occur if DEP, which is charged with regulating water quality, finds significant problems.

“We had many years where violations were [a] regular occurrence, so it’s nice to see DEP say that it’s pleased with our administration of its shoreline zoning,” Birtz said.

Davis found 31 zoning or other violations along shorefront property in 2005. This year, there has been none, Birtz said, something she attributed to Davis’ vigilance.

“It’s good to have them [DEP] along because they can see things I might miss,” Davis said. “We want to do everything we can to maintain water quality. If people know that we’re out there, active and looking, they are less likely to commit violations.

“You get a different perspective from the water side that you can’t get from the shoreline unless you walk onto every property,” he added.

The Town Office maintains and annually updates the photographic record of the shoreline to pinpoint changes and violations, Davis said.

He plans to inspect the entire shoreline of two lakes a year with DEP officials, he said.