YORK, Maine — Residents questioned the value of owning a significant portion of Long Sands Beach Monday in a public hearing on the land’s proposed sale to the town for $4 million.
A court battle over public access at Moody Beach in Wells has residents questioning whether buying the mostly undevelopable beach land owned by the Norton Estate is worth $4 million, along with $1.2 million in interest that a loan would cost. Depending on how a judge rules in that case, some argued, in Monday’s public hearing, the beach might be open to the public in perpetuity, whether the town buys it or not.
“It is my opinion you would be asking the taxpayers to pay $5.2 million for something they already have,” resident Mac Booze said during the public hearing.
Budget Committee members and the Selectboard moved the question to the November ballot Monday, giving voters the chance to decide on the purchase. The property is being offered by the Norton Estate after years of on-and-off negotiations with the town.
While the Selectboard voted to send the question to voters unanimously, the Budget Committee did so with a 4-1 vote.
Budget Committee member Adam Gould said he voted against it because he believed the ruling in the Moody Beach case, where the right to privatize a beach is being called into question, could have a big impact on the Norton property’s value.
“The number still seems high,” Gould said. “If that ruling goes a different way, there’s a $4 million piece of land that’s really worth nothing.”
Norton Estate looks to sell beach property
A significant portion of the beach has long been owned by the estate of Roger R. Norton Jr., running from the intersection of Juniper Road and Long Beach Avenue to the area of 87-89 Long Sands Road. The property, all east of Long Beach Road’s right of way, runs about 3,270 feet from north to south, according to a memo to the Selectboard.
The Norton family first engaged with the town about selling the property in 2018, according to a memo to the Selectboard. Negotiations did not result in a deal at the time, but talks began again about a year and a half ago.
Town Manager Peter Joseph said the Selectboard came to the $4 million price with the Norton family on July 15. Joseph said the opportunity to buy the land allows the town to protect it as a public asset when many beachfront properties are being closed off by private ownership.
Residents question cost amid legal challenge to private beaches
Residents reluctant to support the purchase of the Norton property are pointing to the legal battle in Wells, however, where the Maine Supreme Court is scheduled to hear a case this year on rights to beach access.
In that case, Peter and Cathy Masucci of Wells and other plaintiffs are seeking to overturn a 1989 court decision that sided with the owners of intertidal properties on Maine’s beaches, stating the public was limited to “fishing, fowling, and navigating” on such land.
Town officials in Wells have joined the plaintiffs by filing an amicus brief in support of public-use rights on Moody Beach. They are arguing that the public’s restriction to “fishing, fowling and navigation” in intertidal zones is based on a centuries-old assertion reinforced by a 1989 court case. Groups such as Free Moody Beach and Our Maine Beaches are now trying to overturn that ruling.
Monday in York, residents opposed to the purchase said they wanted to wait until the results of the court case had been settled.
One resident, Bill Goodwin of Cider Hill Road, said he was supportive of the town owning the land but asked if the lawsuit in Wells was considered in the negotiations.
“It would make a huge difference in terms of the value of what we would be buying,” Goodwin said.
He suggested a “two-tier” purchase agreement in which the outcome of the lawsuit in Wells triggers a price that depends on the court case’s outcome.
“So, is there any feedback on this lawsuit in Wells?” Goodwin asked.
Joseph, who was present, told Goodwin that the topic was “almost an exact conversation” during talks with the Norton family.
“There was no appetite for it,” Joseph said. “Very similar to what you described, a conditional offer based on the outcome, and that did not have traction.”
Voters to decide on value of Long Sands Beach property
The purchase appealed to members of the Selectboard.
Selectboard member Mike Estes said earlier this month the land may not necessarily be valuable from a construction standpoint but is worth protecting for public access.
The negotiations between the Norton family and the town have resulted in more than one appraisal of the property. In 2018, the Norton estate hired DiBiase Appraisal Services, Inc., and found a valuation of $5.82 million. In the most recent negotiations, an appraisal by the town acquired only a value of $43,000 based on the assumption the land was “unusable for most development beyond open space, according to the Selectboard memo on the transaction dated July 15.
Joseph said the Norton family expressed a desire to leave the beach in the hands of the town for the sake of public access. He said the time to decide is now, though, and waiting past November could take the decision out of the town’s hands. He said the Norton family has put in writing they will go to market if the town does not vote to approve the purchase in November.
“That doesn’t mean it won’t be available for the town to purchase in the future,” Joseph said, “But there’s a good chance that we have to be comfortable with… that there’s a chance it goes away before we have another shot.”
This article originally appeared on Portsmouth Herald: York residents question $4M purchase of 42.35 acres of Long Sands Beach
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