Rockland Board Rules Schooner Can Remain Landlocked
Rockland, Maine – By Stephen Betts | Jan 19, 2017 — A 65-foot-long cement schooner will be able to remain in front of a maritime museum for at least the next nine months.
The Rockland Zoning Board of Appeals voted unanimously Wednesday evening, Jan. 18, to reject an appeal by a resident who lives across Mechanic Street from the Sail Power & Steam Museum. Neighbor Phyllis Merriam had challenged the code enforcement officer’s decision to allow the cement schooner Gem to be placed in front of the museum until formal action is taken by the city’s Planning Board.
Code Officer John Root said Thursday that he expects the museum will seek Planning Board approval sooner rather than later during the nine-month time frame. Root also said he believes the schooner meets the city’s zoning ordinance for remaining there permanently.
The Planning Board must decide on a special exception for the 60-foot masts, which exceed the city’s 40-foot building height limitation for the waterfront zone. Capt. James Sharp, owner of the schooner and the museum, has said a mast is a pole, which is exempt from the city’s height law.
Merriam argued that burying the hull of the boat in six feet of earth was not a temporary placement.
“This boat has changed the neighborhood permanently,” Merriam told the zoning board members.
She also challenged the contention by Sharp that the Gem was to be used for educational purposes, to teach young people how to sail a schooner.
“The boat in reality is a sign to promote the museum,” Merriam said. “Teaching sailing on land doesn’t pass the straight-face test.”
She said the schooner blocks neighbors’ views of the harbor.
The zoning board, however, voted 3-0 to deny Merriam’s appeal.
