York Shells Out 75k Fine For Building Seawall Without A Permit

Good news: York, Maine has a new seawall. Bad news: They didn't secure the proper permits before building it.

The old saying 'better to ask for forgiveness than permission' didn't work out, and will cost the southern Maine community $75,000. According to the Portland Press Herald, the Department of Environmental Protection told the town they needed a permit to build the wall. They built one, which was needed after multiple storms demolished the old barrier.

At issue, according to the DEP is the fact the an area near Long Sands Beach where the wall was built is within a coastal sand dune.

The DEP said in a statement “The applicant continued to build the steps on top of the existing seawall in the weeks after being notified that these changes to the seawall required prior approval from the Department.” According to the Portland Press Herald, Town manager Steven Burns said York had been given a verbal OK for the work and had not applied for a permit before the project started.

Board members in York were frustrated over the need for a permit. Selectman Michael Estes was quoted in Portland Press Herald “I think it’s a $75,000 slap in the face to the taxpayers of York.