The Standish Town Council last Tuesday authorized their code enforcer to take legal action against a homeowner in violation of Maine’s Automobile Graveyard/Junkyard Statute.

After hearing input from Code Enforcement Officer Dan Hill and a neighbor across the street from the property at 31 Woodridge Road, the council voted unanimously to permit Hill to take the next step in bringing the matter to court.

The penalty for violating the statute is not cheap. The homeowner risks fines of at least $100 per violation per day, retroactive to the first notice of violation, which in this case was more than six months ago.

Over a year ago, when Hill first investigated the property, owned by Gwen Thurman, he was confronted with a jumble of assorted junk including tires, old vehicles, used car batteries, 55-gallon drums and piles of broken furniture, worn out pool equipment and other trash.

“I was out to that property numerous times,” Hill said. “They had started to clean it up and when the big snow came last year, everything sort of came to a halt. Late April I was back out there and it was actually worse than it had been.”

Asking for voluntary compliance from Thurman and her boyfriend, who also lives at the home, Hill issued his first notice of violation at the beginning of May, giving them a May 15 deadline. Hill saw some indication that the couple was attempting to clean the property so he worked with them through the summer.

After speaking to them again in mid-September, he sent his second violation notice out the end of that month. According to Hill, little has been done since that time. On one occasion, Hill counted at least 154 old tires on the property.

“I will say this past weekend he did remove some more of the junk tires that were out there,” Hill said, “but it’s a far cry from being in compliance with the state law.”

As they looked at the photographs Hill had taken on numerous occasions during the past year, the council members appeared shocked and concerned by what they saw.

“What I see in these pictures,” Councilor Phil Pomerleau said, “I see 55-gallon drums. And I think that the minute we see something like that we should bring someone in immediately to check. Batteries, acid, oil – these are people on wells up there and this bothers me. A couple, three junk cars doesn’t bother me much – we live in Maine. What concerns me is batteries out in the open, oil drums, gas tanks and tires.”

Councilor Terrence Christy pointed out the detriment a junkyard is to a neighborhood.

“Junkyards in particular lower the value of surrounding areas,” he said.

After the councilors had finished their discussion, Cathy Johnson, one of two neighbors who had written formal letters of complaint, addressed the council. Restating some of what Hill had already described, Johnson thanked him and the town for taking action to remedy the problem.

Many Woodridge Road residents, who wished to remain anonymous, are upset about the condition of the property. With several homes currently for sale in the neighborhood and a few other homeowners contemplating a possible move in the future, they are concerned about the effect the yard’s condition might have on prospective buyers.

One neighbor said a lot of noise comes from the property at night, as if someone is working on the cars that are scattered across the lawn. And another neighbor wondered how Thurman could raise her two children in that environment.

At the close of the council’s discussion of the issue, Christy asked Hill to explain what prompted his investigation of the property, to which Hill replied that it was in response to a formal letter of complaint from a neighbor. Reiterating Hill’s answer, Christy instructed Standish residents to write a letter to the town if this problem is occurring elsewhere in the community.

Although repeated attempts were made, both by phone and in person, the property owner could be reached for comment.