Payback for property owners

The Standish Town Council should be commended for voting Tuesday night to restore property ownership rights in that town’s historic district.

In a 2004 referendum, Standish established a new body – the Standish Historic Commission – that would oversee development in an area of town on Route 25 that had six historic structures. Members of the commission as well as many townspeople saw the group’s efforts as noble since the goal was to preserve what was left of Standish’s charm before the whole of downtown was developed.

The gist of the new ordinance was to make alterations to the homes within the district illegal, except if those alterations were approved by the commission.

All was going along smoothly until the Higgins family, owners of one of the six homes in the district, needed to alter their property in order to sell to a prospective buyer who wouldn’t buy until the changes were made. Bob and Isabel Higgins could have sold the home for several hundred thousand dollars but had to first move the home several hundred yards away from the busy routes 25 and 35 intersection. Unfortunately for the Higgins, the new ordinance barred them from doing anything with the house that wasn’t first authorized by the Standish Historic Commission. And the commission wouldn’t approve of the move, since it was trying to keep the historic district as it was.

The commission brought a lawsuit against the Higginses in 2005 to prevent them from altering the home, but the suit was dismissed by a superior court judge, who advised the town to rewrite the ordinance. After much consideration, the newly written ordinance calls for voluntary participation in the district, an idea the town council voted into law Tuesday night.

So, what has been gained in this fiasco? First, it is a victory for property rights in Maine. We hear horror stories about government imposing fines, using eminent domain and thinking up new laws that bar property owners from doing as they see fit with their property. So it’s nice to see a town government sticking up for individual rights.

It’s also a victory for common sense in Standish. Intentions were good when the historic district was created. The commission wasn’t being malicious when it sued; it was just trying to enforce a law that was passed by referendum. But the Higgins’ case showed quickly that the ordinance was too zealous and was harming people’s lives.

But, while Standish is looking good right now, this shouldn’t be the end of the story for the town or the Higginses. Damage was done, and the couple should receive monetary recompense for legal fees they paid fighting for their rights as well as losing out on a lucrative sale during a strong market. The town’s rush to stamp out property rights in 2004 by creating the heavy-handed and unfair historic district should not be forgotten.

Since the town was the cause of the misery for these property owners, townspeople should pay the family back. Perhaps the town could pay for the family’s legal fees? That would be a good start.

-John Balentine, editor