Junkyard charge dropped by town

Written by Robert Levin

BAR HARBOR — A Town Hill resident accused of maintaining an illegal junkyard has cleaned up his property and the charges against him have been dropped, an official said this week.

Edward “Teddy” McFarland, against whom the town filed suit last October in a bid to force him to clean up his Route 102 property, has removed junk vehicles from his land and now conforms with the law, code enforcement officer Angela Chamberlain said.

“The property has been brought into compliance with the Maine junkyard and automobile graveyard statute and the Bar Harbor land-use ordinance,” she said.

A civil trial was scheduled for Hancock County Superior Court later this month, but the town has withdrawn the action, Ms. Chamberlain said.

There are a number of vehicles left on the property, but those are within the limits of what Mr. McFarland is allowed to keep for parts for his automobile repair business, she said. He also is allowed to retain possession of two unregistered vehicles.

The town took Mr. McFarland to court last October, after battling with him for 20 years over the condition of the property.

In 1986, the planning board approved a site plan for an auto repair garage on the property, which is just north of EBS, on the same side of the road. The approval was based on a condition that Mr. McFarland would not maintain an auto graveyard on the land.

However, one year later, he was ordered by the town to cease accepting junk vehicles. Numerous violation notices followed over the next two decades, along with promises to clean up the property. From 2005 to 2007 he removed junk vehicles from the land, but in 2007 cars again began to pile up, causing mounting frustration on the part of the town and the eventual legal action.

During a court-supervised mediation session this summer, town officials agreed to drop the legal case and waive all fines, fees and costs associated with it so long as the property was cleaned up by November. Ms. Chamberlain said she treated the deadline with flexibility.


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