STARKS — The Board of Selectmen will meet Monday to discuss a proposed ordinance that would require a permit for anyone seeking the exclusive use of a road or public property.

The Public Road & Municipal Property Use Ordinance is being proposed in response to “expressed concerns as to several occasions of blockage of roads in town,” according to Third Selectman Ernie Hilton. The concerns include the blockage of Abijah Hill Road during annual pro-marijuana festivals at Harry Brown’s Farm, he said.

Under state statute selectmen have the authority to enact traffic ordinances, including those that pertain to parking on public ways and in public parking areas. Most other ordinances require approval by residents at town meeting. A work session on the ordinance is scheduled for 7 p.m. Monday at the Starks Town Office.

The festivals in question generally draw several hundred people to Harry Brown’s Farm, and the road in the past has been used for festival parking. Although it is a dead end, the road is public and there are homes on it. The road is also an access road for a cellphone tower that is being constructed on the property across from the farm and which the Brown family has opposed.

Parking on the road during festivals is also a public safety hazard because the road is too narrow to also allow ambulance access, Hilton said.

A draft of the ordinance states that its purpose is to prevent any person, corporation or other entity from interfering with people’s use of public roads as well as municipal parks and land.

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“We kind of thought we could broaden it out to other situations that might arise, whatever they might be, because the town has other property around, such as the community center,” Hilton said. “And there might be other occasions when people might choose to or want to use property of the town, mostly right-of-ways, in a way that would hinder or impede other public use.”

If approved, the ordinance would put in place a permitting process by which individuals or groups could gain temporary exclusive rights to a right-of-way or other public property. The permit application would be reviewed by the board of selectmen and would require applicants to have an insurance policy that would cover property damage or personal injury during the use of the public property.

Violation of the ordinance would be a civil violation punishable by no more than $200, according to the draft.

Elizabeth Smedberg, whose family owns Harry Brown’s Farm, did not return a request for comment.

Rachel Ohm — 612-2368

rohm@centralmaine.com

Twitter: @rachel_ohm


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