Abutters to Dublin’s town-owned Rotary Park have been ordered to relocate a carport after the Select Board discovered the couple had encroached on the park property.
During Dublin Town Meeting in May, residents approved a warrant article to take on the stewardship and maintenance of Rotary Park, and also approved funds to conduct a partial survey of the property, for a total cost of $5,250.
It was during that survey, Dublin Town Administrator Kate Fuller said, that the town discovered the owners of 399 Main Street, James Beeler and Brenda Durant, had constructed their carport over the property line.
The survey found that three property marker pins on the property line were missing and that the carport was over the line onto town property, and did not meet setbacks, nor had it been constructed with a proper building permit.
In an interview Wednesday, Beeler said the encroachment was done unintentionally.
“It was my own ignorance,” Beeler said. He added he is not disputing that the carport is on the property line, but has not yet received a copy of the official survey. He said he will request a meeting with the Select Board to discuss next steps.
Beeler said he has lived on the property for 16 years, and said he has done “unofficial” volunteer work for the adjoining conservation property that surrounds him, including mowing the trail access point, removing branches from the path and fixing birdhouses.
“I would like to at least go there and have a discussion,” Beeler said. “I want to be a good neighbor, so if it comes down to moving the carport, we’ll do what we have to.”
The survey also found that there were additional encroachments from the Main Street property, including a horseshoe pit and a boat docked on town property, and trees which had been removed.
The Select Board discussed the issue during its June 22 meeting, and agreed they would not pursue any action on the removed trees and would allow the boat to continue docking in the area as long as it did not impede water access, but the horseshoe pits and the carport would have to be removed.
The board has directed Beeler and Durant, by letter, to relocate the carport. The relocation must go through the building permit process.
The town has also requested reimbursement for the cost of the survey and installation of new pins on the property line, a total cost of $2,500.
In the letter to Beeler and Durant, Fuller indicated that the town would be willing to meet with them to further discuss the issue, but was not amenable to selling any portion of the land to resolve the matter.