Many people held out hope the Scarborough Planning Board would really look into the Lighthouse Motel site plan. But they said they could only look at the parking lot plan. Since when does the Planning Board consider development proposals without regard to abutting properties and nearby infrastructure? There are four significant developments happening in that tiny corner of town and each impacts the other.

I was one of several citizens who did an enormous amount of research for the board to consider and hand-delivered a 25-page packet of information. The chairman stated how grateful he was for the information and said it would be included in their deliberation. Yet one member said he didn’t even look at it because the town planner said it did not go through the town staff first. Much of that research was never brought up and we were not allowed to speak at the meeting.

The very same packet was e-mailed to the planner, his assistant, the town engineer and town manager prior to it being hand delivered to board members. Why didn’t they receive it? The explanation might be found in this portion of an e-mail I received from the town manager: “Please excuse my lack of response to your email … we have been modifying our computer security and filter systems lately and I suspect your email (and presumably others) was not allowed through and therefore not received. My apologies for any inconvenience this may have caused.”

The citizens of Scarborough deserve many apologies over the way this story has unfolded.

Judy Shirk
Scarborough


Only subscribers are eligible to post comments. Please subscribe or login first for digital access. Here’s why.

Use the form below to reset your password. When you've submitted your account email, we will send an email with a reset code.