The Rockport Select Board confirmed Monday, Jan. 12, at a regulary scheduled meeting that Lily Pond Partners LLC withdrew its municipal permit to demolish a section of the Rock Road, which runs across its Union Street parcel that borders Lily Pond.

The town said Lily Pond Partners LLC, “has withdrawn their Town permits to remove the materials which consisted of what the roadbed was.”

Subsequently, Lily Pond Partners neighbors Sarah Price and Stephen Florimbi withdrew their appeal of the permit, which had been filed with the Rockport Zoning Board of Appeals.

Whether the state permit obtained from the Maine Dept. of Environmental Protection for the Rock Road section removal has likewise been withdrawn was not discussed and queries about its status in Augusta have yet to be answered.

Price and Florimbi have an appeal of that state permit filed with the Maine Board of Environmental Protection.

In a Jan. 9 letter to the Select Board, Attorney Jesse Rutter, who represents Lily Pond LLC, maintained the position that ownership of the Rock Road section that crosses the Union Street parcel owned by Lily Pond LLC lies fully with that entity and its principal, Robert Simensky.

“Statements have been made to the Select Board that (1) ownership of the raised bed situated on my client's property is in question and (2) even if there is no question as to ownership, the public has a right of access over and across the raised bed,” wrote Rutter. “Ownership of the raised bed situated on my client's is clear. My client owns the bed.

"For your review, I attach the chain of title for my client's property dating back to 1924. For those deeds that describe multiple parcels, the beginning of the description of the subject parcel is highlighted in yellow for your convenience. Please note that not one of the deeds references the raised bed or ‘Rock Road’ as an exception to ownership.”

Furthermore, Rutter said the public has no right of access and across the raised bed.

“That certain members of the public are trespassing on my client's property is no evidence of a right to do so,” he wrote.

“In sum, ownership of the raised bed is clear and rests in my client. Furthermore, neither the public nor anyone else has any right of access or other easement over and across the raised bed.”

The section of the Rock Road that crossed the parcel owned by Lily Pond Partners LLC was cordoned off by a no-trespassing sign and warnings of video surveillance Dec. 23.

As to the issue of municipal ownership of the old road that was discussed at length with the public at the Dec. 8 Select Board meeting, Chair Denise Munger read a prepared statement at the meeting.

She said, “there have been some back of the envelope review of various deeds suggesting that at some point the town may have owned or had an easement to this land.

"Our town attorney has advised us that there is nothing clear-cut on this issue and any resolution of it would take significant legal time and well as town staff time to dig into this. There is nothing on the town tax maps or other readily reviewable documents to suggest that the town owns this road.

"Indeed the deeds granted to the neighbors along the road area suggest the contrary, that they have clear title to their property with no easement or other encumbrances from the town of Rockport.

"We fail to see any town interest in using scarce town resources to potentially upset the clear land title issue in the area to our very own residents. This could be a legal quagmire with no apparent benefit to Rockport taxpayers or residents. At best, the title search indicated some town interest in the property it would likely require a lawsuit against our own very own residents to demonstrate legal ownership. This last point is simply not how the town or Select Board intended to treat our own residents.

"Importantly, the creation of a path along the area of the old Rock Road does not require the town of Rockport or the Select Board to allocate precious town resources for potentially contested legal review and fight over legal title. Indeed, that is exactly the opposite way of obtaining public access. Antagonizing and threatening the property owners is simply not how good public pathways are established or sustained.

"As we stated at our December meeting, it is our understanding of the landowners along the Rock Road would be potentially willing to extend limited access to the public to the Rock Road. This may have changed with the vehenmeic of some of the Pathways members or liaisons and other resident letters but we still believe this issue is best worked out cooperatively by those most immediately affected.

"Lastly, a title search and opinion is not uniquely in the power of the Rockport Select Board. Any third party may use their own money and time to conduct such a search. We just say we do not see a general town interest or taxpayer benefit to spend town money or town staff time on this issue.”

Select Board member Michael Thompson said, “Since the permit has now been pulled, or returned, that indicates that, at least for the time being, the pressure is off for having that excavated, which I think was the highest alarming thing for people.”

Board member Michelle Hannan agreed, saying: “That permit has been pulled. I think it gives people time; but I think the latest we received from [Rutter] is they have the information back to 1924, so it seems, if people want to fundraise, or if pathways [Camden-Rockport Pathways Committee] wants to do that, fine.”

The Select Board had also received a letter from Penobscot Bay YMCA’s Chief Executive Officer Whitney Files concerning the Rock Road easement that was given to the Town of Rockport.

She wrote:

“Recent information has come to our attention suggesting that a 2001 release deed executed by the YMCA (see attached), intended to transfer certain rights related to the Rock Road from the YMCA to the Town of Rockport, may not have been formally accepted by the Town at that time. We understand that under Maine law, a municipality must affirmatively accept such a conveyance for the transfer to be legally effective.

“If the 2001 release deed was not accepted, it raises the possibility that the rights conveyed did not transfer and instead remain with the original grantors, including the YMCA. Given recent statements that the Town lacks authority to intervene in the proposed removal of the Rock Road due to ownership uncertainty, this issue appears to warrant careful and timely review.

“The Rock Road and Lily Pond area have long been part of a broader, community-supported vision balancing recreation, environmental protection, and public access. 

“The YMCA’s original site planning explicitly contemplated public connectivity and trail use, commitments that remain important to our wellness and social responsibility mission today.

“Given the imminent nature of the proposed Rock Road demolition activity, I am reaching out to respectfully request the following:

1. Clarification of the Town’s understanding of the YMCA’s potential standing as a holder of easement or right-of-way interests. Specifically, a
2. Consideration of a temporary pause of the current permit to allow a review of this information.

“Our intention in raising these questions is to ensure that all parties have a clear and shared understanding of the legal and historical context before any actions are taken that could permanently affect an important community resource.

“I am truly grateful for the time you have already taken to speak with me and for your insight. We would appreciate the opportunity to meet further with the Town and other relevant parties to talk through these questions together—especially in light of this new information—to ensure clarity before a potential opportunity is inadvertently missed. Our hope is to work collaboratively toward the best possible outcome for our community.

"Thank you for your support of the work we do, and for your continued service to our community."

Reach Editorial Director Lynda Clancy at lyndaclancy@penbaypilot.com; 207-706-6657