Kittery and York, Maine at odds over town border

York and Kittery, Maine. Where does one town end and the other begin? The answer seemed clear until recently and now recent questions are causing the communities to go to court.

“No one’s ever said anything until a piece of property changed hands that straddled the line. And a developer bought it with the intention of putting some housing in there. And when he had it surveyed, it showed the line should be straight," said York tax assessor Rick Mace.

Mace is talking about the original town line that was established more than 360 years ago. It’s much different than the current, jagged border.

Now, the new owner of the land wants the town line reverted back to its original placement.

“The town has filed a suit against the town of Kittery to settle the boundary,” said Mace.

He says restoring the boundary to its original spot would put a parcel of land currently in Kittery, back in York.

“We’re not talking huge tax dollars, bottom line, but it has more of an impact on the development of the parcel that this developer wants to build out,” Mace said. “There’s a chance he can get more houses on the property if it’s in York than if it’s in Kittery."

The section of land runs along Route 1. Mace says it’s a relatively narrow strip of land about the length of a football field.

He told Boston 25 News it will likely be settled in mediation.

Boston 25 News could not reach Kittery’s town manager for comment, but Mace imagines they aren’t happy about the potential change.

“York has everything to gain and nothing to lose really, and Kittery doesn’t wanna have, nobody wants to lose land no matter how good or bad it is,” said Mace.

© 2020 Cox Media Group