As one-half of the Beechland Corporation, brothers Robert and Larry King plan to sell a parcel of land in Ellsworth to the home improvement chain, Lowe’s. Lowe’s wants to build a 170,000 square foot superstore there that would easily be the largest structure in town. The King Brothers also co-own a construction firm, Associated Builders, which may very well be involved in the construction of such a store.
Robert and Larry King also serve in Ellsworth City government; Larry is a city councilor while Robert sits on the planning board.
Some smart-growth advocates say developers who serve in city government have an inherent conflict of interest and often only vote pro-development.
Bill Reeve, owner of an antique book store, husband of city councilor Barbara Reeve, and member of the grassroots planning group, Wise Planning for Ellsworth, thinks a conflict of interest would be inevitable.
“I can’t see how they can help but be influenced by it,” he said.
In Reeve’s opinion, Ellsworth city government too often operates on what he calls the “good ol’ boy network,” with a disproportionate number of realtors, bankers, contractors and developers serving each other’s needs by voting pro-development in government decisions.
There are currently two developers on Ellsworth’s city council and one developer and one realtor on the planning board. Ellsworth has seven councilors and seven board members, total.
But Larry King doesn’t think his outside investments interfere with his role as city councilor.
“All I do is own land,” King said. “I guess I don’t see the conflict.”
King, a 33-year veteran in Ellsworth City government, said he wouldn’t have lasted so long if he put his interests before the city’s. If anything, he said, his fellow city employees go out of their way to avoid the appearance of impropriety.
“They will even hold you to a higher standard,” he said.
He said his brother would recuse himself from any planning board decisions pertaining to the Lowe’s application.
King said accusations of conflict of interest are usually leveled by naïve development foes. He also singled out newspaper reporters for trying to stir up controversy.
“I think they are looking for shadows…for controversy, because the good things in life don’t sell newspapers.”
Some smart-growth advocates don’t see developers serving in city government as an inherent problem.
As executive director of the smart-growth organization Friends of Midcoast Maine, Jane Lafleur has weighed in on a lot of big-box applications along the Maine coast. In her experience, she said, she rarely sees a case of conflict of interest arise, mainly because planning board decisions are based on strict rules without much room for interpretation.
“Often, it’s, `Does this meet the criteria, yes or no?’ ” Lafleur said.
Todd Little-Siebold, a history professor at College of the Atlantic and one of the leaders of Wise Planning for Ellsworth, said developers are often just following the rules. If the rules are too easy to follow for unsuitable projects, he said, voters must raise the bar.
“Developers are in the business of making these things happen,” he said. “It’s up to us to set the legal standards.”
Lafleur said developers and contractors actually play an important role in city government by providing technical expertise.
“You need someone who knows how to read a plan,” she said.
Lafleur believes, though, that it’s important to balance developers on local councils and boards with people from other fields of work.
“It’s really up to the town to balance the board,” she said.
Unfortunately, Wise Planning’s Reeve said, it’s difficult to coax people outside of development circles to run for office.
“Most of the people who want to run have a named interest in it,” he said.
Little-Siebold said political apathy among voters in Ellsworth might be a bigger problem than any conflicts of interest.
Little-Siebold said that in a public opinion survey for Ellsworth’s comprehensive plan, a vast majority of Ellsworth voters wanted their city officials to be more aggressive about planning. But many don’t realize how easy it is to make their voices heard, he said.
When a Super Wal-Mart was proposed on the same Beechland Corporation parcel in the 1990s, a groundswell of voters organized to protest the proposed store and elect three smart-growth councilors. As a result, Siebold said, Ellsworth now has a city planner and a comprehensive plan.
A similar groundswell could shape Ellsworth the way citizens want it to be, Little-Siebold said.
“The town still has the opportunity to set community expectations,” he said. “From my perspective as a citizen, I think anything is possible right now.”