A couple who has been trying to buy an historic Camden storefront says they’re caught in the middle of a bureaucratic logjam.
“My husband and I have been met with obstructions at every level,” said Amy LaCouture.
The LaCoutures earlier bought 39 Main Street, registered in The Great Camden Fire District on the National Register.
The building sits over the spillway overlooking Camden Harbor in between the Smiling Cow and Camden Deli.
Amid the pending purchase, the structure’s owners had been given a notice of violation due to rotting piers beneath it.
But the LaCoutures are now caught in a permitting dispute they say is dragging out the sale.
The LaCouture’s attorney, Kim Ervin Tucker, has asked the Select Board to vacate a “dangerous building” order and agree to a settlement she has proposed to allow town officials to work with the LaCoutures to rehabilitate the building, according to Midcoast Villager.
Town officials, who claim they, too, are caught in the middle, said the sale hinges on the current owners repairing the foundation to make it structurally sound.
