NORWAY — Selectmen voted Thursday to accept a consent agreement negotiated between attorneys for the town and a property owner cited last May for six code violations at 33 Old Pulp Mill Road.

Attorney Sam Hamilton of the firm Verrill Dana presented the agreement to Norway’s Select Board during a Sept. 18 public hearing on behalf of his client, Jonathan Shilalis, who owns the property on the Crooked River he rents out through Airbnb.

The consent agreement calls for Shilalis to undo much of the excavation and luxury additions he installed on the property in violation of Resource Protection setbacks. Those include improper removal of vegetation and trees from the riverbank and adding luxuries, including an outdoor hot tub and outdoor shower that violate shore land zoning ordinances and state wastewater rules, a yoga studio, and personal massage services.

The town’s attorney, Benjamin Plante of Drummond Woodsum, said the amount Shilalis is to pay will be $32,500, which covers $12,500 in penalties, with the remainder covering Norway’s code enforcement and legal expenses. A draft copy of the consent agreement, minus the dollar figures, can be downloaded from the town website.

“This consent agreement makes the town whole on all of its costs, pays over five figures of fines, and restores the property to full compliance,” Hamilton said. “I’d like to recognize the owner’s substantial good faith efforts and investments he’s made to bring this site into compliance.”

The property is listed on Airbnb for $840 a night for two people.

“My client has already spent over five figures on remediation and restoration separate from the consent agreement,” Hamilton said.

Vice Chair Sarah Carter read an email she received from Dale Pierce, another Old Pulp Mill Lane property owner, who stated the language of the consent agreement conflicts with what was presented Sept. 11 to Norway’s Planning Board.

Hamilton said the difference in verbiage was his error where he mistakenly referred to installing a concrete pad for an outdoor hot tub as a timber deck, but Pierce also had an issue with how “prior expansion” of the property was referenced in the agreement.

Selectperson Danielle Wadsworth told Hamilton the town would appreciate Shilalis following code procedures properly in the future. 

She also said she did not feel the proposed penalties were in line with the damages he was found liable for. Carter agreed, stating the terms for Shilalis to pay the fees seemed lenient. Chairman Russ Newcomb said the dollar amount was the minimum required by ordinance, which he too was unhappy about. 

When Newcomb asked for a vote, Selectperson Anita Hakala motioned to accept the agreement and Selectperson Dennise Whitley seconded. Wadsworth and Carter initially opposed but after further discussion flipped their decision to approve it. Newcomb’s yes vote made the decision unanimous.

The Crooked River is a major tributary of Sebago Lake, which provides the drinking water for the greater Portland area in southern Maine. The river section that travels through Norway is also considered to be critical spawning grounds for wild salmon and brook trout, Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife regional biologist James Pellerin told the Norway Planning Board in 2022.

“(The department) considers this watershed to be some of the most significant inland fisheries habitat in the region and state,” Pellerin said at the time.

“I have a feeling (Shilalis) will be selling his properties soon,” Hamilton told the board. The 33 Old Pulp Mill parcel has been intermittently listed for sale for more than a year. It currently appears on real estate sales platforms as being on the market for the last six months, at the price of $1,000,000.

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