Heather Lombard has kept livestock on her Kennebunk property for over a decade. And she says she’s never had any problems with the town — until recently.
Lombard was distraught when town code enforcement officers informed her in early May that the few dozen goats and pigs that she cares for would have to be rehomed.
Now, Lombard says, town officials are telling her that they aren’t sure whether that’s actually the case, leaving her feeling like everything’s been turned upside down.
”It’s just a horrible, incredibly stressful situation,” she said.
Officials from Kennebunk’s Community Development Department, which oversees code enforcement, did not respond to phone calls or emails this week seeking comment on Lombard’s situation.
For more than 10 years, Lombard’s business Scapegoats — an eco-friendly endeavor in which her goats clear unwanted vegetation and invasive species in place of lawnmowers — has operated out of her roughly 1.5-acre property on Mill Street. And in recent months, she started Mousam Misfits Sanctuary, a nonprofit dedicated to taking in farm animals with nowhere to go.
Although she says she didn’t “neatly fit” into the town’s zoning regulations, officials have approved of her herd living on her property. But when she applied this year for a permit to build a shed for the rescue animals, that all changed.
On May 6, Lombard received two letters from code enforcement official Brian Paul: one denying her the shed permit, and another informing her that she was out of compliance with the town zoning ordinance by having the animals.
“The act of Keeping of Livestock is not a Permitted Use in the West Kennebunk Village Residential Zone and therefore is prohibited,” the second letter read, according to a copy Lombard shared with the Press Herald.
The letter proceeded to cite the requirements for “animal husbandry” to be permitted in that part of Kennebunk, referring to Article 8, Section 7 of the zoning ordinance:
“Agriculture, limited to field, row and specialty horticultural crops; except that on parcels of five (5) acres or more, other types of agriculture are allowed, provided that the parcel and activities upon it fully comply with the space and bulk and performance standards applicable in the West Kennebunk Village Residential Zone.”
According to the zoning ordinance definitions, “Animal Husbandry” refers to the “breeding and raising of livestock for commercial purpose” — which Lombard insists is not what she’s doing.
“ I don’t breed my animals. I’ve never bred,” she said. “I’ve tried to tell (the town) that too, that I don’t breed. They don’t listen to me.”
The May 6 letters told Lombard that failure to comply could lead to fines and penalties, and that she had 30 days to appeal the department’s decisions.
Then, Lombard says, the town told her and her lawyer last week that they should disregard the letters and not worry about filing an appeal.
Lombard and town officials planned to meet this week to work out a solution, but before that meeting could be held, the Community Development Department changed course and said it was unsure whether she should appeal after all.
Now, facing a June 5 deadline to ask the town to reconsider, Lombard feels caught in limbo.
“ We’re stuck in the position where we’re going to appeal, because we don’t want to lose that option, but we’re not even sure if we have to or not,” she said.
Lombard isn’t the first Kennebunk animal lover to feel blindsided by a decision from code enforcement officers.
Horse trainer Samantha Fairfield said she had kept horses on her property in West Kennebunk for seven years before the Community Development Department told her last year that she would have to rehome them.
Fairfield admits that she was not in compliance with the rules. But she says the upsetting part was that she had been told for years that it wasn’t a problem.
“When you’ve been running your business for this many years and the town turned a blind eye, it is absolutely inhumane to make a major overcorrection like this,” she said. “They need to work with you, and telling you to get rid of your animals is not the solution.”
Fairfield said that while many town officials and community members were supportive of her throughout the process, it wasn’t worth the hassle. She ended up moving her horses — and her family — out of Kennebunk.
Lombard says she’s not considering such a step at this point.
“I’m willing to work with the town,” she said. “The ultimate goal is to work things out with them and make this a more inclusive community for everyone.”
Lombard said a bright spot has been the outpouring of encouragement she’s received from supporters.
“ The community has been unbelievable,” she said. “I’ve never seen such support for anything.”
For now, though, Lombard says not knowing whether she may have to get rid of the animals has been horrible — particularly because for many of them, her animal sanctuary is their last resort.