Paul “Bucky” Holloway was a successful building contractor in Westbrook where he owned over 100 apartment units and specialized in low-income housing rehabilitations. That was until 1991 when a recession “crushed” his business. In 1996, Holloway decided to move to Southport and try a new enterprise. He bought Boothbay Region Boatyard and began specializing in boat shrink-wrapping and storage. His new venture went so well, he moved his operation to a more attractive location to capture a larger slice of the Midcoast boating market.

In 2004, he opened Coastal Boatworks on U.S. Route 1 in Newcastle. And the move paid dividends for him. “It’s in between Boothbay and Bristol, two main boating locations, so business has been great.”

Despite a sharp economic downturn due to COVID-19, business remains steady and, even at age 67, he plans on expanding to meet an ever-increasing demand. But another issue is threatening his future plans. On Sept. 29, Newcastle is holding a special town meeting on whether or not to revise the core zoning ordinances. In 2014, Newcastle began reviewing its land use ordinances. A 35-person committee was created to consider citizen recommendations for a new comprehensive plan.

Holloway pays Newcastle property taxes, but is not a resident, so he can’t vote in the special town meeting. He believes the proposal will have a significant negative impact on his business. Holloway opposes proposed language which institutes 200-foot setbacks, parking restrictions and 1,000-foot minimum frontage requirements. Holloway believes these provisions were designed to stop “U.S. Route 1 from looking like Wiscasset.”

According to Holloway, the new ordinance would prevent him from expanding and make his property worthless. “I won’t be able to do anything with it. I won’t be able to survive this,” he said. While Holloway has reached retirement age, he still has the drive to continue working. “This is pretty emotional to me. This is how I put food on the table, and I have no plans to retire.”

On Sept. 18, Newcastle held a public hearing for the special town meeting vote. Planning board chairman Ben Frey has worked on the proposal for the past six years. He started as a selectman and became a member of the citizens group charged with updating the ordinance. Frey moderated the public hearing and read email responses from citizens and businessmen about the proposed changes. After reading Holloway’s email, he responded to why the new core zoning ordinances were needed. 

“If you think the current land use ordinances are fine, they are not. They’re a mess. A dire mess,” he said. “We started six years ago, and decided we couldn’t fix it without literally throwing the whole thing out and starting new.”

Frey said current building permit square footage requirements for an accessory building do not make sense. The current ordinance allows for a 150 square foot floor area with 20 feet or less in height. “That sounds fine, but if you have a building with 2,000 square feet in floor area and 19 feet in height,  you’re fine and don’t need a permit. That’s a problem,” he said.

Holloway agrees with many of the proposals. “It’s only the changes to Route 1 businesses that I really don’t agree with. I’m telling everybody I know to go and vote because I can’t survive with those Route 1 changes,” he said.

The special town meeting starts at 6 p.m. at 811 U.S. Route 1 in Foster’s Auction House.