KENNEBUNK, Maine — The town’s Zoning Board of Appeals has overturned a decision by the Site Plan Review Board that had approved major renovations to the Guest House and surrounding buildings at the Franciscan monastery at 26 Beach Avenue.
The Society of Franciscan Fathers of Greene, Maine, which owns the property, had proposed converting the guest house into a 53-room hotel and transforming its cafeteria into a restaurant. The updated facility would be named the Canticle Hotel.
The Review Board approved the site plan in August of 2024. In vacating that decision, the ZBA sided with appellant David Plass of Kennebunk.
According to a legal brief filed by his attorneys, Plass argued that the property includes nonconforming structures and a nonconforming use of the Franciscan Guest House. Under a town ordinance enacted in 1963, he claimed, such uses cannot be expanded or extended.
In a letter to the ZBA, attorney Gregory Braun, representing the Society of Franciscan Fathers, contended that the appeal should have been denied. He argued that once renovations are complete, the property would continue to operate as it has since the 1960s— as a “fully permitted, year-round, 65-unit inn with a licensed, year-round, 150-seat restaurant.”
“Nothing about the application, nor the project, changes the use of the property or structures,” Braun stated. “Instead, the project aims to modernize the facilities while providing the buildings with a more contemporary and polished appearance.”
ZBA members discussed the appeal during a three-hour meeting on Sept. 15 but took no action that evening. During their meeting on Sept. 30, however, they voted unanimously to vacate the Review Board’s approval of the site plan.
In fact, it seemed the ZBA went further than Plass had hoped.
In announcing the decision, ZBA Chair Stephen Sayers said he and his colleagues had concluded there was no pre-existing, permissible, and nonconforming rights that the Society of Franciscan Fathers had to run its property as a hotel or a restaurant when the town enacted its ordinance for that zoned part of Kennebunk back in 1963.
“The evidence is overwhelming,” Sayers said. “In fact, it’s uncontroverted.”
ZBA decision raises questions about hotel and restaurant’s future
After the ZBA voted unanimously to approve the decision, attorney William Kennedy addressed the sweeping statement made by Sayers.
“Mr. Plass … has never argued that the current use of the property as a hotel and restaurant cannot continue,” Kennedy said. “We absolutely think that it can continue on.”
Kennedy said his client’s appeal had simply argued the Society of Franciscan Fathers had failed to demonstrate during the Review Board process that its proposed renovation and other related plans would comply with the town’s ordinances if pursued and completed.
Some discussion between Sayers and Plass ensued. At one point, however, ZBA Vice Chair Wayne Berry asserted that such matters instead should be discussed by the Site Plan Review Board, if ever the Society of Franciscan Fathers’ application returns to that level.
“That’s where this discussion should be taking place,” Berry said.
The town’s attorney expressed a similar concern, noting that the ZBA had already concluded the matter with its vote and would need a motion to reconsider for such discussion.
Sayers acknowledged that the post-vote discussion was not appropriate and declared the matter closed.
Before he did, though, Braun also spoke, saying he would like to preserve rights of appeal on behalf of the Society of Franciscan Fathers.
Society of Franciscan Fathers has 45 days to appeal decision
According to the decision, anyone aggrieved by the ZBA’s determination can appeal it in Superior Court within 45 days of the vote that approved it.
This was not the first time that Plass had attempted to have the Site Plan Review Board’s approval vacated. According to town documents, he first appealed the approval in September of 2024, only to have the ZBA deny his effort due to a lack of standing.
Plass successfully appealed the ZBA’s written decision to the Maine Superior Court. The court reversed the decision and remanded the matter back to the ZBA, asserting that Plass did have standing and that his appeal should be reviewed accordingly.
Currently, the Guest House is comprised of three structures: the main Guest House, a brick building with 35 rooms; the White House, a one-story, wood-frame structure with 8 rooms; and the Tudor House, a two-story building that has 22 rooms.
Plans called for the White House to be demolished, and its rooms relocated to the main guest house. The Tudor House would then be renovated to include 12 rooms, with the remaining 10 also shifted to the main building.
The project also called for the construction of a partial second floor in the wing that once housed the gym. That area would become the hotel’s new main entrance, featuring a lobby, check-in area, restaurant, and two small meeting rooms, according to town documents.
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