Damariscotta and a local business will soon meet to discuss a conflict that has been brewing for several months.

Maine-ly Pawn, which is located on Main Street, will be the focus of a special planning board hearing Monday, Aug. 31 at 7 p.m. for an application for a conditional use permit for outside storage.

The shop, which features eclectics such as old gas station signs, canoes and buoys outside and antiques and electronics inside, opened in 2013.

In the past, Damariscotta selectmen have made comments regarding Maine-ly Pawn's outdoor storage. Former selectman David Atwater spoke out against the store keeping items outside at a July 15 special meeting of the Damariscotta selectmen.

“My concern is he chose not to have a site plan review, so he had to abide (with the restrictions of the lot),” he said July 15. “That clearly said that there was nothing allowed outside. He made that decision himself — that's what he chose. He made the bed, he'll have to sleep in it.”

At the same meeting, Town Manager Matt Lutkus said repeated attempts had been made by the code enforcement officer to get Maine-ly Pawn's owner, Mark Hoffman, to comply.

Hoffman said he feels he is being unfairly persecuted, as several other business such as Reny's, Hammond Lumber, N.C. Hunt and others have their wares displayed outside and not behind a fence.

“The bottom line is that we have to put up a fence, but no one else has to? It feels like discrimination,” Hoffman said. “You wouldn't ask a used car dealer to put up a fence around their lot, would you?”

Hoffman said that by allowing people to sell their goods, he offers something consignment shops can't: instant money.

“We help so many people ... we're the only game in town if you want to sell your (property),” he said. “I've had single mothers come in with something that was worth nothing, but I'll give them $20, $25 and when they leave I'll throw what they brought in into the Dumpster.”

And should Maine-ly Pawn have to hide away its wares, the business would likely lose an “incalculable amount” of money, Hoffman said.

“Just today I sold a scooter to a lady for $1,850, and the only reason why was because she saw it from the road,” he said. “Who is going to stop at a building with only a sign out front? Nobody.

“Everything out there is a visual aid.”

Damariscotta town planner Anthony Dater said Maine-ly Pawn's previous location had a conditional use permit to allow merchandise outside, but it was limited.

“Mr. Hoffman, at his previous location next to Hannaford, had a conditional use permit including display of goods-for-sale outside as long as they were screened and covered at night,” Dater wrote in an email Thursday. “In Maine-ly Pawn's new location next to GSB School, the code officer initially determined Hoffman did not need a conditional use permit because Hoffman stated that he would not be displaying goods outdoors. But because Hoffman has since been displaying more and more goods outdoors, the (code enforcement officer) concluded Hoffman now needs a conditional use permit, which as town planner I fully agree.”

The planning board will review the conditional use permit at the Aug. 31 meeting and public hearing, Dater said.

In an interview August 21, Lutkus said the issue goes back to 2014 when Maine-ly Pawn began featuring goods outside of the premises without the correct permit. Eventually, the business and the planing board agreed on a conditional use permit that would allow the pawn shop to keep merchandise outside, so long as it was covered or behind a fence.

When the business moved up the road in 2015, it didn't bring that conditional use permit with it, and, as such, it was not supposed to have anything outside.

“In June our Code Enforcement Officer Stan Waltz sent a notice to (Maine-ly Pawn) and said they were not in compliance,” he said. “They indicated that they had no intention of complying, so we enlisted the help of (town attorney) Jenny Villeneuve who rewrote the letter so it would be legally defensible.

“We started building a legal track record, so that if (Maine-ly Pawn) continued to be unwilling to to comply, that letter would be admissible.”

Lutkus said the store was given 30 days to comply in July, and on the last possible day, did.

“On Aug. 7 they submitted a conditional use permit,” Lutkus said. “The planning board is highly motivated to see this as soon as possible.”

On the other hand, Lutkus agreed with Hoffman and said the business isn't as likely to thrive if it can't show its wares, Lutkus said.

“The type of business Mr. Hoffman has has a greater chance of success if people can see the goods,” Lutkus said. “Lots of people wouldn't stop if they can't see the boats or buoys or other merchandise he has for sale.

“From his standpoint, that's how he markets his business.”