Boothbay planners delay Botanical Gardens' expansion
Photo / Rebekah Roy
Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens' Christmas display attracts visitors from Maine and beyond. But the first phase of an ambitious 20-year expansion plan at its site in Boothbay is being delayed over environmental impact concerns.
Concerns about a multi-million-dollar, 20-year master plan revealed earlier this year by the Boothbay-based Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens and the potential environmental impact of it on nearby Knickerbocker Lake are delaying the first phase of the project.
The plan includes construction of a new 22,000-square-foot glass conservatory, expanded gardens and year-round visitation
The Boothbay Register reported the delay this week.
Despite the project receiving Maine Department of Environmental Protection and Army Corps of Engineering permits, the Boothbay Region Water District and Knickerbocker Lake Association are worried about contaminants potentially polluting the lake due to the planned doubling of parking spaces and use of a leach field, the paper reported.
The lake serves as the region’s secondary water supply.
“We’re concerned about their ability to safely manage, operate and maintain the sophisticated public water, wastewater, permeable surfaces and stormwater management systems at a time when they are also proposing doubling the gardens and adding a new horticulture research and propagation center,” Boothbay Region Water District Manager Jon Ziegra told the paper.
Earlier this year, the botanical gardens’ Executive Director William Cullina told the Bangor Daily News that a study estimated the direct and indirect economic impact of the botanical gardens is $26 million annually. That number would increase to $75 million each year by the capital plan’s completion.
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