BOOTHBAY HARBOR, Maine — By this point we're aware of the inexorable attraction of tourists to Maine's working waterfronts.
It's Vacationland, after all.
In Portland, a new working waterfront group task force is up and running, meeting twice a month for half a year to figure out how to find a balance between the need to generate revenue and protect the livelihoods of fishermen.
The same challenge has been debated a little farther north, in Boothbay Harbor. And as in Portland, the dialogue started decades ago.
This case, however, is arguably more complex. And it's one that some will tell you has fractured the place they call home.
"He's very outspoken," said Marty Gleason of Gleason Fine Art Incorporated. "He's also a very generous person."
"We were told that he would be interested in maybe buying some of our art to put in his workers' rooms if we would stop talking against him," said Lynne Seitzer of Joy to the Wind Art Gallery.
Two art connoisseurs that have painted two very different pictures of a developer named Paul Coulombe.
The Lewiston native sold White Rock Distillery in a more than $600 million deal several years ago. He now owns the Boothbay Country Club.
His latest project? He wants to re-zone a protected area of Boothbay Harbor's working waterfront to bolster tourism opportunities.
John and Lynne Seitzer challenged his plan. Then -- they say there were threatened.
"You have chosen to be an enemy of mine for life, that will not bode well for you financially," Coulombe wrote in an e-mail. "I am willing to give you one last chance to support me in my revisions of the ordinances and zoning. If not then you will have an uphill battle with me. Not your best choice."
The Seitzers aren't the only ones against waterfront zoning changes. They are members of a community group called Friends of the Harbor.
"I just don't like being treated like that," said Lynne Seitzer. "So we both chose to take a chance and keep speaking."
"And keep questioning," added her husband, John Seitzer.
When asked why they decided to continue to speak, the Seitzers said it's because of their love for the town.
"We want this town to succeed," said John Seitzer. "It doesn't have to succeed just because of one person. It succeeds because of that harbor."
We asked Paul Coulombe about that e-mail, and how those who challenged his plan.
Reporter: "What's your response to that? I mean some people have been afraid to speak up in opposition to those plans."
Paul Coulombe: "I haven't witnessed that but I'm very impassioned. I love the area, I love all the people. I've been the biggest supporter of the fishermen. And I guess you know sometimes I'm impatient with people who are so resistant."
"I know some people characterize us as anti-business and anti-change," said Ken Fitch of Friends of the Harbor. "It couldn't be any farther from the truth."
Ken Fitch says their goal is to find a balance, which after the latest public hearing, appears to be within reach.
The Boothbay Harbor planning board presented its recommendation for re-zoning what is called the "Maritime District." Coulombe's original request that came about a year ago was amended.
The new proposed ordinance looks to redraw the boundary lines around the Maritime Zone, taking away more than 70%."
"It represented a good compromise," said Fitch. "We lost a substantial portion of the working waterfront, down to 23%....However, that 23% is actually the core of the working waterfront."
But all the back and forth over the last year, has created a rift in the town.
"People trying to get a certain point across, and I don't think it's done the community any justice," said Chuck Fuller of Harbor Bait. "I think it's created unnecessary divides. "
Reporter: "What point is it, do you think, that they're trying to get across?"
Chuck Fuller: "That Boothbay Harbor's working waterfront is endangered. It's not."
A stone's throw from Harbor Bait is Cap'n Fish, a hotel that was grandfathered in when zoning was established to protect the area more than 30 years ago. Coulombe says the hotel is frozen in time and needs updating.
"Boothbay Harbor's about tourism and summer guests," said Coulombe. "And without updated facilities and amenities the tourists will stop coming. And they have options. They have Camden, and Kennebunkport and Bar Harbor."
"It is our hope that through this letter the boards will see that we, the economic drivers of the community, will find tremendous value in the re-zoning efforts," Marty Gleason read aloud.
Marty Gleason and 65 others who signed a letter of support say they see Coulombe's plan as a way to boost business.
Others fear the authenticity of the harbor, East of the footbridge, is at stake.
"If you lose that, you never get it back," said Fitch. "And that's what our concern is."
The Town Manager, Code Enforcement Officer, and Chairman of the planning board all declined our request for interviews.
The Boothbay Harbor Board of Selectmen has started reviewing the planning board's re-zoning recommendation that was unveiled at last week's public hearing.
From there, they will draft warrants and hold another public hearing.
Whatever they decide on will go on the ballot for voters to decide in May.