OXFORD, Maine – A Maine family is stunned when they are confronted with unexpected construction at their vacation home in the town of Oxford.

Katy and David Clark started work on their vacation home on Caldwell Lane in 2018 and say they look forward to using the space every summer.

“Katy and I have worked for this property our entire lives,” David said.

When the Clarks returned to their supposed property on June 13, where several trees had now been cut down without their knowledge, they say they were devastated.

“I did the math and I think they removed between 80 and 100 trees from our property,” David said. “It also destroyed our tree canopy and our privacy.”

A wooden frame now stands on the property, apparently marking the beginning of a construction project the Clarks had not planned.

To find out who had cleared the property, David went to the City of Oxford and found a building permit signed on June 10th allowing a certain Michael Wise to build a bunkhouse.

NEWS CENTER Maine reached out to Wise on Wednesday and is awaiting a response.

Kingston Brown, a building inspector for the city of Oxford, said he received an application from Wise, who believed the property belonged to him based on a previous survey.

Although the surrounding land is in a “resource protection zone,” Brown said he is allowed to issue a permit if necessary.

However, David says that in the recent past he had to get approval from the city's planning board to begin construction on the property.

“There was no planning authority approval, that's the issue. They somehow bypassed that step,” David said. “Even without the land issue and the ownership dispute, about 150 trees were cut down in a conservation area… so there are multiple issues here.”

According to Brown, work has since been halted until a property boundary can be established.

But with the damage already done, the Clarks say they hope to soon find a solution for the vacation home they worked so hard for.

“You know, it ruins everyone's summer. Nobody wants these trees cut down,” said homeowner David Clark.

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