To the Editor:

When we opened our store on West Main Street we had a small, lighted “open” sign in the west window. It was turned on at 9 am and off at 5 pm. It wasn’t long before we were told it was not in keeping with the historic district and we had to take it down. When we were applying for our signage we had to make sure the colors were in keeping with the historic district (I understand this has been changed). However, we still had to comply with the regulations of the district. So did most everyone else with business or property there.

The chairman of the zoning commission was so afraid of East Main Street becoming a strip mall he wanted to extend the historic district there. The residents spent many evenings trying to convince him it wouldn’t happen and that we didn’t want it extended.

The chairman of the zoning commission, who is bound to follow the rules and regulations of his own board, royally thumbed his nose at those same rules and regulations when he designed the pergola for the park in the center of town. Not only the center of town, but the center of the historic district. The DRB and selectboard followed suit.

If I went to the board now with a plan that got turned down, I would walk to the window of your office, point to the pergola, and tell you to take a flying leap. In fact, I might not even bother to appear in the first place. Don’t even think of fines because you, my friends, opened the door to noncompliance.

Lucille Rice

Wilmington