Officially banned from participating in future town Planning Board hearings, members of the embattled Conservation Commission expressed obvious disgust with the Town Council and walked out en masse as Council Chairman Jeffrey Messer spoke at a Sept. 3 council meeting.

Commission members continued to express little respect for the Town Council, town employees or the Planning Board, accusing the council of taking unfair punitive actions against the group.

Instead of being squelched, commission members say, they should have been applauded for challenging the Planning Board’s approval of a controversial housing development last February. Commission members eventually challenged the approval to the state Environmental Protection Board, which dismissed the challenge but did force the developer to make technical corrections to his plans.

Councilors have been infuriated by the actions of commission members, which they say were dishonest, disrespectful to town employees, exposed the town to legal liability, and generally far overstepped the duties of a council-appointed, advisory body.

Some councilors, including Messer, had considered disbanding the commission or removing chairman Paul Austin, but the council settled on formally banning the board from development review except with special council permission, and relegating it exclusively to land conservation duties, such as cataloging wetland and building trails.

At the Sept. 3 meeting, Messer described Austin’s behavior as “rude and abrasive,” “out of control” and, during a past confrontation with Town Manager Ron Owens, as “absolutely unconscionable to the point of (witnesses) almost having to call the police.”

He also accused Austin of being disingenuous throughout the conflict with the town, misleading town officials, members of the public and Messer himself in an attempt to legitimize his complaints about the Planning Board.

Specifically, Messer said, Austin spurred neighbors of the Eastern Village development by telling them their properties would flood if the development were approved; told Messer and others that the environmental board challenge was filed by “members of the public” when it was filed by all but one of the members of the Conservation Commission and Austin’s wife; and misrepresenting many facts during a meeting Austin requested with Messer himself.

“As far as issues of honesty, this is where the rubber hits the road for me,” Messer said.

Austin and supporters stood up and walked out of the meeting while Messer was speaking.

By agreement of the Town Council as a whole, the re-drafting of the commission’s duties (approved 5-1 Sept. 3, Carol Rancourt opposed and Ron Ahlquist absent) had earlier been assigned to councilors Sylvia Most and Michael Wood, who had previously been relatively neutral regarding the commission. The two said the new duties were intended to bring Scarborough’s Conservation Commission in line with other commissions in the state and also to focus its attention on the vital issue of recognizing, protecting, acquiring and maintaining sensitive land in the rapidly growing town.

Without taking a position regarding the behavior of commission members, Rancourt said, she voted against the changes because she is concerned they would weaken the protection of Scarborough’s natural resources.

Conservation Commission members and their supporters spoke against the proposed changes before the council’s vote. Susan Wilder, Austin’s wife, said problems with the Eastern Village plans would not have been corrected had it not been for the Conservation Commission’s vigilance, and suggested the town listens more to developers and less to environmentalists than it should.

Commission member Patrick Kelley – the one member who did not sign the environmental board petition – said it is “disingenuous” to say that Scarborough’s natural resources will be protected if the commission is essentially banned from development review.

Commission member Jeannine Uzzi said the council’s action would be a blow to Scarborough’s natural resources and were borne out of Messer’s “personal agenda” against Austin. She said commission members had been forced to appeal to the state board because of town officials’ complacency and the Planning Board’s sloppy review of the development plans.

“If this amendment passes, Scarborough loses,” she said.

Under its new duties, the Conservation Commission will participate in development review only by invitation of the Town Council.