RAYMOND — A second phase of shoreland restoration work is wrapped up for the winter on two adjacent lakefront properties of Sebago Lake at the center of a legal battle between the town of Raymond  and Auburn businessman Don Buteau for more than two years.

The restoration work is part of a consent agreement between the town and Buteau, his real estate holding company Management Controls LLC, his primary contractor Robert Durant, and Q-Team Tree Service.

The restoration plan was drawn up by Ransom Engineering, hired by Buteau, and approved by the Maine Department of Environmental Protection, and a third-party consultant — TRC Companies — is also overseeing the work.

Chris Hanson, Raymond’s code enforcement officer, holds a piece of black riprap Tuesday while reviewing restoration work on adjacent Sebago Lake properties. A consent agreement requires owner Don Buteau to remove the 400 feet of riprap and replant vegetation under Maine Department of Environmental Protection oversight. Large boulders mimicking the natural shoreline were installed, and the hillside planted with blueberry bushes. Andree Kehn/Sun Journal

Initial work began in May at the property at 28 Whitetail Lane, with the removal of some of the riprap, or large rock, and boulders placed there by Buteau’s contractor, part of the work that led to the Shoreland Zoning Ordinance violations in December 2021.

In the past two weeks, most of the 400 feet of riprap at 28 Whitetail and 18 Fernwood Road has been removed and replaced with 600-pound boulders, and a fabric was installed to help stabilize the slope. Highbush and lowbush blueberries have also been planted on the newly graded slope.

The hillside at 28 Whitetail Lane next to Sebago Lake in Raymond is seen Tuesday after being planted with blueberry bushes. Restoration of the shoreline, now paused for the season, stems from a $650,000 settlement requiring Auburn businessman Donald Buteau to remove riprap and replant vegetation under Maine Department of Environmental Protection oversight. Andree Kehn/Sun Journal

“I think when people drive by it in a boat they’re going to be pleased,” Raymond Code Enforcement Officer Chris Hanson said Tuesday. He noted the removal of a concrete pad and hot tub at the Fernwood Road property has also been completed.

Hanson pointed out that the Whitetail Lane property had some existing natural rock and a jetty with a dock on it out front. “That’s going to remain because it was there many, many years prior to shoreland zoning,” he said in July.

Under the consent agreement, Buteau and his primary contractor have one year to complete the work. It will resume in the spring with more bush plantings, and at least 16 tree saplings 4 to 6 inches in diameter will be planted to replace the mature trees cut down. The Maine DEP restoration plan states the new plantings, “will approximate the vegetation that existed prior to the 2021 violation.”

Town Manager Sue Look, left, and Code Enforcement Officer Chris Hanson stand Tuesday at one of two Sebago Lake properties central to a dispute with the town. Restoration, now paused for the season, will continue in the spring at both properties. Andree Kehn/Sun Journal

Hanson said he is waiting on reports on the restoration work to come from Ransom Engineering and TRC Companies, but what he sees shows a marked improvement.

“I think it looks great,” he said, “but I’m not an engineer and they’re the guys that do the technical review of it.”

Hanson said it also should be pointed out that Buteau has paid his fine and attorney fees owed to the town, and Buteau and contractor Robert Durant are abiding by the terms of the consent agreement.

The lakefront property at 18 Fernwood Road on Sebago Lake in Raymond is seen Sept. 14, 2022. Restoration of the shoreline, now paused for the season, stems from a $650,000 settlement requiring Auburn businessman Donald Buteau to remove riprap and replant vegetation under Maine Department of Environmental Protection oversight.  Daryn Slover/Sun Journal file