Town At Odds Over Buddhist Temple

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WMTW.com
January 22, 2008

BUXTON, Maine -- In Buxton, controversy over a Buddhist temple was the focus of Monday night’s town planning board meeting.

The Wat Samaki Cambodian Buddhist Temple, on Back Nippen Road, has been around for about two years but is just now seeking a permit from the town to hold services.

Many neighbors at Monday night’s meeting said the temple’s large gatherings cause traffic and parking problems and are destroying the rural nature of their neighborhood.

The town has asked the temple to limit its gatherings to 200 people and to provide a parking lot with a maximum of 68 spaces. The temple also is being required to abide by the town’s noise ordinance, possibly limiting the number of large gatherings it can hold in a year.

Temple officials said they are happy to work with the town.

The planning board will vote on the permit on Feb. 11