Hearing on Westbrook cottage hinges on whether HVAC and wall removal converted a seasonal property to year‑round use

A Department of Public Health administrative hearing on an appeal over a Westbrook cottage focused on whether renovations — the removal of an interior wall and the installation of split‑unit HVAC — converted a traditionally seasonal dwelling into a year‑round residence under the public health code.

Appellant counsel urged that the evidence shows the house already had heating, insulation and a frost‑protected water line before the recent upgrades and therefore did not undergo a legally significant conversion. "We don't believe the town can meet its burden that this was in fact a conversion," Attorney Cassello said in closing, arguing the code's conversion standard requires that the building was not previously equipped for continuous occupancy.

Town counsel countered that informal or unpermitted heating installed in the past does not demonstrate lawful prior capacity and that the recent work — including the removal of a wall that…