Ames Farm is a vestige of a bygone era.
Very "old school," traditional, with little invested in the property by way of capital improvements (at least so it would seem).
Which I can certainly understand, as the owners have had to figure out a way to make the property pay for itself, plus yield a decent profit: otherwise, what's the point of owning a big chunk of beautiful lakefront, unless you are a gazillionaire who builds a Mcmansion and comes to visit occasionally for personal use?
Ames Farm, as currently structured, is a commercial endeavor, and they need to turn a buck.
If in fact Ames ignored the rules and / or bent the rules in order to save money, that would seem to indicate a flawed business model on the part of Ames Farm.
I would suspect that any scofflaw behavior was premised upon perceived business necessity and not on personal arrogance, but I really do not know.
Odds are quite good that a reasonable settlement to the cities' lawsuit can be arrived at, and Ames Farm can continue to operate, but Ames may choose not to.
This must be an embarassment, a black eye, and a provocative, festering sore for Ames Farm.
Were I the owners of the property, this could be the final straw to induce me to say "Bah, it ain't worth it!" and then decide to sell, brother, sell.
My families' property is near Ames Farm, and I would miss the view of the white cottages grouped on the beach, but it is their call, not mine.
Personally, I hope they can figure out a way to make it continue to work, but their costs of doing business are climbing (hello, property tax!), and it may have reached the point that it just isn't viable anymore for Ames Farm to try to operate their Business As Usual.
Cruel world.
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