He settled with the tomato growers and retired to live in North Shores full time in 1998, intent on spending as many of his days fishing as he could.
Ask Parks what first drew him to North Shores and he responds with a quote. "The sea is here, my dear," Parks says. "In his book, Norman Maclean wrote, 'Eventually, all things merge into one, and a river runs through it . . . I am haunted by waters.' I can't explain it any better than that."
This new home, disparagingly dubbed "the Twin Towers," is part of a heated dispute over building sizes in North Shores, Del.
(Photograph by Timothy Bell)
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Parks pulls out a thick file with notes, site plans and e-mails from the homeowners' size fight and sits down for an interview in his living room, which is decorated in the same pastel hues and wicker furniture favored by many of his neighbors. Bookshelves line the walls. An enormous rack of fishing rods dominates the front entryway.
It's clear he loves this place.
"I'm out on the beach every day," Parks says. "I fish in the bay, the ocean, the Indian River. As often as I can."
Parks is the only member of the neighborhood governing board who wants the stricter size limits proposed by Gitenstein. He was elected to the board last year after a push by the Concerned Property Owners of North Shores, who felt their worries were not being heeded.
"I was reluctant to do it, but they couldn't find anybody else, and I was on the forefront of the issue," Parks says. "But I've gotten to know a lot more people and made a lot more friends who share my views."
The North Shores community has been changing for a number of years, he says, but many residents think the problem has worsened recently because the last North Shores board was too lenient with property owners and their building plans.
"In my opinion, North Shores is a reflection of society as a whole," he concludes. "Society has coarsened. A few years ago nobody would even think of proposing to build a house that would completely dominate the neighborhood . . . People are working under a different set of values."
One day in June, Parks strolls over to 87 Harbor Rd., the focus of yet another North Shores controversy.
The tiny house and lot were purchased last year by a wealthy Wilmington couple, Kevin Kramer and Laura Hettleman, who want to tear it down and build a 9,600-square-foot house in its place. The six-bedroom, seven-bathroom house would have a swimming pool, a beach equipment room, a drawing room and a "cabana room." Kramer and Hettleman declined comment, but described the proposal as their "dream house" in letters to the board.
The North Shores board has rejected their plans, saying the house would be too large and could cause drainage problems for the rest of the community.
"You have a proposal to build a house that's twice as large as any of its neighbors," Parks says. "That is out of scale by anybody's definition."
The couple are now suing the North Shores board. Their lawyer, David N. Rutt, says they are trying to negotiate a compromise.
Parks points out the tiny house currently on the lot -- a decaying 1960s structure, built for about $15,000 -- and then shows where the "monstrous" house would be built, which he says would crowd up against its neighbors on either side and in the back.
"The way I see it, you have two emotions playing against each other," he explains. "There's fear on one side, fear of being dominated, playing up against greed on the other side."
He ambles down to the little marina in the center of the neighborhood, where residents dock their boats on a canal. He stops, surveying the scene before him. Two little girls in matching pink sundresses are pulling crabs out of crab pots hung off the dock. There are only a few wisps of white in the blue sky. The boats bob in their slips on the gently moving water.
For a moment, everything is as it once was.
"How it will play out, we shall see," Parks continues. "I've noticed one thing in my time. Greed usually wins."
Annie Gowen is a reporter for The Post's Metro section.
