STANDISH – A close look around Standish Corner reveals the town’s history.

It’s in the granite foundations of the 200-year-old houses and the 4-foot-wide trunks of the maple trees.

The problem is, most people aren’t spending much time in the town’s center, at the intersection of routes 25 and 35. Headed to work in Portland or to camp at Lake Winnipesaukee, they’re just passing through.

The town recently adopted new regulations for the future development of a village center that would capitalize on its character and make people want to stop in Standish.

The plan, and the process of developing it, are meant to be a model for communities throughout Maine that are struggling to revitalize their downtowns and lacking a distinct look.

“The most desirable parts of a town are what makes it different from other towns,” said Carol Billington, a longtime Standish Planning Board member who was heavily involved in creating the new regulations.

Standish’s charm is now masked by mismatched buildings and lines of commuter traffic. With high-speed traffic and no safe place to walk, the center doesn’t draw many shoppers and, because of that, new businesses don’t stay open long.

Although the town’s 1992 comprehensive plan was intended to spur development around the major intersection, it didn’t happen. The new plan takes a new approach.

Unlike the zoning of the past, the code is more concerned with the appearance than the function of new buildings.

It calls for new buildings to match the size and shape of the older structures, have smaller parking lots and be two stories tall, closer to the street and closer to each other.

Billington described the effect as creating a cocoon of buildings that’s inviting to shoppers and makes them feel safe and glad to stay.

The Town Council unanimously approved the regulations this month, marking the end of an eight-year planning process. No one from the public who attended the meeting spoke against the code, which isn’t often the case when plans for drastic changes are proposed, said Town Manager Gordon Billington, the husband of Carol.

He credits GrowSmart Maine, a nonprofit think tank that provided $80,000 worth of public outreach, including offering computer-generated images of how the village would develop under various sets of rules. The consultants held meetings at which residents could vote for their favorite images, and they sent out mailings to make sure people were aware of every step of the process.

For GrowSmart Maine, the work with Standish was a way to create a model to share with other towns in the state. Presentations on the project last summer and fall were attended by representatives from about 40 Maine communities, said Nancy Smith, executive director of the organization.

Though the Standish model will forever be a resource for GrowSmart Maine, the organization has moved on to its next project.

For the town, an end to the years of planning is the beginning of a much longer process — seeing it through.

Building out the village will take decades. The first projects are already in the works. The town secured a $47,000 grant from the state Department of Transportation to design sidewalks from the intersection to the nearby George E. Jack Elementary School, and could get more money from the state to build them.

This week, the town closed on the purchase of property between Route 25 and Oak Hill Road that will be used for a new road connecting the two, which will decongest the intersection with Route 35 and create more on-street parking. Gordon Billington said both projects are expected to be complete in 2013.

Most of the plan, however, depends on interest from developers, and there’s no guarantee that companies will flock to Standish anytime soon.

Still, Billington believes that having the regulations makes it more likely.

“If a developer knows what a town wants in advance, it can only be beneficial for business development,” he said. 

Staff Writer Leslie Bridgers can be contacted at 791-6364 or at:

lbridgers@mainetoday.com