FALMOUTH — A petition signed by hundreds of residents that sought to overturn the creation of growth districts won’t appear on the town ballot in June because the signatures were filed too late, the town’s attorneys say.

Led by John Winslow, a group of residents upset by the creation of growth districts – particularly in West Falmouth – turned in a petition to Town Clerk Ellen Planer this month that contained the validated signatures of 869 voters. But attorneys Amy Tchao and Agnieszka Dixon told the Town Council last week that the petition was invalid because it wasn’t submitted within 60 days of the growth district ordinance being approved. The zoning changes were enacted in 2016.

In addition, Tchao and Dixon said, “any petition that seeks to enact an ordinance must include the proposed ordinance text,” which the document did not. Therefore, the attorneys said, “the council is not legally obligated to place the referendum on the June 12 ballot.”

The petition circulated over the past several months said “We, the citizens of the town of Falmouth, Maine petition the town to rescind the Town Council decision of July 2016, creating high-density residential zoning in established areas of the Town of Falmouth.”

Because so many people have opposed the density increases, the Town Council will hold a public forum on the issue in October and review the ordinance to see if amendments are needed.

Winslow this week said he’s prepared “to let the issue go,” depending on what actions the council ends up taking. He said the council’s promise to review the issue is “all just words, action is what speaks.”

“The town shouldn’t do any growth overlays in areas where there is no public water or sewer, that’s where they went dramatically wrong,” Winslow said. The growth districts are mostly located on the east and west ends of town.

Winslow said a resolution unanimously passed by the council Monday that calls for a public forum and review of the growth districts has “the same cause and effect” as his petition.

“I think they realized there’s an overwhelming sentiment out there,” Winslow said. “We got the signatures and they were validated. That holds a lot of weight in itself. I hope the council really listens. People don’t want these high-density areas. I think we have their attention now.”

Winslow said opposition also extends to a proposed contract zone off Gray Road that would allow more than 100 new residences, along with some commercial development.

While the contract zone is separate from the growth districts, many of the issues are the same, Winslow said, including school overcrowding, increased traffic and more demand on municipal services, such as fire and rescue.

In support of the resolution, Councilor Aaron Svedlow acknowledged Monday that “there’s clearly an interest” by residents in having the council rethink the growth districts.

But Councilor Karen Farber said the creation of the districts was a deliberate attempt to lessen the amount of development occurring in the town’s more rural areas and shift that growth to other more developed areas of Falmouth instead.

Kate Irish Collins can be contacted at 710-2336 or at:

kcollins@theforecaster.net. Follow Kate on Twitter: @KIrishCollins.

Read this story in The Forecaster.

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