WINDHAM — The Town Council has fully lifted the moratorium on development in the Windham portion of the Highland Lake watershed after pressing pause on large development projects in the area for 10 months.

The move, approved by a narrow 4-3 vote at the council’s July 24 meeting, opens the door to possible projects in the watershed that would require site plan or subdivision review.

“It has been quite a journey for – not even quite a year – but quite a bit has gone by,” said Councilor Jarrod Maxfield, who voted to repeal the moratorium. “I just hope we all walk out of here focusing on the things that were accomplished and are done.”

The other three members to support the moratorium’s repeal were Councilors Clayton Haskell, Tim Nangle and Dennis Welch. Maxfield, Nangle and Welch all voted for the moratorium last fall. Haskell was not a member of the council at the time, but opposed extending it this spring.

The split between councilors Monday night centered around the issue of third party reviews for larger projects in the watershed, and whether or not the council should require them for site plan and subdivision projects in the watershed before lifting the moratorium.

“I am comfortable in agreeing that the moratorium should be lifted,” said Highland Lake Association board member and Highland Lake Leadership Team member Dennis Brown, who qualified his statement to say that support is contingent on the eventual institution of a third party review requirement.

The three councilors to vote against repealing the moratorium were Chairwoman Donna Chapman, Rebecca Cummings and Vice Chairman Robert Muir.

Cummings, who was not on the council when the moratorium was first passed, said she was “extremely hesitant” about lifting the moratorium until a third party review requirement is in place, and both Chapman and Muir expressed similar concerns.

“I fully agree with Dennis (Brown) about having a robust third party review process,” Nangle said after expressing his support for lifting the moratorium. “Let’s lift this, get things going in that area, and let’s continue to work on having a third party review that is able to make sure that we’re getting all of the info from the applicant.”

Town Manager Tony Plante said he is meeting Friday, July 27, with members of the lake association and the town engineer to discuss the third party review issue in more detail and better understand what the association is proposing.

“The Planning Board already has the authority to require third party review,” Plante added.

“So here’s the deal: one way or the other, we want third party review,” Chapman emphasized Monday night.

The moratorium was first passed as an emergency 180-day measure in September 2017 amid concerns about the 623-acre lake’s health and a temporary, mysterious bloom during the last several summers that researchers suspect to be a form of cyanobacteria.

The temporary ban put a hold on most development activities in the watershed. Some residents had come before the council over the course of the moratorium to relay frustrations about its impact on their development plans, including plans for single-family homes.

The council extended the measure earlier this year, and it was set to expire in about a month. In April, councilors rolled back the moratorium so that it allowed smaller projects to move forward and continued to apply only to larger projects requiring site plan or subdivision review.

The vote Tuesday night lifted the moratorium completely. Since last September, the council has made several ordinance changes aimed at bolstering water quality protection in the Highland Lake Watershed.

The Highland Lake Association has been a strong proponent of the moratorium and the ordinance changes throughout the process, with members packing the council chambers last fall in support of the initial moratorium vote.

Rosie Hartzler, the lake association’s president, addressed the council Tuesday night without expressly supporting or opposing the moratorium repeal.

“I want to thank the council especially for the cooperation and collaboration that we’ve had over the last year,” Hartzler said. “There’s no doubt that the situation at the lake was a huge wake-up call, and I really want to say thank you to each of you for responding to that wake-up call.”

She applauded work done to institute new protections within the watershed, and said she understands why the moratorium is being lifted.

She cautioned that “the alarm is still ringing” and said the association is still working to understand more about the lake’s health, including through an “advanced and updated water quality testing program.”

Hartzler hopes to have a full report on those efforts to share with the council by October.

“Let’s keep our eye on the prize, and not forget what it’s all about,” Hartzler added.

Matt Junker can be reached at 781-3661 ext. 123 or mjunker@keepmecurrent.com. Follow him on Twitter: @MattJunker.

The Windham Town Council voted 4-3 Tuesday night to lift the town’s moratorium on development in the Windham portion of the Highland Lake watershed.

Copy the Story Link