BOWDOINHAM
Bowdoinham is crafting a comprehensive plan — and it wants residents’ input about how to make it happen.
In planning its vision for the year 2023, the Bowdoinham Comprehensive
Planning Committee is asking the public to weigh in on future landuse strategies at a meeting, 6:30 p.m. today at the Town Hall on School Street.
Children are welcome and snacks will be provided.
The Comprehensive Planning Committee members want to create a comprehensive plan that represents what the town wants. It is a 10-year plan for the town that lays out the work the town should undertake to meet its goals, and is the basis for the town’s land-use ordinances.
The state’s Growth Management Act requires the town to identify areas it wants to encourage growth, and those areas that it wants to remain rural.
The committee has developed a 2023 vision for Bowdoinham. Today, “We will discuss and identify specific strategies to achieve the 2023 vision for Bowdoinham,” according to a meeting announcement.
Craig Freshley of Brunswick will facilitate the meeting, which will include an introduction, explanation and overview of the vision statement.
Topics for small-group discussion include the following pieces of the 2023 vision: Lively and attractive village; more agricultural land; woods, wetlands, waterfronts highly valued; rural character, history, and beauty preserved; and affordable and diverse housing.
Possible strategies for these vision topics could include, respectively: Zoning to allow for smaller lot sizes and higher density to support growth in the village; create a transfer of development rights program to support preservation of agricultural land; limit residential development in and around high valued woods, wetlands and waterfront areas; implement zoning that allows for mixed use development with buffering to different uses, regulates residential density instead of minimum lot sizes and limits the number of entrances onto public roads instead of frontage requirements; and allow diverse housing types in the town ordinance including cluster and co-housing.
The goal of each small group will be to identify the most promising strategies in their topic area. Each person will be able to discuss two topics and the groups will have a chance to briefly report on their priorities.
¦ THE COMPREHENSIVE Planning Committee members want to create a comprehensive plan that represents what the town wants. It is a 10-year plan for the town that lays out the work the town should undertake to meet its goals, and is the basis for the town’s land-use ordinances.
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