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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2006-03-14 Planning Board Minutes March 27, 2006 Planning Board Presentation Comprehensive Plan Update March 14, 2006 Board Members Present: Robert Guerette, Chairman Hal Wheeler Miles Theeman Nat Rosenblatt David Clark Laura Mitchell Alice Brown Jeff Barnes City Councilors Present: Geoffrey Gratwick City Staff Present: David Gould James Ring Peter Witham Lynn Johnson News Media Present: Bangor Daily News Chairman Guerette opened the presentation meeting noting that this was an opportunity for the Board to give the public a sneak preview of the results of the efforts of the Board in updating the Comprehensive Plan. Chairman Guerette indicated that Mr. David Gould, Planning Officer, was the architect behind this document and would make the presentation. Mr. Gould discussed the history of Comprehensive Planning, the Growth Management Law and the process the Board followed in doing the update. Mr. Gould explained that the Comprehensive Plan is a document that is used as a guide for the day-to-day operations of the City. The Comprehensive Plan is not zoning but a frame work or reference for decisions. Mr. Gould indicated that because the Comprehensive Plan is a policy statement, there will not be any change of zoning in the City as a result. Zoning will only be changed after a formal process and public hearings when someone requests a zone change. Mr. Gould discussed that State Law in the 1960’s that said that any city that has zoning needs to have a Comprehensive Plan. In 1969 the City adopted a Comprehensive Plan. In 1978, the Bangor Mall was built and at that time the 1969 Comprehensive Plan no longer worked well for the City and in 1979 the City adopted a new updated Land Use Plan. That plan worked until 1990 when a new Comprehensive Plan was adopted. Heavy development activity in Maine resulted in the enactment of the Growth Management Law that mandated that all communities would do a 2 Comprehensive Plan. The new law would take a “cookbook” approach and require State approval of plans. Mr. Gould explained that in 2000 the City’s 1990 Comprehensive Plan was updated and was finally deemed compliant by the State. This plan was also adopted by the Planning Board and City Council in 2000. When the Planning Board started the Update process in 2004, the concept of transition areas was initiated and the Staff and the Planning Board identified 28 areas of the City that were considered hotspots of change. In early 2005, the Planning Board went out into the community to ask what the issues and concerns the public had. The four reoccurring issues that came up at all four neighborhood meetings were: traffic, the condition of sidewalks and pedestrian access, trail linkages to open space and the waterfront, and the proposed racino at Bass Park. In the Board’s review and update they went through and reviewed all nine Planning Elements of the Comprehensive Plan. In some ways it could be viewed as a “housekeeping” job. A great deal of old material is being eliminated. Mr. Gould highlighted all nine Elements indicating that in the document old text has been struck out and new information is highlighted in red. Chairman Guerette then opened the workshop up to comments from the audience. Mr. Steve Ribble, 17 James Street, indicated that he wanted to make two comments. First, he said that he would encourage identification of open space or significant environmental nodes that link the recreational or trail corridors. Secondly, by way of making this happen he asked that there be consideration of off site, open space allowances. Ms. Ann Marie Orr an Essex Street Resident and Caroline Eaton a resident on Trilliam Trail, indicated that they wished to thank the Board for the open forum. Ms. Orr explained that their presentation to the Board was about a proposal for a non motorized path on Essex Street to be included in the City’s Comprehensive Plan. There are many reasons why they chose Essex Street as the first part of this non motorized path plan. Ms. Orr indicated that they wished to apply for funding from the State of Maine for Federal funds to construct a five-foot paved shoulder on Essex Street. Ms. Orr indicated that 80% of the costs would come through this grant and 20% would need to come from City funding. Part of this funding would come directly from a school program which is available in this area because there are two schools within this zone (Mary Snow School and Bangor High School). Ms. Orr also said that a goal was to have young professionals move into the community and stay. To do this it was necessary to offer this kind of recreational activity. She indicated that she felt that this was a smart place to start and that they had a lot of community support for this through Bangor Beautiful, and Bangor Land Trust. For them to go ahead with this they need for it to be included in the Comprehensive Plan. The deadline is July, 2006 for the application for 3 Federal funding. They also plan to go in front of the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee as well. Ms Eaton indicated that because of health issues this application would qualify for a grant for a non motoried path. Ms. Eaton cited statistics regarding the health of Maine children. Ms. Orr indicated that this pathway would also be a community connection, connecting the downtown to Stillwater Avenue to Essex Street and to Gould’s landing at Pushaw Lake. The proposed path would be a four mile path in Bangor and a 1.9 mile path in Orono. Ms. Eaton added that the path would also connect the City Forest, the Walden Park Preserve, and the Penjajawoc Marsh through to Orono. She noted that presently there is inadequate infrastructure to support regular routine walking and biking. Chairman Guerette asked if there were any questions. Mr. Rosenblatt asked if they were talking about a five foot paved shoulder on each side of Essex Street from Stillwater Avenue to the Bangor/Orono town line or if they were talking about a sidewalk or street widening. Ms. Orr indicated that they were proposing five feet of shoulder on either side of the street to be earmarked for bicycle use. She indicated that Mr. Ring felt that paved shoulders would be best along Essex Street. Ms. Brown asked if the five feet on either side was in the existing right-of-way or would need to be taken by eminent domain. Mr. Ring indicated that there was a 66 foot right-of-way on Essex Street. However, while the sides appear to be wide enough, there is a lot of work that would need to be done before undertaking this type of project. Ms. Mitchell asked how this route was picked over other possible connections. Ms. Eaton said that she new that there were other proposals out there but they felt that Essex Street, with the two schools in the zone, made it eligible for the state funding. Also, because it connects areas of the City she felt that it meet the criteria for inclusion in the Comprehensive Plan. With all of the new developments in the area there is going to be more traffic and many more kids going to school. Now it is not safe and they have heard of people getting hit while riding their bikes on Essex Street. Chairman Guerette noting that they had requested that this plan be made a part of the Comprehensive Plan, said that the Board has had many discussions over the concept of linkages in the City and open space plans. In those discussions, the Board recognizes that there are numerous organizations across the City that have from time to time developed interests or plans or fund raising activities to further those kinds of things. It seemed clear to the Board that one of the things that needed to be done was to bring all of these people together for a much better inventory as to what the open spaces really are and about pedestrian and bicycle by-ways so that the high levels of demand can be determined. In the implementation plan one item on the “to do” list for the City is to further study this issue. Chairman Guerette asked if they were asking the Board to put their project amongst those that the Board wishes to study further or are they making a specific request to create this widening of Essex Street immediately. 4 Mrs. Orr indicated that they were requesting that their project be considered immediately. She said that this was something that would take on its own life and it needed to start somewhere. There can be study after study after study but to get something going this seems to be a logical place to start and it will branch out into all different areas. For the federal funding aspect, they request that this be done immediately so that they may apply for the 2006 request. The next time they can apply is 2008. Chairman Guerette asked what the criteria are for such an application. Mrs. Orr indicated that the criteria would be to include it as part of the open space connecting to a five foot shoulder on Essex Street. Mr. Brent Hall, 37 Webster Avenue, commended the Board on their tremendous work on this project. Mr. Hall indicated that he is an avid cyclist in Bangor who does th not drive a car. One statistic that he wished to point out is that Maine is ranked 38 in the United Street for the portion of funds that are allocated to bike and pedestrian projects and he would like to see that increased in the future. Mr. Hall indicated that a couple of proposals that he would make would be to install more bike racks in the downtown to cover the bike usage. He knew of only 2 or 3 bike racks in the immediate downtown area. If they were installed every 3 or 4 blocks this would allow more people to ride their bikes in the downtown and it would also alleviate some of the parking congestion. Another suggestion would be for the City to put up more “share the road” signs. Mr. Hall said that shoulders are a big issue and a couple of places that come to mind are Essex Street, Stillwater Avenue, and Odlin Road as he has had incidences where he has been run off the road. He also suggested a bike path through the City along the riverfront. Mr. Clark noted that he purchased a bike that has sat idle for quite some time as he was tired of being run off the road by semis. He, too, would like to see something done on some of the roads. Mr. Rosenblatt asked Mr. Hall where he would like to see bike racks in the Downtown. Mr. Hall indicated that now there is one at the Public Library, at Java Joe’s, and by the Waterfront. He would like to see some installed on Main Street near the bus station and in other high traffic pedestrian and cyclist areas. Mr. Harold Johnson, 55 Woodland Drive, indicated that he would like to see sidewalks required in future subdivisions. Mr. Theeman asked Mr. Ring to summarize what the sidewalk requirements are. Mr. Ring indicated that there was quite a bit of discussion about this. The City does not have a strict requirement for sidewalks. The big issue is whether the sidewalk connects to anything or has a high demand. The concept identified in the Comprehensive Plan Update is to consider cash in lieu of building a sidewalk within a new development, perhaps requiring that development to support sidewalk construction nearby on a busier 5 arterial street so that it would serve multi-functions. An example would be in consideration of a new subdivision on Essex Street with all the activity out there, whether to request a sidewalk in the development itself or having the developer create sidewalks on Essex Street to serve more people. There certainly isn’t a case where one size fits all. Mr. William Phillips, 75 South Park Street, indicated that one of the issues over the years has been the setbacks and lot size requirements for the older parts of the City. A lot of times in the older part of the City the buildings no longer meet the setbacks especially in cases of replacement when a building burns down. He would like to keep the character of neighborhoods viable. He said that the older neighborhoods are one of the strengths of Bangor as they are in close proximity to downtown. Ms. Valerie Carter, 112 Birch Street, told the Board that she commended them, and especially David Gould and Jim Ring for their involvement with the revision of the Comprehensive Plan. She indicated that she had four short points to make. She said that she strongly supported the proposal for the non motorized path along Essex Street. She encouraged the City and the Planning Board, in its continued work, to consider planning in the context of long-term planning in the global society and, especially, in terms of global climate changes, high costs of oil and petroleum, and shortages that are very likely in the next few decades. She lauded the Board in its consideration of rural areas in their own right and not just as places awaiting development. She said that if not planned for, then years down the road there may not be enough arable land close to cities. She asked the Board to keep in mind the importance of maintaining the viability of locally based businesses and small businesses. She noted the importance of contiguous open spaces in terms of trails, habitat corridors, etc. Lastly, she said that she would like to encourage the Planning Board to continue its process of openness in soliciting public input and involvement. She suggested that there be some sort of a public planning advisory committee to help the Planning Board and the Planning Staff. Mrs. Gwethalyn Phillips, 75 South Park Street, said that she wished to make a comment about the check list at the end of the Comprehensive Plan. She said that she would like to make sure that there is something done about updating the ordinances of the City and code enforcement procedures when the Comprehensive Plan is adopted in order for things to actually fall into place and happen. Ms. Phillips said that many times after a comprehensive plan is adopted and a new proposal comes up the same issues are haggled over again and again. She said that to some extent this is because the ordinances are not brought into compliance so that everyone is on the same page. One example, that goes back several years, is where a couple of major developments in the City were required to put sidewalks in and they did not do it. It took several years for them to be made to go back and put in sidewalks. Ms. Phillips, in looking ahead, said that it is important to try to make sure that everybody knows from the developers, to the neighbors to whomever, what is expected and what in fact is required without question. 6 Mr. Wheeler reminded everyone that the process that the Board is in is an update and not a revision, and the Comprehensive Plan will not be revised until 2010. He indicated that he did not want expectations to exceed reality and would use the Essex Street path project as an example. While this is a wonderful idea, he felt that it is important that people understand what the Board is actually doing. Chairman Guerette indicated that this is a valid point and noted that they undertook this project as a sort of checks and balances half-way through a 10-year period in which the Comprehensive Plan exists. The City recognized that in the last 4 or 5 years there had been a lot of development that was identified in the transition areas. The Board felt it would be appropriate and relevant to take a pause and look at the Comprehensive Plan to see if it is still relevant. In the process of doing that analysis, the Board did uncover some very specific needs and recommendations and changes to Land Development Code. Those are being put on a “to do” list to make those things happen in the next five years. They will not be included as things that have been accomplished or fixed in this particular document called the Comprehensive Plan Update. At the neighborhood meeting on Thirteenth Street, Councilor Gratwick asked what is the Comprehensive Plan and how do you read it. Chairman Guerette said that he felt that the Board took that as a challenge to try to make this document easier to look at and to read. This is the reason why they took so much time deleting references to antiquated information existing from 10, 20 and even 25 years ago. He said that the update is a much more streamlined, easier to read, and a more user friendly document. It is not a revision in a technical sense of the word as a revision would involve a lot more ownership by City Departments that control things like housing, economic development, etc., and it would require them to author new goals and objectives for their departments. What the Board is doing now is piggy-backing on that information that was prepared in 2000. The language has been cleaned up and the Board has made some specific recommendations in hope that they will be address over the next five years. Chairman Guerette noted that he had asked Planning Board Members to make comments or observations as well. Mr. Wheeler said that this process has been a remarkable adventure, not only for the Board but for members of the public who have sensed that they were invited to take part. Mr. Wheeler indicated that language and guidelines and documents of the comprehensive planning policy have been seriously outdated over the last 15 years. He said that the City and the community have been moving rapidly toward the realities of modern growth and as mentioned by Ms. Carter, these realities have been impacted by such factors as the global economy, environmental and ecological values, and cultural and social aspects of the community which include the houses people live in and neighborhoods where those houses are located. The key word that became very apparent was that this is a City in a very significant stage of transition. A city in the st 21 Century cannot avoid accommodating changes by forces not only from outside itself but from forces within itself. His five years as a Member of the Planning Board have been more rewarding that he could say, along with his years as a City Councilor 7 back in the early to mid 1980’s when Bangor finally began to move ahead. As an example, there were six or seven vacant parcels of land in the downtown area which had been cleared by Urban Renewal in 1968 and never filled. The City Council has since granted developer status and filled five of the six parcels. The only one remaining is the one where the new Court House is to be constructed down on the corner of Washington and Exchange Streets. As commercial development has processed and professional services and education facilities have grown, it has become very obvious that Bangor is the hub of the economy and lifestyle of northern and eastern Maine and perhaps even further south than that. Mr. Wheeler said that even though the population hovers around 32,000 the Board was reminded by the City Engineer that the daytime population averages three times that number of people. The Board needs opinions from members of the public and citizens of the community. Mr. Wheeler said that he was proud that the Planning Board went out into the community to solicit public comments as it demonstrated good faith on the part of the Board. Chairman Guerette indicated that sometimes there is a misconception as to what the Planning Board is. All Members learn that the Board has to operate within certain parameters. He noted that the Board has been meeting every other week since the beginning of 2005 and the Update has been done with extreme rigor and a lot of differences of opinions. He thanked all involved with the update. Mrs. Linda Hunter, a Kenduskeag Avenue resident, asked if there was a plan for the open spaces in the City. She noted the significant wildlife areas and wetlands and asked if the wetlands would be delineated in the Update. Mrs. Hunter also asked what has happened to the Rural Residence and Agricultural areas and will they continued to be zoned that way. Mr. Gould indicated that the update of the Comprehensive Plan does not change the zoning on a single parcel. Mrs. Hunter asked if the green areas could be a part of the concept now. Chairman Guerette explained that such a plan presently does not exist. However, it is on the “to do” list. Chairman Guerette expressed his thanks to Jim Ring and Dave Gould for their unending and untiring efforts in putting this together as well as to the Members of the Planning Board who have made a Herculean effort in putting together. He indicated that the purpose of this workshop was to gather comments before the actual public hearing. He noted that March 24, 2006 is the deadline for written comments. The th Board’s final workshop meeting will be on March 28 and at that time, the Board will consider all of the comments and try to work them into the Update, if appropriate. After that meeting, a 30-day notice will be posted for a Public Hearing by the Planning nd, th Board on May 2and considered by the City Council on May 8. Mr. Shep Harris, 100 Linden Street, noted that on March 22,2006 there will be a presentation at Bangor Public Library to discuss trails. He told the Board that if there was anything the Mall Marsh Commission could do to help the Board in this process they would be delighted to do so. Mr. Rosenblatt asked if he anticipated some end 8 products from this discussion. Mr. Harris indicated that they did and that there would be suggestion boxes to solicit comments. Ms. Carter asked what the legal status of the Comprehensive Plan would be if an application comes before the Board before the City Ordinances are amended to reflect the updated Comprehensive Plan. Mr. Gould explained that Comprehensive Plans are not rock solid. For example, in a case open space in a subdivision the location can not be located by regulation and the City could rely on the comprehensive plan for guidance. Another example would be if the comprehensive plan suggested that rural house lots be five acres and there are no new provisions in the Zoning Ordinance that are different, then the adopted Zoning Ordinance rules. Mr. Rosenblatt added that the Comprehensive Plan is the guide for zone changes and contract zone changes where the Land Development Code is the guide for site development plans and subdivisions. Mr. Mike Hempful, 92 Grant Street, indicated that he is concerned about open spaces in the downtown and along the waterfront, and provision of alternative means of transportation. He indicated that the Kenduskeag Stream trail is very hard to walk down and asked if there were plans to make a bicycle path there. Mr. Rosenblatt indicated that the City has accumulated property along the Waterfront to be used as open space. As far as how much land will be available for open space it will be determined by the City Council. As far as plans to expand open space in the downtown, he was not aware of any at this time. Mr. Gould indicated that because the Downtown is developed, the open space that exists is likely the extent of the open space. The Downtown open space includes various parks and the Kenduskeag Stream Trail that extends all the way down to the waterfront. The older part of the City is largely built out. The opportunity for larger open spaces is going to occur out in the developing areas. As there were no further comments, the meeting was adjourned at 9:12 p.m. Planning Board Presentation Comprehensive Plan Update March 14, 2006 Board Members Present: Robert Guerette, Chairman Hal Wheeler Miles Theeman Nat Rosenblatt David Clark Laura Mitchell Alice Brown Jeff Barnes City Councilors Present: Geoffrey Gratwick City Staff Present: David Gould James Ring Peter Witham Lynn Johnson News Media Present: Bangor Daily News Chairman Guerette opened the presentation meeting noting that this was an opportunity for the Board to give the public a sneak preview of the results of the efforts of the Board in updating the Comprehensive Plan. Chairman Guerette indicated that Mr. David Gould, Planning Officer was the architect behind this document. Mr. Gould was asked to make a presentation. Mr. Gould discussed the history of Comprehensive Planning, the Growth Management Law and the process the Board followed in doing the update. Mr. Gould explained that the Comprehensive Plan is a document that is used as a guide for the day-to-day operations of the City. The Comprehensive Plan is not zone but a frame work or reference for decisions. The Comprehensive Plan is a policy statement and there will not be any change of zoning in the City as a result. Zoning will only be changed when someone requests a zone change. Mr. Gould discussed that State Law in the 1960’s that said that any city that has zoning needs to have a Comprehensive Plan. In 1969 the City adopted a Comprehensive Plan. In 1978, the Bangor Mall was built and at that time the 1969 Comprehensive Plan did not work for the city and in 1979 the City adopted a new Land Use Plan that worked until 1990 when a new Comprehensive Plan was adopted. A drive in State of Maine to do development resulted in the enactment of the Growth Management Law that mandated that all communities would do a Comprehensive Plan. The Law set out a list of criteria. The State actually reviewed the Comprehensive Plan and made a determination if it was consistent with this Growth Management Law. In 1990 the City of Bangor created a new Comprehensive Plan but it did not fall under the Growth Management Laws. However, in the late 1990’s the City was required to do one under this Law. The City’s 1990 Comprehensive Plan was updated and was deemed compliant by the State and adopted in 2000. The Comprehensive Plan 2000 is a sort of cookbook approach. When the Planning Board started the Update process in 2004, the concept of transition areas was a good idea and the Staff and the Planning Board identified 28 areas of the City that were considered hotspots. In 2005 the Planning Board went out into the community to ask what the issues and concerns were. The four reoccurring issues that came up at all four neighborhood meetings, namely: traffic, the condition of sidewalks and pedestrian access, trail linkages to open space and the waterfront, and the racino at Bass Park. The Board then went through all nine the Planning Elements of the Comprehensive Plan in what would be considered a “housekeeping job” of the plan. trying to incorporate these concerns into the goals and policies of the Elements. In the document, old text has been struck out and new information is highlighted in red. Mr. Gould highlighted the nine Elements. In the Housing Element while the population has remained constant, there have been 200 new house lots, 300 new apartments and 1.4 million square feet of new development. In Element No. 2 – Economic Development the City’s Industrial district were crafted in the 1950’s and the districts need to be brought up into the modern era. For example, the buildings in the Maine Business Enterprise Park are used for technology or service based businesses. One of the highlights of Element 3 is a highlight is development of an open space plan. This plan would offer ways to link open spaces together. Element 4 is the Transportation Element. Some of the highlights would include ways to deal with traffic, access management to arterial streets, limiting curb cuts, a strategy for sidewalks. Mr. Gould explained that Element 5 is the corner stone of land use issues which deal with the land use concepts and zoning policy maps. The Land Use Concepts Plan lays out the basic land uses throughout the City. The Zoning Policy Plan Map takes those distinctions and further breaks them down into the zoning designations. There were discrepancies with the existing maps and needed to be corrected. Element No. 7, the Natural Resources Element, includes the City’s watersheds. Mr. Gould noted that the Penjajawoc Marsh Task Force Report because it was so important was adopted as part of the Comprehensive Plan Update even before this process ever took place. Mr. Gould added that the Historic Element now includes the City’s Cultural Plan. Chairman Guerette then opened the workshop up to comments from the audience. Ms. Ann Marie Orr an Essex Street Resident and Carolyn Eaton a resident on Trilliam Trail, indicated that they wished to thank the Board for the open forum. Ms. Orr indicated that their presentation was about a proposal for a non motorized path on Essex Street to be included in the City’s Comprehensive Plan. There are many reasons why they chose Essex Street as the first part of this non motorized path plan. The first reason is safety as Essex Street is a well traveled road by pedestrians and bicyclists and there is no shoulder presently on Essex Street. They are proposing a five foot paved shoulder. With the increased development and increased traffic it is very dangerous along this road. They are planning to apply for a grant federal funding from the State. 80% of the costs would come from the State and the City would need to put up a 20% City match. Part of this funding would come directly from a school program. This school funding is available as there are two schools within this zone (Mary Snow School and Bangor High School. Ms Eaton indicated that this grant would be for a non motoried path because of health issues. Ms. Orr indicated that this pathway would also be a community connection, connecting the downtown to Stillwater Avenue to Essex Street to Gould’s landing at Pushaw Lake. They are also connecting Orono and it would be a four mile path in Bangor and l.9 miles in Orono. Ms. Eaton indicated that it would also connect the City Forest, the Walden Park Preserve, Penjajawoc Marsh through to Orono. It would start with the Bangor Water front and end up in the Orono waterfront. There is inadequate infrastructure to support regular routine walking and biking. Ms. Orr also noted that a goal was to have young professionals move into the community and stay. To do this it was necessary to offer this kind of recreational activity. She indicated that she felt that this was a smart place to start. She said that they had a lot of community support for this through Bangor Beautiful, Bangor Land Trust, the Bike Coalition? and for them to go ahead with this they need for it to be included in the Comprehensive Plan. Their deadline is July, 2006 while proposing for Federal funding. They also plan on going in from of the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee as well. Chairman Guerette asked if there were any questions. Mr. Rosenblatt asked if they were talking about a five foot paved shoulder on each side of Essex Street from Stillwater Avenue to the Bangor/Orono town line and if they were talking about a sidewalk or street widening. Ms. Orr indicated that they were proposing that 5 feet of shoulder on either side of the street should be earmarked for bicycle use. She indicated that Mr. Ring felt that paved shoulders would be best along Essex Street. Ms. Brown asked if this five feet on either side was in the existing right-of-way or would it need to be taken by eminent domain. Mr. Ring indicated that there was a 66 foot right-of-way on Essex Street. However, while the sides appear to be wide enough, there is a lot of work that would need to be done before undertaking this type of project. Ms. Mitchell asked how this route was picked over other possible connections. Ms. Eaton said that she new that there were other proposals out there but they felt that Essex Street, with the two schools on it, makes it eligible for the state funding. Also, because it connects the downtown, connects the waterfront, it connects the park and seems like to matches all four aspects of the Comprehensive Plan. With all of the new developments in the area there is going to be more traffic and many more kids going to school from the development. Now it is not safe and they have heard of people getting hit while riding their bikes on Essex Street. Chairman Guerette noted that they had requested that this plan be made a part of the comprehensive plan. The Board has had many discussions over those whole concept of linkages in the City and open space plans. In those discussions we recognize that there were numerous organizations across the City and from time to time have developed interests or plans or fund raising activities to further those kinds of things. It seemed clear to the Board that one of the things that needed to be done was to bring all of those people together for a much better inventory as to what the open spaces really are and secondly when the Board talk about pedestrian and bicycle by- ways so that the high levels of demand can be determined. Those areas might be easier to market to promote for development for those uses. In the implementation plan one item on the “to do” list for the City was to further study this issue. Chairman Guerette asked if they were asking the Board to put their project amongst those that the Board wishes to study further or are they making a specific request to create this widening of Essex Street immediately. Chairman Guerette indicated that he was not sure how that would or could be done. Mrs. Orr indicated that they were requesting that their project be considered immediately. She indicated that she would need to forfeit a portion of her property to do so. She said that this was something that would take on its own life and it needs to start somewhere. There can be study after study after study but to get something going this seems to be a logical place to start and will branch out into all different areas. For the federal funding aspect, they request that this be done immediately so that they may go for the 2006 request. The next time they can apply is 2008. Chairman Guerette asked what the criteria is? Mrs. Orr indicated that the criteria would be to include it as part of the open space connecting to a five foot shoulder on Essex Street. She also noted that she thought that all streets that are being repaved have to have a five foot shoulder. Mr. Ring indicated that that was the case for all State roads. Mr. Brent Hall, 37 Webster Avenue, commended the Board on their tremendous work on this project. Mr. Hall indicated that he is an avid cyclist in Bangor who does th not drive a car. One statistic that he wished to point out is that Maine is ranged 38 in the United Street for the portion of funds that are allocated to bike and pedestrian projects. He indicated that he would like to see an increase in the future. Mr. Hall indicated that a couple of proposals that he would make would be to install some more bike racks in the downtown to cover the bike usage. He knew of only 2 or 3 bike racks in the immediate downtown area. If they were installed every 3 or 4 blocks this allow more people to ride their bikes in the downtown and would also alleviate some of the congestion of parking in the down. Another suggestion would be for the City to put up more share the road signs. He said that shoulders are a bid issue and he and a couple of places that come to mind are Essex Street, Stillwater Avenue, and Odlin Road. He has incidences where he has been run off the road. He also suggested a bike path through the City along the riverfront. Mr. Clark noted that purchased a bike that has sat idle for quite some time as he was tired of being run off the road by semis. He, too, would like to see something done on some of the roads. Mr. Rosenblatt asked where Mr. Hall where would like to see bike racks in the Downtown. Mr. Hall indicated that there was one at the Public Library and one at Java Joes and by the Waterfront. He would like to see some installed right on Main Street near the bus station and other high traffic pedestrian and cyclist areas. Mr. Harold Johnson, 55 Woodland Drive, indicated that he would like to see sidewalks required in future subdivisions for senior citizens. Mr. Theeman asked Mr. Ring to summarize what the sidewalk requirements are. Miles. Mr. Ring indicated that there was quite a bit of discussion about this. The City does not have a strict requirement for sidewalks and there has been a significant amount of interest. The big issues are do they connect to anything, or have a high demand, or the concept identified in the Comprehensive Plan update is to consider in lieu of building within a new development perhaps requiring that development to support sidewalk construction in a nearby on busier arterial street so they would serve multi-functions. For example, in consideration of a new subdivision on Essex Street with all the activity out there would you consider whether to require or request a sidewalk in the development itself or in lieu of that having the developer create sidewalks on Essex Street to serve more people. There certainly isn’t a case where one size fits all. Mr. William Phillips, 75 South Park Street, indicated that one of the issues over the years has been the setbacks and lot size requirements for the older parts of the city. A lot of times the older part of the City no longer meet the setbacks and in cases of replacement when a building burns down. He would like to keep the character of neighborhoods viable. He said that the older neighborhoods are one of the strengths of Bangor as they are in close proximity to downtown. Ms. Valerie Carter, 112 Birch Street. told the Board that she commended them, and especially David Gould and Jim Ring for their involvement with the revision of the Comprehensive Plan. She indicated that she had not finished reading the entire document and hoped that she would be submitting some written comments in the near future. She indicated that she had four short points to make. She said that she strongly supported the proposal for the non motorized Path along Essex Street. She said that she would like to encourage the City and the Planning Board in its continued work to consider situating or planning in the contest of long-term envisioning of where Bangor is going in the global society and especially in terms of global climate changes, high costs of oil and petroleum and shortages very likely in the next few decades. She lauded the Board in its consideration of rural areas and not just waiting until they are developed. She said that if not planned for, then years down the road there may not be enough arable land close to cities. She asked the Board to keep in mind the importance of maintaining the viability of locally based businesses and small businesses. She noted the importance of contiguous open spaces in terms of trails, habitat corridors, etc. Lastly, she said that she would like to encourage the Planning Board to continue its process of openness in soliciting public input and involvement. She suggested that there be some sort of a public planning advisory committee to help the Planning Board and the Planning Staff. Mrs. Gwethalyn Phillips, 75 South Park Street said that she wished to make comment about the check list at the end of the Comprehensive Plan. She said that she would like to make sure that there is something about updating the ordinances of the City, code enforcement procedures and that sort of thing so when the Comprehensive Plan is adopted that all of the others things that actually make it fall in place happen too. Ms. Phillips said that many times they find that they are back after a comprehensive plan is adopted and a new proposal comes up and they are haggling about the same issues all over again when in fact they think that the plan has been adopted and they still don’t know where they are going to go. To some extent this is because the ordinances are not brought into compliance so that everyone is on the same page. One example, that goes back several years, is where a couple of major developments in the City were required to put sidewalks in and they did not do it. It took several years for them to be made to go back and put in sidewalks. Ms. Phillips, said that in looking ahead and trying to make sure that everybody knows from the developers, to the neighbors to whomever what is expected and what in fact is required without question would be an important part of the Comprehensive Plan. Mr. Wheeler reminded everyone who was present that the process that the Board is in is an update and not a revision and the Comprehensive Plan will not be revised until 2010. He indicated that he did not want expectations to exceed reality and would use the Essex Street path project as an example. While this is a wonderful idea, he felt that it is important that people understand what is the Board is actually doing. Chairman Guerette indicated that this is a valid point and noted that they undertook this project as a sort of checks and balances half-way through a 10 year period in which the Comprehensive Plan exists. The City recognized that in the last 4 or 5 years there had been a lot of development that was identified in the transition areas. The Board felt it would be appropriate and relevant to take a pause and look at the Comprehensive Plan to see if it is still relevant. In the process of doing that analysis, the Board did uncover some very specific needs and recommendations and changes to Land Development Code. Those are being put on a to do list to make those things happen in the next five years. They will not be included as things that have been accomplished or fixed in this particular document called the Comprehensive Plan Update. At the neighborhood meeting on Thirteenth Street, Councilor Gratwick asked what is the Comprehensive Plan and how do you read it. Chairman Guerette said that he felt that they all took that as a challenge to try to make this document easier to look at and to read. This is the reason why they took so much time deleting references to antiquated information existing from 10, 20 and even 25 years ago. He said that the update is a much more streamlined, easier to read, and a more user friendly document. It is not a revision in a technical sense of the word as a revision would involve a lot more ownership by the City Departments that control things like housing, economic development, etc., and it would require them to author new goals and objectives for their departments and have them all wrapped together and then adopting them. What they are doing now is piggy-backing on that information that was prepared in 2000. The language has been cleaned up and the Board is make some specific recommendations which the Board hopes will address over the next five years. Chairman Guerette noted that he had asked Planning Board Members to make comments or observations as well. Mr. Wheeler said that this process has been a remarkable adventure. Not only for the Board but for members of the public who have sensed that they were invited to take part. The Board is charged with the official responsibility and public opinion is no small factor in carrying out those responsibilities. He noted the portrait of Dorian Grey and noted the similarities to the process. Mr. Wheeler indicated that language and guidelines and documents of the comprehensive planning policy have been seriously outdated over the last 15 years. He said that the City and the community have been moving rapidly toward the realities of modern growth and as mentioned by Ms. Carter, these realities have been increasingly impacted by such factors as the global economy, environmental and ecological values, and cultural and social aspects of the community which include the houses people live in and neighborhoods where those houses are located. The key word that became very apparent was that this is a City in a very significant stage of transition. A city in the st 21 Century cannot avoid accommodating changes by forces not only from outside itself but from forces within itself. In his five years as a Member of the Planning Board has been more rewarding that he could say along with years as a City Councilor back in the early to mid l980’s when he momentum of today really became, that Bangor finally began to move ahead. As an example there were six or seven vacant parcels of land in the downtown area which had been cleared by Urban Renewal in 1968 and never filled. The City Council has since granted developer status and filled five of the six parcels of land. The only one remaining is the one where the new Court House is to be constructed down on the corner of Washington and Exchange Streets. Bangor is certainly growing and Planning Board and members of the City Council and certainly citizens want to be as certain and they possibly can that this growth takes places in a modern and efficient fashion. As commercial development has processed and professional services and education facilities have grown it has become very obvious that Bangor is the hub of the economy and lifestyle of northern and eastern Maine and perhaps even further south than that. Mr. Wheeler said that even through the population hovers around 32,000 the Board was reminded by the City Engineer that due to the fact that Bangor is the commercial, retail, and professional center of the region the daytime population averages three times that number of people. When you think about that along the City’s arterial it is not very difficult for anyone to disagree with that. These factors demanded a fresh look at this. The Board needed opinions from members of the public and citizens of the community. Mr. Wheeler said that he was proud that the Planning Board went out into the community to solicit public comments and it demonstrated good faith on the part of the Board. Chairman Guerette indicated that sometimes there is a misconception as to what the Planning Board is. All Members lean that the Board has to operate with certain parameters. He noted that the Board has been meeting every other week since the beginning of 2005 and it has been done with extreme rigor a lot of differences of opinions. He thanked all involved with the update. Mrs. Linda Hunter, a Kenduskeag Avenue resident asked if there was a plan for the open spaces in the City. She noted the significant wildlife areas and wetlands and asked if the wetlands would be delineated in the Update. Mrs. Hunter also asked what has happened to the Rural Residence and Agricultural areas and will they continued to be zoned that way. Mr. Gould indicated the update of the Comprehensive Plan does not change the zoning on a single parcel. Mr. Hunter asked if these green areas could be a part of the concept now. Chairman Guerette explained that such a plan presently does not exist. However, it is the “to do” list. Chairman Guerette expressed his thanks to Jim Ring and Dave Gould for their unending and untiring efforts in putting this together as well as to the Members of the Planning Board who have made a Herculean effort in putting together. He indicated that the purpose of this workshop was to gather comments before the actual public hearing. He noted that March 24, 2006 is the deadline for written comments. The th Boards final workshop meeting will be on March 28 and at that time the Board will consider all of the comments and to work them into the Update, if appropriate. After that meeting, a 30 day notice will be posted for a Public Hearing by the Planning Board nd, th on May 2and it will be schedule to appear before City Council on May 8. Mr. Shep Harris, 100 Linden St., noted that on March 22,2006 there will be a presentation to discuss trails. He told the Board that if there was anything the Mall Marsh Commission could do to help the Board in this process they would be delighted to do so. Mr. Rosenblatt asked if he anticipated some end products from this discussion. Mr. Harris indicated that they did and that there would be suggestion boxes to solicit suggestions. Ms. Carter asked what the legal status of the Comprehensive Plan would be if an application comes before the Board before the City Ordinances are amended to reflect the updated Comprehensive Plan. Mr. Gould explained that Comprehensive Plans are not rock solid. For example, in a case where a subdivision could not be regulated by Ordinance the City could rely on the comprehensive plan. Another example would be if the comprehensive plan suggested that rural house lots be two acres and there are provisions in the Zoning Ordinance that are different, then the Zoning Ordinance rules. Mr. Rosenblatt added that the Comprehensive Plan is the guide for zone changes and contract zone change where the Land Development Code is the guide for site development plans and subdivisions. Mr. Mike Hempful, 92 Grant Street, indicated that he is concerned about open spaces in the downtown and along the waterfront, and provision of alternative means of transportation. He indicated that the Kenduskeag Stream trail is very hard to walk down. He asked if there were plans to make a bicycle path there. Mr. Rosenblatt indicated that the City has accumulated property along the Waterfront to be used as open space. As far as how much land will be available for open space it will be determined by the City Council. As far as plans to expand open space in the downtown, he was not aware of any at this time. Mr. Gould indicated that because the Downtown is developed, the open space that exists is the extent of the open space. The Downtown open space includes various parks and the Kenduskeag Stream Trail that extends all the way down to the waterfront. The older part of the City is built out. The opportunity for larger open spaces is going to occur out into the developing areas. As there were no further comments, the meeting was adjourned at 9:12 p.m.