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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2004-08-31 Planning Board Minutes PLANNING BOARD OF THE CITY OF BANGOR COMPREHENSIVE PLAN UPDATE MEETING TUESDAY, AUGUST 31, 2004 MINUTES Board Members Present: Robert Guerette, Chairman Hal Wheeler, Vice-Chairman David Clark Pat Cummings Ryan King William Masters Nathaniel Rosenblatt Jonathan Siegel City Staff Present: Katherine Weber, Planning Officer Peter Witham Ms. Weber began the discussion with the history of Comprehensive Planning in Bangor. This would be the fourth time for an update and it would document change since 2000. It would include a new map of transition areas, updated studies of the Waterfront, the Mall area, the Airport, and Downtown. With its implementation strategies it would be a blueprint for 2010. Mr. Rosenblatt asked if this would be a supplement or replacement of the Comprehensive Plan 2000 as it is unwieldy. Ms. Weber said that it would be a replacement. Mr. Guerette asked what policy dictates the Comprehensive Plan. Ms. Weber explained that it was the State’s Growth Management Act and Statutes that directed the reasoning and composition of Comprehensive Plans. Mr. Guerette asked if it was every five or ten years and Ms. Weber said that Growth Management states every ten years while the State Planning Office recommends every five years. Mr. Masters asked if the Statutes require a survey and Ms. Weber said that it was recommended as a tool. She indicated that she had scheduled a Comprehensive Plan Survey into the current budget but it was removed prior to approval. Also she said that there are key parts of the Comprehensive Plan that need to be focused on. Mr. Wheeler said that he would like a copy or reference numbers of the Statutes establishing the Growth Management Act and a copy of the 1989 Community Survey for the Board members. Ms. Weber discussed the changing role of Bangor as the service center for the region. Ms. Cummings asked about the trends in aging and elderly services and school populations. Mr. Rosenblatt said that the Board needed to understand the current Plan before updating it. Ms. Weber said that citizen participation is an important part of the Comprehensive Plan process. Staff will research and draft sections for consideration, the Board will hold workshops, drafts will be updated. The Board will then make a recommendation to the City Council who will make the final adoption. Mr. Rosenblatt asked what the public input would be before the public hearings. Ms. Weber said that where would be workshops and that she would like to put drafts on the City’s website. Mr. Masters asked if it was possible to send input back to the Council to reconsider the budget, regarding the survey. He also asked how far into the future to go for planning even though the Growth Management talked about every 10 years, there was a pamphlet from the 1960’s that predicted a Jetson’s lifestyle. Mr. Guerette said that from his experience with various community groups, planning five years into the future could be challenging. Mr. Masters wondered what some of the approved development would look like in twenty years. Ms. Weber said that implementation of a Plan will take longer than the five years and at that point the Plan may change. Ms. Cummings said that there might be an overall short term plan, but specific areas could be looked at longer term. Ms. Weber said that Growth Management Act requires public input, advertising for thirty days and copies available for review before adoption. Mr. Siegel agreed that the current plan is unwieldy and poorly organized and that there needs to be transparency in the rewrite process. Ms. Cummings said that there should be active and not passive engagement with the public. Ms. Weber indicated that it was important to get input from those most interested who will then share ideas with non-leaders and disenfranchised citizens. She said that a dialogue on policies and drafts could be started, transition areas policies, a new cultural plan inclusion. The Land Development Code is an outgrowth of the 2 Comprehensive Plan and rezoning of the City could happen, maybe not overall, but in some areas. Bill Masters asked about the debate of Comprehensive Plan as a fluid or solid document. Ms. Weber talked about Land Use Concepts Map versus Zoning Policy Map versus the existing Zoning Map. Mr. Siegel said mentioned the open space issue. Mr. Rosenblatt said that he hoped the discussions on open space and completion date extensions does not have to wait for the Comprehensive Plan update. Ms. Weber said that discussions of the Land Development Code are always ongoing. Mr. Masters asked how permitted and conditional uses are determined in the Ordinance. Ms. Weber said that they have evolved over time and that any proposed use issue may be brought up and put on the agenda for discussion. Mr. Guerette asked about the timeframe for adoption of the Update. Ms. Weber stated a goal of the fall of 2005 and that workshops could be scheduled monthly perhaps on nights of light Planning Board agendas. Ms. Cummings said that a brainstorm for a survey should be done. Mr. Wheeler cited a recent example of how public opinion can influence the Council to change its mind twice. He said that the Plan can not predict everything and that it should include some element of unpredictability. Ms. Weber discussed the definition of transition areas and the Board discussed the areas on the map. New York Street to be removed and Penjajawoc Marsh to be added. Mr. Masters wondered how the City could keep EMMC from tearing down the whole neighborhood. Mr. Wheeler wondered if there was any state data on the economic input of eco- tourism. Discussion on Marsh Area facilitation has been postponed three times. 3 Mr. Wheeler indicated that he was discomforted with the prospect of identifying what the area would be like in fifty years and that the Board should be focused on five or ten years. Mr. Siegel said that there was folly in not looking to the future and cited the example of people thinking it folly to establish Central Park in New York City. Mr. King said that he would like the transition areas map to include the Downtown Development District and was concerned with the Downtown sprawling outward into residential and historic districts. Mr. Clark said that once something has begun things can change very quickly and referred to the Bangor Mall area. 4