Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAbout2023-04-18 Planning Board Minutes � = � , r��l �� _ '�'���1/��,..�� ��'�``� � �'���'���'� ,� , . � .. �TM --� o �1EV�� L���EI'`��I' �� �ITY �� BANG+C�R. PLANVUII�IG DIVIS[C7V�7 PLANNING BOARD TUESDAY, APRIL 18, 2023, 7:00 P.M. CITY COUNCIL CHAMBERS, 3RD FLOOR CITY HALL ALSO; ATTENDANCE VIA ZOOM MEETING MINUTES Board Members Present: Chair Reese Perkins Vice Chair Ted Brush Don Meagher Trish Hayes Jonathan Boucher Michael Bazinet Citv Staff Present: Anne Krieg, Planning Officer/Development Director Anja Collette, Planning Analyst David Szewczyk, City Solicitor Chair Perkins called the meeting to order at 7:00 P.M. OTHER BUSINESS 1. Floodplain Management Ordinance Public Hearing Planning Analyst Collette presented the item —explained the background and purpose for the ordinance change. Board members asked clarifying questions. Melissa Bolduc of Lancaster Avenue questioned how the floodplain relates to areas where there is flooding when it rains. Planning Analyst Collette explained the floodplain is the area near a body of water that may be subject to flooding. The floodplain is established by FEMA. Areas subject to flooding as Ms. Bolduc described are stormwater management issues or the result of other issues not related to the floodplain. Member Meagher motioned to recommend the City Council that the new floodplain code change ought to pass. Member Brush seconded. All in favor, none opposed. 2. Comprehensive Plan Check-in — Final Plan Draft and Public Comment Chair Perkins summarized discussion and comments on Comprehensive Plan from the last meeting. Krieg said staff have made changes to the plan based on feedback received. Perkins asked if there was a date 73 HARLOW STREET,BANGOR,ME 04401 TELEPHONE: (207)992-4280 FAX: (207) 945-4447 WWW.BANGORMAINE.GOV City of Bangor Planning Division Planning Board Meeting Minutes —Tuesday,April i8, 2023 yet for the final plan hearing. Krieg said that the public hearing on the plan will likely be the second meeting in May. Because of the posting requirements, we have to make sure the final document is in its final form the day of the posting. Member Brush asked about the content in their packets on LD 2003. Krieg said that would be discussed in their May meetings. Brush asked if that was addressed in the Comprehensive Plan. Krieg said it was referenced in the Comprehensive Plan, but it's a state statute so it overrides anything you have at the local level. Meagher asked if complying with this would be considered part of the implementation process of the Comprehensive Plan when we get to the Land Development Code. Krieg said yes in a perfect world, but we have to comply with state statute by this summer. Will be doing some workshops with the Board with different scenarios to determine what the Board thinks is best. Perkins said there's currently a bill in the legislature to postpone the implementation date a year and a half, so it may get pushed down the road a little bit, but it is on our list of things to do. Board members had some discussion around the deadline. Perkins mentioned there is some urgency around implementing it since it was created because there's a housing crisis. Dwight Mclntosh, 55 East Broadway, asked about SLODA, what it means. Krieg said it was a DEP permit. Mclntosh also asked what S&PS and GC&S was. Krieg said they were zoning districts; they are Shopping and Personal Service District and General Commercial & Service District. Mclntosh discussed citizens not feeling like they're being heard; feels like citizens are being ignored. [The City] has to listen to citizen concerns, if they're legitimate. Joe Pickering, member of the public, talked about comments on the Comprehensive Plan regarding the devaluation of the historic districts and the role of the Historic Preservation Commission. Discussed valuing First Amendment rights of Bangor residents and discussed results from his Freedom of Information Act request. Was disappointed to not hear much of a response when there was a brief discussion about under 1% of the people of Bangor giving input. Need to have a goal that reaches much higher. Thinks that the first one to evaluate a historic building or land, if it's an empty space, should be the Historic Preservation Commission. Then, the Planning Board can give a recommendation. Provided additional comments on what he thinks the Historic Preservation Commission's purview should be. Jeff Gray, 100 Lancaster Avenue. Thanked the City for cleaning up Valley Avenue. Really glad to see it get cleaned up in time for the race. Wanted to talk about neighborhoods in Bangor that are at risk — lower Center Street and West Side Village. They're both walkable neighborhoods in the urban core and are ripe for development. First thing we need to do before we redevelop them is make them more attractive to investors. Thinks we need to centralize facilities for our homeless population out near the Hope House. Have it in one spot instead of scattered all over the City. Perkins interjected—stated that Gray was heading down the"homelessness is a problem in Bangor" again — there is an open time at the beginning of City Council meetings during which you can speak—they're more able to tackle this problem and address those thoughts than the Planning Board. Stated that the Board is talking about the Comprehensive Plan, which is not a homelessness plan. Gray said what he's trying to say is that people won't be interested in doing infill and rehab if we don't address the homelessness problem. Perkins agreed and said addressing homelessness is part of the Comprehensive Plan and there are strategies in there related to it. Discussed preserving the character of our neighborhoods — Page 2� 6 City of Bangor Planning Division Planning Board Meeting Minutes —Tuesday,April i8, 2023 everyone loves our neighborhoods—there's a lot in the Bangor housing study about that and the Comprehensive Plan refers to that plan and gets stuff from that plan. Gray addressed Krieg — City is sitting on millions of dollars and many acres of land—should be leveraging that and partnering with other organizations to develop that land. MaineHousing is a good partner. Could make our money go a lot further if we leveraged that land and money. Krieg asked Gray for clarification on what he meant by City land. Gray said land owned by the City— said there was a lot of it. Mclntosh returned to the podium. Attempted to discuss homelessness and stated that Perkins said he didn't want to hear about it. Perkins rejected this statement. Joe Pickering approached the podium. Discussed LD 2003. Stated that the federal government is discriminating against people with mental health disorders. Since 1965, federal government hasn't given money for more additional psychiatric beds. The City and many others are trying to put together a waiver program to allow the federal government to waive that law, which would bring millions of dollars and many more services into Maine. The State taxpayers wouldn't have to pay for 100%state funding for porothea Dix or any other psychiatric facility, allowing more money to be used for more progressive community services. Housing is essential, but you also need services to help [people] stay in the housing. Melissa Bolduc approached the podium. Asked about how the growth boundary was created, who created it. Perkins said history kind of created it. The State requires the growth boundary. It's aligned with where services are. Areas with farmland versus urban areas are defined differently. Krieg discussed what a growth boundary is. Bolduc asked how it was created. Krieg said this process created it through workshops with the Planning Board and City Council and it generally follows where water and sewer service is. Bolduc asked if anyone went out to survey it. Krieg said it has changed over time, but generally follows services. Perkins discussed where the line came from. Bolduc asked if anyone physically went out to review where the line was. Krieg said they did analysis and looked at different properties to see if they should be included. Bolduc discussed discrepancies between statements of neighborhood involvement and growth boundary in the plan versus neighborhood involvement in practice and the presence of localized issues such as flooding of homes. Krieg asked about what Bolduc was referring to as far as flooding of homes. Bolduc said it was her home. Bolduc discussed flooding issues and getting neighborhood input. Perkins talked about engagement efforts and that people typically show up to meetings when they're upset. Talked about development — just because the urban line is on there, it doesn't mean a development is approved. It still has to go through the review process. Bolduc suggested if the City wants to retain people in the State, suggests going to the high schools to talk to the young people. Says we're losing business left and right. Perkins asked what Bolduc would like to see changed in the Comprehensive Plan. Bolduc said she would like to see the focus on retaining business and recycling.Also requested that the Planning Board members identify who they are and what theirjob is in the City. Perkins stated that Board members already introduce themselves and that they wouldn't be providing a long, drawn-out introduction of themselves every meeting. Jack McKay, 36 Ohio Street, approached the podium. Saw Anne Krieg and Anja Collette at two election cycles at the Bangor auditorium; thinks that's a great place to talk policy with people. Likes policy 36 and 37. Would like to see more about good paying jobs. Mentioned a typo. Is interested in the question of implementation — Page 3� 6 City of Bangor Planning Division Planning Board Meeting Minutes —Tuesday,April i8, 2023 partnering with organizations— should have some criteria around that. Suzette Furrow, member of the public, approached the podium. Lives in Bangor. Mentioned nametags not having first names on it. Asked how much of the Comprehensive Plan was based on the survey, mentioned low participation. Krieg said we take information from all different avenues—[staffJ went to the polls, farmers' market. The survey was just one piece of it— [staffJ took information from many different places. It's a massing of a lot of different things that the survey was a part of, so [the survey] didn't drive the bus. Furrow and Krieg discussed the length of the survey. Furrow asked about the other forums — how do you know they're the residents of Bangor?Worried that some other town would try to turn Bangor into something else. Perkins mentioned that we want to hear people from other towns that might use the City services, drive the City streets, etc. Krieg asked Furrow if there were things in the plan that she didn't feel reflected Bangor. Furrow said she hadn't read the plan yet. Brian Ames, member of the public, approached the podium. Said the order of priorities was all focused around housing. Thinks [the plan] would be better off looking at workforce to address the affordability crisis. Meagher mentioned the recently completed Economic Development Strategy— the focus of that is what Ames is looking for. Focuses on business, employment, and how we can increase economic activity in the City. Perkins also mentioned the matrix at the back of the plan —we talk a lot about homelessness, but the plan addresses many more issues than that. Krieg talked about the Comprehensive Plan process, about how everything is intertwined — housing, the economy etc. With implementation it's always hard to choose what to do first. Member Bazinet mentioned the use of social media for public engagement; if we go back in time, what results were achieved with non-electronic forms of engagement. Did we used to send out a mailer to the public? Planning Analyst Collette stated that a notice went out in the tax bills last summer to every property owner in the City. Bazinet stated he was wondering if there was any data on participation rates in the last Comprehensive Plan - did they get a number higher than 1%? Krieg said she would check. Bazinet mentioned the possibility of extending out the timeline for adopting the plan to get more citizen input—thinks if we have that opportunity, we should take it. Planning Analyst Collette listed ways staff have tried to get the word out about the plan — press releases in the newspaper; TV news stories; flyers on buses, around City Hall, at local businesses, everything [staffJ could think of. Krieg stated staff spend a lot of time thinking about what we can do to get the word out. Bazinet expressed he was just interested in if there were higher participation rates in the past, and also if the State defers implementation of[LD 2003], if that would give us more time for public outreach. Kelly Hashey approached the podium.When she first came into this process, she had no idea what [the Planning Board did]. Talked about how much she's learned about the process; she learns something every time she comes [to a meeting]. Sometimes it's the small stuff that makes people not want to contribute or fill out a survey; was impressed there was closed captioning at first, but it stopped at 7:30—she still has a hard time hearing and the closed captions help — small stuff like that. Doesn't think most people know they can be more involved with the City besides voting. Talked about her previous comments about involving other communities — not sure it mattered. Making people feel like their voice matters helps them want to be involved. Perkins mentioned City's efforts to get other communities involved in the homeless effort. There's been discouraging moments, but it is getting better. It takes time, so don't feel discouraged. Bazinet pointed out that Planning Board members are Page 4� 6 City of Bangor Planning Division Planning Board Meeting Minutes —Tuesday,April i8, 2023 also taxpayers in the City and have to live with these decisions. Brian Ames returned to the podium. Mentioned policies he felt should have a higher priority than those dealing with housing. Perkins said the order they're listed in in the Plan is not the how they're prioritized. In the matrix at the back of the plan, there's a priority listing there where it lists high priority items. Bolduc approached the podium.Acknowledged that Board members are taxpayers in the City.What she wanted to ask about was that looking at the growth boundary, whether anyone has gone in and looked at where things have been developed to see if there are issues in different locations. Pickering approached the podium. Talked about growth — 70 years from now, if Bangor's population doesn't change, it will be equal to 1930. Perkins addressed Bolduc— doesn't think what she's suggested has been done. Thinks that over the history of neighborhoods and cities, we get feedback from a lot of different processes, like neighborhood complaints. Any neighborhood where people are unhappy about their supply of water or the way the City streets are plowed, the City generally hears about it. It takes time as far as when money is available to make things happen. Part of the Comprehensive Plan is that process — it takes data that has been gathered over time and uses that to build the Comprehensive Plan. Krieg added that looking at it from 2012 to today, we have a lot more techniques like low impact development requirements, the impaired stream program, so when we look at infill development, we're looking at development practice that is a lot better than it was 10 years ago. We do look at all of those things when development comes in. Bolduc said those are systems in place, not people on the ground. Discussed issues on the ground in different areas. Perkins said logistically it doesn't make sense — City Engineer, Water Department is out there all the time and know the conditions. Stated Bolduc is seeming to tie this to the Comprehensive Plan and saying we should have somebody go out there and look at these places. Bolduc said if people are going out there all the time, is it being recorded? Are there chronic issues in a location? Perkins said the Comprehensive Plan is more of an overall look. For example, if Public Works has consistent problems with a roadway, they have administrative systems in place to deal with that. Planning Board isn't here to solve every issue in the City; here to make a good Comprehensive Plan. Public Works and Water Department has their own processes to determine which roadways and utility lines to replace. Krieg said City staff have been involved at every stage to determine where growth should or shouldn't be directed. Bolduc asked if problems with different types of infrastructure are being tracked and whether that information is being used to develop solutions. Planning Analyst Collette discussed the asset management program the City is working on and how that would encompass what Bolduc is referring to; there is a strategy in the Comprehensive Plan on this program, so it's addressed, just indirectly. Bolduc asked if that information would be publicly available. Collette said it would be more of an internal database to help staff determine when things need to be replaced, but is sure that information will come to the public whether through funding requests to Council and things like that. Suzette Furrow approached the podium,talked about state government initiatives, legislation. Suggested holding off on passing the Comprehensive Plan until the legislation is worked through. Mentioned presence of needles, methadone clinics. Mentioned length of survey being a deterrent and discussed mail being the best way to reach the older population. Page 5� 6 City of Bangor Planning Division Planning Board Meeting Minutes —Tuesday,April i8, 2023 3. Meeting Minutes - April 4, 2023 Member Bazinet motioned to approve the meeting minutes. Member Meagher seconded. All voting members in favor, none opposed. 4. Adjournment Meeting adjourned at 8:52 pm. Respectfully submitted, Anja Collette, Planning Analyst Planning Division Page 6 � 6