When it comes to ordinances, the Boothbay Harbor selectboard said it's time to call for backup. After tabling ordinance revisions in multiple workshops with the planning board, the selectboard decided to explore hiring a town planning consultant. The board agreed Feb. 12 to have the town manager draft a request for proposals to begin the process.  

The selectboard meeting followed a joint workshop the same day between the planning board and the selectboard where they discussed use variances, setbacks and land area requirements. It was the third workshop in three months between the boards in addition to several meetings of an ordinance revision advisory subcommittee. The boards previously discussed issues including LD 2003, housing, mixed-use buildings and the downtown business district, as reported in the Register.

At the selectboard meeting, the board decided to have several less-sweeping ordinance revisions be reviewed by the town attorney. The revisions were not part of the joint workshops and included ordinances on parking, dockage and moorings. After review by the town lawyer, they will go back to the selectboard for discussion and potentially be on the May town meeting referendum.

However, the selectboard decided to not forward items from the workshops to the town lawyer, so they won’t be on the May ballot. The board said it will call a later special election for them. Both boards expressed interest in hiring a town planning consultant for advice on ordinance revisions with sweeping implications. Until then, the items are tabled. 

“The intent is to meet as tight a timeline as possible, especially as it pertains to LD 2003, but, ultimately, come out with a high-quality product,” said Selectboard Chair Michael Tomko.   

The state’s deadline to implement LD 2003 changes into town ordinances is July 1. However, board members expressed more interest in making careful revisions than rushing for a May vote to accommodate it. When asked his opinion, Code Enforcement Officer Geoff Smith told the boards he discussed LD 2003 with the town attorney and “I don't think there is any reason to rush anything you are not comfortable with.” 

At the Feb. 12 joint workshop, the boards mostly discussed use variances. Planning board member Merritt Blakeslee pointed out ambiguous language around the board of appeals’ ability to grant them. There was a consensus among both boards the language needed to be clarified, but there was debate over whether they should be allowed at all.

Blakeslee and others said variances allow the town some flexibility to do what makes sense. However, planning board member Tom Minerich said they can be a slippery slope. Selectman Mark Osborn said it could undermine confidence in a town if someone buys a piece of land expecting a zoning standard their neighbor could then get a variance for.  

Smith, summarizing a conversation with the town attorney, said variances do not generally hold up in court; a lengthy and expensive legal process could be avoided by not allowing them.

The boards also discussed extending residential setbacks along Route 27 north of Route 96. The boards mulled reducing the 300-foot residential setback to encourage residential development. Minerich raised concerns about the area being in a flood zone. Smith said it is very wet and he wasn't sure where houses could be built, citing water issues around recent Hannaford’s construction. However, Planning Board Chair Tom Churchill said that is an engineering problem, not a board issue. “Just changing this only opens to opportunities and gives the people who own those properties another option,” he said.  

The boards also discussed land area requirements in the downtown business district. Currently, ordinance requires 2,000 square feet of land area per use on a property. According to planning board member Jon Dunsford, easing requirements could encourage more business downtown. In addition, several board members said most properties in the downtown business zone are already nonconforming and change could be beneficial.  

“I think this will have the biggest, hopefully positive, impact on our town if we do it right,” Osborn said. “I think it should be top center if we talk to a planner.”