Dear Editor:

It is time to hire a town planner.

A letter (a full copy of which is online and attached to the Register’s coverage of the June 25 Select Board meeting ) was presented to the Select Board by a group of 75 Boothbay Harbor citizens called Friends of the Harbor. This group was formed to give voice to concerns regarding the Planning Board’s east side zoning and land use proposals.

The Planning Board should be commended for the time spent in trying to address the request for zoning changes on the east side. After more than eight months of discussion and hearings, the strong cross currents of powerful interests along with complicated state, federal and local law and ordinances has made their job very difficult. We also recognize the difficulty in trying to reconcile different approaches and visions.

As a group, Friends of the Harbor also believe that there is another factor to be considered. The harbor should be viewed as an integrated whole — not a series of disparate parts. It is a working harbor. When you begin to significantly change the land use and zoning in one part of the harbor you must consider the impact on the others parts as well. Piecemeal zoning is bad policy. It often leads to confusion and conflicting regulations. You should consider the needs and interests of the entire harbor and then begin to create an integrated land use and zoning plan. Fortunately we already have the state approved Boothbay Harbor 2015 Comprehensive Plan, which took three years to complete, now we need to hire a professional resource person working in concert with the Planning Board to formulate the “action steps” to fully implement that 2015 Comprehensive Plan. Those “action steps” would then be presented to the Select Board for hearings and approval and ultimately an integrated land use and zoning plan would be presented to the voters for their approval.

We are all Friends of the Harbor. I believe we all want Boothbay Harbor to thrive and to continue to be a special place for visitors and residents alike. Please let’s take the time to do this right.

Ken F-Fitch

Member, Friends of the Harbor