Boothbay Harbor Planning Board Chairman Mike Tomko presented proposed changes to the parking ordinance rules during the selectman’s meeting on Feb. 23.

The planning board has been working on these changes since May of last year, when the possibility of a parking lot being built in the middle of the Campbell Street neighborhood and the ambiguity in the ordinances caused residents of Campbell Street and concerned citizens to bring a petition to the town asking that the zoning ordinances be reworded.

“After an exhaustive amount of review, and input from both (Town Manager) Tom Woodin and (Code Enforcement Officer) Geoff Smith, we think we've got it,” Tomko said.

Tomko said that rather than recreate the ordinances, the board decided to clean up the language in what currently existed to eliminate the ambiguity.

In the draft, a parking area is now considered an accessory use of a structure, and must have a principal structure associated with it, located on the same lot. In other words, a parking area cannot exist without a reason for it. Sheds and barns are not considered principal structures under the draft, and cannot be used to establish a parking area.

The board also defined both parking lots and garages, as no definitions currently exist in the code for them.

“It was a great chance for the board to get together, yell and scream, and get something done,” Tomko said, getting a chuckle from the selectmen.

“Thank you for your hard work,” Selectmen’s Vice Chairman Bill Hamblen said. “It's nice to see the ordinances simplified, rather than complexified.”

The next step will be for the draft to go to a public hearing, where members of the community can voice their opinions on it. Once any changes are made, if any are needed, the plan will pass to the selectmen, who will place it on the town warrant for the town meeting in May.

Related:

Should parking lots be allowed in residential neighborhoods? 

Planning board discusses parking ordinance