A proposal to change East Boothbay’s zoning has some Murray Hill residents wondering how it may impact the neighborhood’s character. Two Murray Hill residents told the comprehensive planning committee on Sept. 2 that the community wanted more information about possible changes.

The committee is considering changing several residential and special residential zones to mixed use. East Boothbay is one of those locations.

Residents Brian McGrath and Ken Shapiro addressed the committee about the community’s concerns. They said  the proposed change has inspired their neighborhood to become more involved in the committee’s work.

McGrath and Shapiro attended the meeting “to see where the plan was at.” The two men plan on communicating that information to their neighbors during a community forum from 4-6 p.m. on Sept. 6 at the East Boothbay Fire Department. According to McGrath, the neighborhood’s goal is to maintain the its character into the next generation. 

McGrath and other concerned residents recently gauged neighborhood viewpoints about the plan’s potential impact. McGrath said the neighborhood’s response was “overwhelmingly positive” to banding together and discussing the community’s future.

“We walked the neighborhood to get a sense of what was going on,” McGrath said. “The neighborhood is getting together in a timely manner and wants to contribute in a positive way.”

If East Boothbay is zoned mixed use, it may open an already densely compacted community to more residents. Murray Hill residents are concerned a mixed use zoning designation would result in landowners converting their property into apartment units. The residents fear this type of high-intensity development would put more pressure on the community.

“Those are the kinds of concerns we have as a neighborhood,” McGrath said. “We want to preserve Murray Hill for the long term. We want to make sure it’s safe for children. We still want them to be able able to walk down to the town landing and go swimming.”

The committee has worked on an updated comprehensive plan for the past 20 months. The committee wants the new comprehensive plan to ease restrictions on generations-old businesses located in residential or special residential zoned areas. The committee believes a mixed use designation would achieve this goal. These 50-75 year-old businesses are designated as non-conforming structures. This designation prohibits expansion in these areas.

By changing the zone to mixed use, the committee believes it will remove the “stigma” associated with being a non-conforming property and allow these generations-old businesses to expand.

Committee member Richard Palmer said among the businesses in East Boothbay that would benefit from the change would be the Five Gables Inn, Hodgdon Yachts and the Edgecomb Boats Works.

“We’re trying to recognize those uses as historically significant and (ones that) made the community what it is today,” Palmer said. “And they shouldn’t carry the stigma of being non-conforming. This allows those businesses to continue into the future and expand a little bit.”

The committee may also receive some additional input from the planning board and the Boothbay Region Water District. The committee invited the planning board to join them for a workshop at its next meeting. The water district also expressed concerns about protecting the town’s water supply.

Water district officials also perceive several parts of the draft as being inflexible, according to watershed program manager Sue Mello, who represented the water district at the meeting.

Mello conveyed the district’s concern about the comprehensive plan identifying areas for growth within the watershed. She said intensive development within the watershed is not compatible with protecting water quality.

“We’re very concerned this blanket ‘let’s increase development here’ because there’s public water and sewer, and we won’t have any problems,” Mello said. “That’s pie in the sky, hopeful and not realistic.”

Mello requested the committee re-think proposals allowing more development around the Adams Pond, which is located in the watershed. The committee is considering removing certain restrictions in the watershed based on performance standards. 

The committee told Mello her viewpoint contrasted from past water district positions. Boothbay Region Water District manager Jon Ziegra is also a comprehensive planning committee member, but he hasn’t attended recent meetings. 

Mello said Ziegra asked her to attend the meeting to address the district’s concerns. She said she planned on attending future comprehensive planning committee meetings, but she didn’t know if Ziegra would.

The committee will meet next at 6 p.m. on Monday, Sept. 15 in the municipal building.