More than three years in the making, a proposed update to Harpswell’s comprehensive plan will finally go before voters at the annual Town Meeting on Saturday, March 8.
It would be the sixth comprehensive plan Harpswell has adopted, and the first major update in two decades. The current plan was approved by voters in 2005.
The proposed update, written with help from Yarmouth-based planning firm Viewshed, is 270 pages long and includes nearly 250 recommendations on more than a dozen long-term issues facing the town.
Sections of the plan cover Harpswell’s marine economy, marine resources, freshwater resources, natural resources, recreation and community services, public facilities, transportation, fiscal capacity, economy, historic and archeological resources, agriculture and forestry, housing, and land use.
An 11-member Comprehensive Plan Task Force made up of local officials and residents developed the plan. The task force held more than 50 public meetings, including a series of drop-in sessions for residents to ask questions and a call-in show on Harpswell Community TV.
The updated plan originally was slated to go before voters at the March 2024 Town Meeting. However, the vote was delayed by a year after some residents objected to certain recommendations, including those intended to promote affordable housing. Others said there hadn’t been enough public input.
After receiving pushback, the task force removed previously stated goals for building apartments, creating affordable housing districts through zoning, and developing lower-cost subdivisions on town-owned properties such as George J. Mitchell Field.
Still, the current draft has drawn criticism from some residents, including three members of the task force that created it. They cited issues including a reference to the affordable housing initiatives some residents had opposed, and inadequate public participation in the drafting process.
But task force Chair Allan “Al” LeGrow responded in mid-February, saying it would be a waste to discard three years of exhaustive work over a few concerns. He urged residents to support the proposed update.
According to Harpswell’s website, the plan is an advisory document setting out the community’s goals for the future and the policies and programs necessary to move the town in that direction.
“It is a foundation on which to build the town’s land use controls and a road map that can be used by the town’s elected and appointed officials to steer the town on an agreed-upon course,” the website says.
According to the draft update’s introduction, creating a comprehensive plan is merely the first step in “preparing Harpswell to meet future challenges.” The document includes a recommended plan for future land use, as well as a section on how to implement the plan.
Local officials aren’t obligated to carry out the plan’s recommendations, but it is intended to inform the town’s policies, ordinances, land use decisions and investments over the next 10 to 15 years.
The proposed update can be found on the town’s website by visiting harpswell.maine.gov and clicking on Comprehensive Plan Update.
The Harpswell Select Board has unanimously recommended that voters approve the plan.
