Phippsburg Comprehensive Plan

Read it at : http://www.phippsburg.com/Municipal/Ordinances/Comp%20PLan.pdf

I strongly believe that the quality of life which we have come to enjoy at Popham is being sacrificed to the raising of taxes in a seasonal community which requires no expenditures in services by the town and which, because it is peopled largely by a seasonal population is not being given the benefit of the enforcement of the existing laws and ordinances which the rest of the town demands and enjoys. The aims of the comprehensive plan are based largely on surveys of the people of the town of Phippsburg. The results of that survey and the desires of the townspeople for a decent level of environmental protection and preservation of the rural and aesthetic qualities of the Phippsburg landscape, are not being applied to Popham. This is evidenced in the actions of the town which are absolutely counter to these conclusions put forward by the comprehensive plan recommendations for the rest of the town.

Because many of the people who have grown to love Popham Beach are seasonal residents and may only get to the area for short and limited times of the year, many may find the future landscape totally changed on their return and may not be able to understand what has gone on or what has allowed the changes which have great impact on them. As non-voting landowners, what goes on at the town hall in November and is voted on in May may not be apparent until June or July when people return to the area. It is my hope that this web site will be a forum for opinion and for the dissemination of news which will be helpful to those who are absent for much of the year. This will hopefully allow everyone more access to information which affects their time in the area. I also hope that it may be a unifying vehicle in a time of division for some of us.

One of the most important activities we need to be aware of is that the town has passed the Phippsburg Comprehensive Plan, which will affect us all. The process for formulating the plan involved gathering information on various aspects of life in the town, from perceived quality of life desires of the population, to the examination of existing and projected water supplies. Recommendations for local ordinance changes to govern future growth in the town as a whole are based on that information. Public meetings have been held to solicit comment from the public on the many issues covered by the Plan. I have included a section of the site to look at this process and its conclusions as they may affect residents and landowners at Popham.

Phippsburg Has stacked Comp Plan Ordinance Writing Committees with Developers and Realtors

The plan is supposed to be a blueprint for guiding and controlling future development in the town. The link to the town web site pages on the plan is here; http://www.phippsburg.com/Municipal/Ordinances/Comp%20PLan.pdf. The last plan was submitted in 1989 but did not get State approval, apparently, and was sent back to the town. The town then apparently did not try to revise and resubmit the plan as required by the State Growth Management Act. The process is lengthy as it must be approved by a vote of the townspeople, sent to he State to be approved, and then, if approved , the town must begin to write ordinances which support the goals of the plan. The ordinance writing process has begun.

The town asked for volunteers to accomplish the writing of the ordinances with the caveat that people step forward who "don't have an agenda" The town then approved the appointment of developers and realtors to fill most of the positions.

I had believed that much of the recent development activity at Popham had been in anticipation of a more restrictive set of ordinances governing development, but the sad thing is that, despite the existence of ordinances which would seem to protect the sensitive areas we find at Popham (this is the conclusion of the plans committees but certainly not mine!), there is no enforcement of the ordinances, so any changes will be as ineffective as the current set of ordinances in stopping unfettered growth at Popham. Town hall has to abide by the laws and but doesn't in my neighborhood. Popham is, I believe, too much of a cash cow for the town.

I believe that there are some glaring and obvious mistakes in the conclusions and the recommendations of the plan as it relates to issues which describe and will impact quality of life at Popham and I had forwarded those concerns to the people who were drafting the plan. Any recommendations which are based on false premises should be noted and corrected. I had contacted some of the committee's and the members on some of these mistakes. Here is a copy of the letter I sent them; Comp Plan Letter. I would invite you to come to your own conclusions based on both the activities described in the sections on the permitting processes (see what is being done in my neighborhood under the current rules- septics in pond zone) and the legal activities which have had to be undertaken surrounding recent development in my neighborhood (see Chester Shore Land Zoning and the issues surrounding the Wyatt/Johnson/Hill Variance Decision ). Compare that with the conclusions of the Comprehensive Plan specifically regarding protections of the environment in the Popham area. The new Beach Club proposal further steps on the ability of the people of the community at Popham to restrict development in their own backyard. One issue which I will be pursuing is the way in which variances from State Septic requirements are approved by the town with no opportunity for local or abutter input or comment. Proponent driven variances to the town ordinances with no input from abutters is unconstitutional (see-discussion and court order against Phippsburg here!

Write to the people on the committees! Here are their names and contacts; http://www.phippsburg.com/Municipal/Comp/Board%20Roster.pdf.

The section on water quality is particularly scary as the recommendations of the plan and the realities are 180 degrees from each other. I would encourage you to then add your own comments to the discussion on whether or not Popham Beach is being adequately protected by the existing laws and ordinances, as stated in the text of the Plan. I would strongly encourage that you write the people who are implementing the plan, and the selectmen as well, if you feel, as I do, that the development planning goals of the plan and the realities at hand are at odds.

The plan will allow developers to steamroll over us if we do not make any noise!

I will try to get updates from committee members as they proceed.