Piper Village Development, LLC proposed rezoning more than 50 acres for commercial use at the Dec. 5 meeting of the Damariscotta Planning Board.
The acreage includes multiple Piper Village properties and a property, currently owned by Chester Rice, which Piper Village has an agreement to purchase.
John Mann, a spokesman for the developer, proposed expanding the existing C-2 zone to follow property lines in the area.
The properties total 54 acres, just a fraction of Piper Village’s total holdings. The developer would only be able to use about 30 acres, however, because Castner Brook runs through the area, Mann said.
Except for part of Rice’s property, the land currently falls in the rural zone east of Bus. Rt. 1.
Mann painted the proposal as a way to follow up on the positive aspects of the public planning process that led to the creation and eventual defeat of the Damariscotta SmartCode, a proposal to overhaul the town’s zoning.
The process, according to a handout Mann distributed to the Planning Board, clearly established a desire for a cultural and performing arts center, “green” job creation, “development that would have a net positive impact on local taxes,” “commercial development in a compact area close to the existing downtown” and adjustment of the zone boundary “from a line parallel with [Bus. Rt. 1] to a line that follows existing lot boundaries and more practical development parameters.”
Frank and Barbara Roberts, co-owners, along with other investors, of the Piper Village properties, attended the meeting, as did Rice, who repeated his frequent complaint about the effect of current zoning on his property.
The current zoning boundary chops his property in half, Rice said. “Half of it’s commercial and half of it’s something else,” he said.
Rice said his annual tax bill for the property totals $6000, yet he “can’t use it for anything.”
The Planning Board voted 3-1-1 to suggest that the Damariscotta Board of Selectmen review the proposal. Steve Cole cast the dissenting vote and Chairman Fred Sewall abstained.
The meeting marks the first public meeting of municipal officials and Piper Village representatives since the June 14 SmartCode vote.
Piper Village was actively involved in the code development process, participating in public workshops and paying for Damariscotta to bring in land use consultants. It expressed support for the result, the SmartCode, only to see it fail by a more than 2-1 margin during a referendum vote in June.
