To the Editor:
Planning is hard work, make no mistake. There are no shortcuts, but our quality of place is our best economic asset, both now and in the future. It is worth protecting.
Five years ago Damariscotta passed a 35,000 square foot size cap on new retail development. This was a direct effort to block a Wal-Mart Super Center that many of us felt would dwarf our current downtown and damage our fragile local economy. The size cap was a simple instrument serving a simple purpose: keep retail development to a scale that makes sense for our small town.
Since the size cap victory there has been a long process to decide what further steps to take in preparing for future growth in town. What emerged from this process was the form-based codes plan that was defeated on June 14. And while there were good reasons to defeat that particular plan, we should not give up on form-based codes all together.
Currently Damariscotta selectmen are exploring whether to amend these codes and put them up for another vote in the coming months. This is understandably controversial; after all, the codes have already been defeated once. I would argue that there is a way forward with form-based codes, and this option is worth exploring.
If we do nothing, it is likely that Damariscotta will look more and more like Cooks Corner. This is what our current commercial zoning demands: single-story box stores with a sea of parking in the front. Even if developers want to extend a downtown-like area, with multiple stories, rear parking, and sidewalks, they are prevented from doing this by our existing codes.
If Cooks Corner is not what we want, we need to keep working on developing and passing zoning changes we can live with.
Form-based codes have the power to put into action many of the values we share: creating a more walkable community, decreasing sprawl, requiring mixed-use buildings, and preserving green spaces, all the while offering a straightforward permitting process for developers who adhere to the codes.
The plan that was defeated on June 14 was the wrong code. It was heavily influenced by a single developer, Piper Commons, and did not include some of the elements we value most. We need to amend these codes to move forward.
Unlike the size cap, form-based codes are complex and layered, addressing many planning issues instead of just one. This complexity gives us plenty of reasons to disagree, and the process is not easy, but just because it is hard does not mean it is not worth doing. There is no silver bullet that will fix all of our planning needs. Our size cap is a great tool, but it should not be our only tool.
I believe that the right form-based codes – not the ones that were recently defeated, but ones rewritten to better reflect community values – are the most effective tool to move our community in the direction we need to go.
I encourage you to attend a meeting on Tues., July 26 at 6:30 p.m. at Lincoln Theater to participate in a conversation with the selectmen about possible paths forward. Please urge Damariscotta Board of Selectmen to keep working on form-based codes, and protect our future from sprawl.
Jenny Mayher, Newcastle