Raymond looks to future with Comprehensive Plan

By Briana Bizier

What do you want your town to look like in five years, or 10 years, or even 20 years? Right now, Raymond residents have a rare chance to answer that very question as the town looks for volunteers to help write a new Comprehensive Plan.

The town’s previous Comprehensive Plan was written in 2004. That document, which is available on the Town of Raymond’s website, was truly comprehensive; it covers topics ranging from descriptions of Raymond’s historical properties and archaeological sites to designating growth areas for new developments and protecting Raymond’s many beautiful lakes and ponds.

Raymond is actively seeking volunteers to
help the town develop a new Comprehensive 
Plan for addressing future growth and
development and protecting the town's
natural resources. PHOTO BY ED PIERCE  

“It’s a pretty encompassing document,” said Rolf Olsen, a current member of Raymond’s Select Board. “It touches on a lot of different areas. Essentially, it looks at demographics, land use, future planning, and future needs.”

While the proposed future Comprehensive Plan won’t change any current zoning regulations in Raymond, it will serve as a guide for the town’s future development. The new Comprehensive Plan, as Olsen explained, will serve as a backbone for new ordinances and development.

One set of decisions that has been guided by the current Comprehensive Plan are Raymond’s zoning regulations. “The last Comprehensive Plan really helped establish the two- and five-acre minimum lot sizes,” Olsen said. “There’s three zones in town. Rural and rural residential have different lot sizes. And then there was the village residential, where we didn’t have to define lot size because it was all full anyway.”

The 2004 Comprehensive Plan’s influence can also be seen all summer long in Raymond’s pristine lakes. Many lakes and ponds in Maine struggle with algae blooms that can make their waters green, turning away swimmers and tourists alike. The 2004 Comprehensive Plan suggested several measures to help prevent algae bloom, like regular septic tank inspections as well as the preservation of any wetlands over two acres in size.

Septic tank inspections and zoning decisions might sound like theoretical discussions with little real-world impact, but recommendations like this help to guide new construction and protect current resources. Ultimately, these decisions shape the future of the town.

For Olsen, the future of Raymond is best placed in the hands of today’s Raymond residents.

“We’re looking for a real cross-section of the population to serve on this committee,” Olsen said. “We don’t want to exclude people from any group - you’ve got the senior population, you’ve got the younger population, you’ve got people on the waterfront, you’ve got people not on the waterfront, people with kids in school - really, there’s no bad person for the committee. The driving thing is people who want to see Raymond survive and go forward in a positive manner.”

The people who do sign up for this committee should be prepared to be part of an extensive process. “There’ll be a lot of work to get done,” Olsen said. “It’s not one of those that will be just one or two meetings.”

When the last Comprehensive Plan was developed in 2004, Olsen said, the final 135-page document was the result of a lengthy process to envision Raymond’s future.

“When it was written back then, it took over a year to get it done," Olsen said. The process of approving the next Comprehensive Plan will likely involve many meetings as well as public hearings. “This plan helps guide a lot of decisions. That’s why it takes a lot of input back and forth.”

However, this is also a chance to make a lasting mark on the Town of Raymond.

“From my standpoint, it’s a chance to look at the old plan, to see what’s valid and what’s not valid, and to help set a course for the next x number of years,” Olsen said. “The people who want to see the town move forward in a positive manner - those are the people you want on there. They’re going to look at all the different things and see how we keep the character and move ahead without shutting anyone out.”

Despite the magnitude of the task, Olsen believes Raymond residents are up for the task of reimagining their town’s future.

“There’s not a lack of talent in this town,” Olsen said. “Although sometimes it’s a matter of getting them to come out.”

If you are interested in service on Raymond’s Comprehensive Plan, please fill out a volunteer application on the town website: https://www.raymondmaine.org/ <

Windham could add two new districts later this spring

A map is shown of possible new districts that
could be approved by the Windham Town
Council later this spring. Under consideration
and discussed during a public forum on March 3
are new districts including a Windham Residential
District and a Windham Center District,
COURTESY IMAGE

By Ed Pierce

Based upon recommendations from the town’s Long Range Planning Committee developed following a public webinar on March 3, the Windham Town Council could vote later this spring on a proposal to add two new zoning districts.

During the March 3 rezoning webinar conducted on Zoom, Windham residents were asked to comment on creating a new Village Residential District and a Windham Center District. The Windham Long Range Planning Committee is charged with implementation of the Town’s Comprehensive Plan and mapping out where growth and changes are desired and where they are not desired is a central component of comprehensive planning.  

“The Future Land Use Map in the plan shows the general areas of Windham that should be targeted for growth and those that are important to the community to keep at low development levels,” said Amanda L. Lessard, Windham Planning Director. “Windham Center is one of the identified growth areas and is described in the plan as an area serving as the civic core of the community and as such, more walkable, connected residential development should be encouraged in this area.” 

Lessard said that the Windham Center Growth Area is mostly currently zoned as Farm District and Farm Residential District and these rural areas are zones that the town wants to direct growth away from.  

“A specific Comp Plan goal is to amend local ordinances to clearly define the desired scale, intensity, and location of future development using the descriptions provided in the Future Land Use Plan,” Lessard said. “Additionally, state law requires that a municipal zoning ordinance must be pursuant to and consistent with a comprehensive plan adopted by the municipal legislative body.”

She said that the LRPC reviewed the current zoning in other growth areas and determined that based on the existing lot sizes and land uses in the area and the Vision for Windham described in the comprehensive plan that Windham Center is different from other growth areas and should have its own zoning standards that are distinct on either side of the Pleasant River.

Another aspect of changes the council may be asked to approve are refining affordable housing standards, Lessard said.

“One of the Comp Plan goals is to encourage the development of affordable/workforce housing in Growth Areas,” she said. “The proposed standards would apply in the zoning districts that align with growth areas shown on the future land use map: Commercial 1 (C1) and Commercial 2 (C2) in the North Windham Growth Area, Medium-Density Residential (RM) in the Residential Growth Area, Village Commercial (VC) in the South Windham Growth Area, and the proposed Windham Center (WC) District in the Windham Center Growth Area.”

Lessard said that the proposed standards would allow for increases in residential density and height and decrease lot size, frontage and setbacks for developments that are served by public water and meet federal Median Family Income standards for affordability. 

“The affordability of the units must also be maintained for 10 years for ownership units, or 30 years for rental units,” she said.

Under the proposal that the council could take up would be the Village Residential District, to the west of the Pleasant River which could be intended to be a residential area with a limited number of small businesses. 

“The proposed zone slightly reduces minimum lot sizes and road frontages to allow for more residential development that is consistent with the older subdivision developments in the area,” Lessard said. “The Windham Center District, to the east of the Pleasant River, is intended to be the primarily residential civic village with a mixture of uses intended to complement the cultural, public, and institutional uses with other small business that meet local neighborhood needs.”

This proposed zone further reduces minimum lot sizes and road frontages (to be the same as the Town’s current Medium-Density Residential zone and proposes to allow additional commercial uses that are limited in size, Lessard said. 

“Both districts are proposed to require pitched rooflines, all new streets must be public streets, and new development on existing public streets must provide sidewalks along the frontage of the lot,” she said.  

It will be several months before Windham town councilors could vote on the rezoning proposal as there is a process to follow.

“The LRPC will consider revisions to the proposal based on public input and make a recommendation to the Windham Town Council,” Lessard said. “The Land Use Ordinance specifies the process for amendments, so the Council will forward the proposal to the Planning Board for review and recommendation.”

As part of the process, a public hearing will be held as part of the Windham Planning Board’s review.  The board’s recommendation will be sent back to the Windham Town Council for discussion and a public hearing before a vote is held.      

Windham’s Comprehensive Plan Update was adopted in June 2017 and included numerous policy and implementation strategies to achieve the vision for Windham in the next 10-plus years. 

“These were distilled into the 4 Big Things, one of which was ‘Change the game for Windham’s Growth Areas: North Windham, Windham Center, South Windham.,’” Lessard said. “This zoning change would expand the range of options available in Windham by allowing for different types and scales of neighborhood development and provide more options for people to choose from when considering Windham for a home or a place to start or expand a business.” <