Council workshop examines growth and its continuing impact upon Windham

By Ed Pierce

Windham Town Council members conducted a three-hour workshop to have an in-depth discussion about the need and impacts of growth for items such as taxes, town services, school enrollments, traffic impacts and more subjects on Jan. 23 and examined how to best address growth in an orderly manner.

Members of the Windham Town Council conducted a 
three-hour workshop on Jan. 23 to examine town growth,
state regulations regarding growth ordinances, and how
to address impacts and issues associated with growth
such as housing, school enrollment and traffic.
PHOTO BY KEITH MANK

During the meeting, town attorney Mark Bower of Jensen Baird reviewed with councilors the town’s existing growth ordinance and how state regulations affect municipal growth.

“For starters, a municipal growth ordinance must be consistent with the town’s Comprehensive Plan,” Bower said. “Many towns don’t have any growth caps.”

According to Bower, Windham is only one of six communities in Southern Maine that has an ordinance on file addressing growth and there are 22 other communities in the area that do not have any limitations regarding growth.

He said state rules mandate that Windham’s growth ordinance can be recalculated every three years to review growth rate details and based upon that information, the town’s growth ordinance can be updated or amended accordingly.

Councilors also heard from RSU 14 Superintendent of schools Chris Howell, who shared with them that RSU 14 schools have experienced a flat rate of growth enrollment over the past decade.

“The greatest overcrowding we have is at Windham Middle School,” Howell said. “The new Windham Raymond Middle School will help and long term we will be able to accommodate needs for the next 10 to 15 years.”

Windham Town Manager Barry Tibbetts presented figures for Howell to discuss how recent housing projects in town impacted local school enrollment.

From 2019 to 2024, there were two condominium projects completed in Windham totaling 49 units. From those condos, RSU 14 gained 14 students, Howell said. From 2018 to 2024, there were six duplexes constructed in Windham totaling 142 units. From those duplexes, RSU 14 gained 68 students. From 2021 to 2023, there were three multi-unit complexes finished with a total of 85 units. From those multi-unit apartments, RSU 14 gained six students.

Howell said the RSU 14 is calculated each year to take growth in Windham into account.

Windham Assistant Town Manager Bob Burns shared with councilors the results of a traffic evaluation conducted by the Gorrill Palmer engineering firm and how future developments could further impact traffic congestion.

“Based on discussions with the town, there are five potential developments within the immediate vicinity of the Route 302 study area,” the survey report detailed. “Trip generation was calculated using ITE Trip Generation Manual or other methods based on discussions with the Town. Trip distribution was based on our knowledge of the area and traffic patterns as identified from traffic counts that were provided in the North Windham Moves study.”

The traffic evaluation examined potential traffic from each of the developments including a proposal to build 172 residential units near Manchester Drive; construction of 80 condos at the end of Turning Leaf Road; additions to be built to the Microtel Inn & Suites; a potential development behind Home Depot with a possible hotel and 300 residential units; and two possible new hotels and 400 units of multifamily housing behind the Ice Cream Dugout on Enterprise Drive.

The survey report indicates that the three highest percentages for increased traffic are located in the densest portion of the downtown area.

“As one moves out of the downtown area the growth rate decreases. The current average growth rate for Route 302 within the study area is approximately 2 percent,” the report says. “This indicates that Windham is currently experiencing a growth higher than what was forecast (0.5 percent) when the North Windham Moves Study was completed. It should be noted that the 0.5-percent yearly growth was consistent up to the design year 2040. If Windham should experience a plateau in growth or a negative growth between now and 2040, the average yearly growth from now to 2040 may decrease from 2 percent closer to the 0.5 percent, or more likely somewhere in between.”

Based upon their evaluation, Gorrill Palmer says that both regional background growth as well as local development growth in Windham appear to be higher than was forecast or assumed in the North Windham Moves Study.

“This means that Route 302 corridor traffic volumes would reach the 2040 design hourly volumes earlier than 2040 if the existing growth trends continue,” the report says. “Even though the traffic volumes are increasing quicker than originally forecast or assumed, the recommended East and West alternatives identified in the North Windham Moves Study are forecast to provide acceptable levels of service. Since the originally forecasted levels of service were relatively high, there appears to be some considerable allowance for increasing traffic volumes and still maintaining acceptable levels of service throughout the corridor. The one exception along the corridor may be Boody’s Corner. This intersection level of service was forecast to be low but acceptable in 2040 with the construction of the East and West Connectors. It should be noted that in addition to the connectors, there were safety recommendations proposed for this intersection which should also improve the operations of the intersection, and the benefits of those safety improvements are not represented in the levels of service results. Based on this evaluation, it is our opinion that even though overall traffic volumes for the corridor are increasing faster than forecast, the recommended connectors should maintain overall acceptable levels of service, and in fact make the recommended connectors even more critical to maintaining the mobility and safety of the corridor than originally envisioned.”

In looking at Windham Fire, Police and EMS totals from 2014 to 2024, Tibbetts said figures show first responder calls only rose 0.02 percent since construction of new developments during that time frame.

Windham Town Council Chair Jarrod Maxfield said the workshop was helpful and he believes reviewing all the presented information will be useful for councilors when looking at potential growth issues or updating the town’s current growth ordinance.

“I think we really need as council to gets the facts out there,” Maxfield said. “The misnomer is that growth is what’s causing your property taxes to go up when it’s the opposite.” <   

Windham Town Council adopts open space master plan with eye on future

Windham has adopted a new Open Space Master Plan which
will guide the town in identifying high priority properties to
protect or acquire, provide land stewardship guidance, identify
ways to expand connectivity between open space assets and
examine ways to create potential recreational opportunities for
future generations of residents. PHOTO BY ED PIERCE     

By Ed Pierce

After months of development, public input and careful consideration of the town’s future growth and potential needs, Windham town councilors unanimously adopted the new Windham Open Space Master Plan during a meeting on Tuesday evening.

The Open Space Plan will serve as a guide for the town to identify high priority properties to protect or acquire, provide land stewardship guidance for existing open space lands, identify opportunities to expand connectivity between open space assets, neighborhoods, and trails and to outline programs, ordinances, and partners that could be instrumental in securing the future of the identified high priority properties, said Windham Planning Director Amanda Lessard. The plan recognizes that rural character is crucial to Windham’s identity as a community. It takes a proactive stance regarding preserving community character and ensures that Windham’s most cherished open spaces will remain available going forward despite strong residential growth pressures.

Lessard said that the Windham Open Space Master Plan is the culmination of nine months of work and is the town’s first comprehensive look at Windham’s open space network of conservation and recreational assets.

“The consulting team of North Star Planning and Aceto Landscape Architects worked with town staff to gather input from the community, including town committees and various stakeholder groups, to develop conservation and recreational goals to preserve Windham’s rural character and function, protect the environment, and provide diverse and equitable access to recreational opportunities,” Lessard said. “The plan will have long term implications on the Town of Windham as it will guide future decision making as it relates to managing and improving existing properties and locating and acquiring new properties for conservation, playgrounds, sports fields, and trail systems.”

Specific new open space policies contained in the plan create a framework to guide town leadership well into the future.

Some of those policies include acquiring new properties and developing new facilities, evaluation and improvement of existing properties and open-space assets and creation of opportunities to enhance and expand uses and programming at existing open space and recreational facilities in Windham, and to update existing town policies and practices focusing on recreation and open space in Windham. 

The plan recognizes that the Windham community supports acquisition and conservation of properties that provide recreation opportunities, public access to the water, protect significant habitats and water quality, and maintains the rural character of the town. It notes that the town should be prepared and ready to act when opportunities arise to grow the network of open space and recreation properties. It establishes goals of increasing access to water for residents, including lakes, ponds, and rivers; create new points of access for boating and swimming on Windham’s lakes and ponds; develop linked, long-distance trail system; complete the Mountain Division Trail to Westbrook and lead to creation of formal access to the water and along the Presumpscot and Pleasant Rivers for hand-carry boating access and additional trails for fishing and recreation; places an emphasis on large-scale conservation efforts for East Windham and Southern Windham lands; and to develop neighborhood-scale playgrounds and public spaces in underserved areas.

Under the new plan, other goals for Windham include evaluating all existing town properties for potential to contribute to open space and recreational priorities; maximizes the diversity and mix of activities and uses available in each town activity center; formalizes and protects existing open space and recreational assets; create management plans for town properties; and initiate a signage program for Windham park properties and trailheads.

The new Open Space Master Plan does not identify specific properties for acquisition, but rather provides the criteria needed for the town to make smart and strategic decisions when identifying properties that would fulfill the needs of the community. To that end, new goals also include enhanced protections for surface waters and wetlands, especially in the watersheds most at risk of development and for streams and rivers; developing and maintaining open-space partnerships and relationships; educating and incentivizing private property owners to keep lands as undeveloped open space; and reorganizing some town committees and volunteers to clarify their roles and ensure proper support from town staff. Another goal is the purchase of development rights to keep properties in private ownership, most applicable in situations where the land is used for production, like farming, pasture and hay fields, and woodlots. It emphasizes that the town should be working to make all landowners aware of the “current use” tax programs designed to keep lands in their existing, and undeveloped states.

Across Maine, open space planning has evolved into a crucial topic to towns and municipalities as development impacts the environment and strains open space resources in rural areas and major population centers in the state. Effective open space planning preserves valuable natural wetlands and vital wildlife habitat from Maine communities for future generations while helping to formulate policies used to protect environmental corridors and natural ecosystems.

Lessard said the new Open Space Master Plan aligns with the desire of Windham residents and the Windham Town Council to encourage compatible growth in the future by managing aspects of growth and development and provides long term economic benefits by helping the town avoid costly mistakes of misusing available open-space resources. <