Important Message from New Vineyard Selectmen

Post date: Sep 7, 2018 5:51:43 PM

Dear Fellow Residents of New Vineyard,

We want to provide you with the current status of the recently proposed Land Use Ordinance and the proposed Site Plan Review Ordinance (applicable to Non-Residential Uses Only) and our plans going forward with these 2 ordinances.

The recent Public Hearing on June 14^th, covering the above 2 ordinances and a Safety and Property Management Ordinance provided extensive feedback and discussion during the meeting and post meeting. The Safety and Property Maintenance Ordinance has been withdrawn from consideration at this time based on the feedback.

The Selectmen asked the Comprehensive Plan Implementation Committee (‘PIC”) to address the feedback from the Public Hearing by making any necessary changes to the above two Ordinances in response to the comments and concerns. Subsequently we have had 2 reviews of the documents with both residents and the Committee. As a result, there have been a number of changes that reflect the dialogues with the Town and which we feel will make the Ordinances acceptable to the Town.

To bring you up to date on the provisions of the two ordinances, we have scheduled 3 outreach meetings to be held in Smith Hall. We are inviting residents of:

· Barker Road and Herrick Mountain Road to the first meeting on Friday, September 14, 2018 at 6PM;

· Route 27, Route 234, and Brahamer Road to a second meeting on Saturday, September 15, 2018 at 9AM; and

· Lake Street, Church Street, Taylor Hill Road, High Street, and Parlin Hill Road to the third meeting on Friday, September 21, 2018 at 6PM;

Other residents not living along these roads, streets, and routes can attend any of the scheduled meetings. If you have a conflict with your scheduled meeting, please feel free to attend another meeting. The PIC will be in attendance at all three meetings, Dave Horn will present and also answer any questions you might have.

As there are changes in the Ordinances, we will also hold a public hearing to be held on Thursday, October 4, 2018 at 6:00 pm at Smith Hall. A Special Town Meeting on October 18, 2018 at 6:00 pm at Smith Hall will follow. The vote on the Ordinances at the Special Meeting will be by ballot.

We recognize that there are different opinions on these Ordinances with some seeing them as protecting the present and future residents of the Town, their property values, giving a blueprint for future growth while protecting the rural nature of the Town, and giving the Town access to a variety of grants from the State and it’s agencies. An understanding that for a Town that has limited revenues, a significant school commitment, significant recurring operating expenses, and a population that is adverse to increased real estate taxes, grants will be important in the future to address capital expenses such as a reliable water supply for the fire department, a new dam on the Mill Pond Outlet before the Mill Pond and the Lilly Pond become just a stream, possibly a park, a recreational facility for children, etc. While others believe their land is theirs to make their own decisions on what to do with it. Of course, with recognition that there are a number of current laws, rules and regulations that influence an individual’s use of their land already in place.

As the Selectmen for New Vineyard we feel that the proposed Ordinances will not significantly impact individuals in an adverse fashion, particularly as all lots in New Vineyard are “grandfathered” as of the effective date of the Ordinances. If passed, the Land Use Ordinance will be effective on the 90th day following the Town Meeting. This will give residents time to review the Ordinance and make any land transactions to address any of their concerns. Information and copies of the Ordinances are available at the Town Office and are posted on the Town’s web-site – www.newvineyardme.org As well – information, opinion and discussion is on facebook at New Vineyard Community Forum.

We feel that the passage of these Ordinances are important to have in place for New Vineyard’s future and we urge you to vote “Yes” at the upcoming Special Town Meeting on October 18, 2018.

Respectfully,

Jeff Allen-Selectman Seth Webber-Selectman Frank Forster-Selectman