At its March 19 meeting, the North Yarmouth Select Board motioned to send a Land Use Ordinance (LUO) amendment to the Planning Board, instructing them to hold a public hearing.
The 4-page document outlines 3 ways for future LUO amendments to be initiated in North Yarmouth:
An individual or corporation could submit an application and pay a fee
Citizen initiative, as per state statute
Select Board referral
Former Select Board Chair, Brian Sites, drafted the document in early 2023 and presented it as a policy. After further consideration, he expanded it as an LUO amendment to Section 1.7, which he introduced at the June 6, 2023 meeting, but the Board took no further action.
Related Story: Select Board Introduces Formal LUO Amendment
NYFV contacted the previous Select Board multiple times, asking for clarification about the origin of the document language, who was involved in writing the amendment, and when and where that work was done.
According to the town website, the Planning Board has two functions. Its primary role is determining whether projects before the Board adhere to the current LUO as written. The Board also proposes changes to the LUO to be voted on at the Annual Town Meeting.
Select Board Chair Amy Haile said the amendment would add needed structure and provide a timeline for the LUO amendment process.
If the new Section 1.7 is passed at the Annual Town Meeting, the Planning Board would only be authorized to make "non-policy, administrative amendments" without prior approval from the Select Board.
Select Board members Paul Hodgetts and Karl Cyr asked for more time to review the proposal.
The Select Board tabled the vote on the Section 1.7 amendment to the next meeting.
Three additional LUO amendments were on the agenda, along with a suggested motion to send them to the Planning Board for a public hearing.
The Planning Board is already working on two of the proposals.
At a joint workshop on February 27 with Greater Portland Council of Governments (GPCOG) and the Select Board, the Planning Board considered proposed changes related to LD2003. An additional workshop is scheduled for March 26.
The Planning Board reviewed recommendations from a North Star Planning audit of the LUO during their March 12 meeting.
The separate comprehensive reviews were initiated by the Select Board last year.
Planning Board members Jeff Brown and Paul Whitmarsh (Chair) clarified that the Planning Board is working to merge edits to these proposals.
"I don't really know what the intention of these motions are. The plan from the Planning Board is to actually combine these so that all overlap is all written into one warrant," said Whitmarsh
North Yarmouth must approve amendments to bring the LUO into compliance with LD2003. The deadline to incorporate state-mandated affordable housing and accessory dwelling unit (ADU) requirements into the LUO is July 1st.
A third LUO amendment sponsored by the Select Board would grant the town an exemption from current sign ordinance restrictions. On March 12, the Planning Board voted to take no further action on the amendment.
Haile withdrew the motions to send the individual LUO amendments to the Planning Board for a public hearing.
The Select Board agreed to allow the Planning Board to draft an amendment to the current sign ordinance to allow a site plan review for a municipal digital sign.
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