By Adam Kernan-Schloss
NOTE: This updates a September 17 article.
In the end, after a few weeks of community-wide anxiety and confusion, a controversial proposal to amend the town’s shoreland zoning ordinance was voted down almost unanimously during a special town meeting Thursday night. Planning board member Lori Follett appeared to be the only person voting against a motion by selectman Gary Read to delay action on the proposed changes until the planning board and town can do more work.
After the meeting, Planning Board Chair Marie Varian told the Observer, “We’ll go back to the drawing board.” The day before she had said, “We have more work to do on this issue between now and the next town meeting in June.”
Exact next steps are unclear; the planning board holds weekly workshops on Sunday mornings at 9am and then meets monthly (2nd Tuesdays, 5:30pm) to address multiple agenda items.
The vote came a day after Town Administrator Evan Goodkowsky shared an email he had received from the state Department of Environmental Protection (DEP), which suggested it would not approve Phippsburg’s proposal because it is less restrictive than state law.
The planning board’s proposal would have eliminated or reduced many regulations by exempting all properties in the town’s Residential District from Resource Protection District limitations. They said the change was needed mainly to ensure property owners could continue to trim or remove trees near the shoreline. But many year-round and seasonal residents raised concerns about the process, timetable and potential threat to mudflats, ponds and other natural resources. (See previous articles on September 15, August 26 and August 25.)
The email from DEP’s Jeff Kalinich read: “After consultation with my Supervisor it has been determined that adding the term Residential as proposed in the draft is less restrictive than required by Chapter 1000. Should the amendment be approved be sure to send required documentation [to] me so it can be corrected. While not required, I suggest sending draft amendments to the Department for review prior to placing them on the warrant to avoid situations like this.”
On Thursday night, voters also passed three minor amendments to the solar panel rules, which Varian said the panel meant to include in its initial 2025 ordinance, and a proposal to transfer ownership of the Murphy House (an historic fishermen’s cottage) from the town to the Historical Society. “Rink” Varian had donated the building to the town while the Phippsburg Historic Preservation Commission raised the necessary funds to maintain the structure. That fundraising is now complete.