Goings On....

Tuesday, July 26, 2011

Comprehensive Plan

The planning board has met twice this summer. The first meeting Chris Huck and Joel Greenwood from Kennebec Valley Council of Governments discussed the Comprehensive Plan process, statutes and how KVCOG could be of assistance. There is some possibility that, under the current administration, the State Planning Office could dissolve. However, functions that fell under that umbrella would be distributed to other offices/departments. Thorndike does not have to develop a comprehensive plan. There are some advantages - grant applications, synergy with ordinances in event of litigation, and future development. The board is questioning whether the costs of developing the Comprehensive Plan is worth the expense. Chris and Joel indicated the town did not need to encumber itself with census data collection. It should focus on developing the town's vision of itself.

The planning board approved the Town's building permit for the new town office during the second meeting. We discussed further the cost-benefit of the comprehensive plan, however were still undecided. Chris and Joel had a checklist of Comprehensive Plan criteria. It was decided to disseminate copies of this checklist to get a better idea of requirements.

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