UPDATE: Lincolnville Selectmen approve setting before voters a pier, wharf moratorium question
LINCOLNVILLE —The Board of Selectmen in Lincolnville agreed placing before voters a proposed ordinance to place a moratorium on the construction of piers, wharfs and docks on the ocean shoreline.
Per a consult with the town’s attorney, who held no objections to the language.
“As we receive so few petitions and the statute regarding petitions sets forth required procedures, a copy of the petition was sent to the town attorney,” said Selectman Keryn Laite, Jr., at the April 25 regularly scheduled Selectmen’s meeting. “To paraphrase her response, ‘it’s OK for the board to move forward with the request for voter consideration of the proposed moratorium ordinance.”
The timeline includes setting the question to be set for a Lincolnville Planning Board public hearing May 18, with an article to appear before voters May 25, the same town meeting as the Lincolnville Central School budget meeting.
The moratorium ordinance request asks that the town to approve a new ordinance that would retroactively prohibit, “the construction of any new or currently proposed piers, docks, floats, ramps, and other permanent structures along the coast in Lincolnville, for which construction has not yet commenced as of March 31, 2022.”
The group that collected 191 signatures was represented at the April 25 meeting. There are an estimated 2,200 registered voters in Lincolnville.
“I’m really proud and happy that we have that level of concern of how the town is evolving and developing,” said John Pincince, who has been opposed to a specific pier proposed by private landowners in Lincolnville.
The selectmen agreed that it was their job to, “move it forward and put it in the public realm,” said Selectman Jordan Barnett-Parker.
A petition to place a proposed moratorium ordinance before voters that would affect new pier, wharf and dock construction on the oceanfront stretch of Lincolnville will be discussed by the Lincolnville Selectmen this evening, when they convene at 6 p.m. at the Lincolnville Town Office.
Meetings of the Board of Selectmen are broadcast live on Cable TV channel 22 and streamed live on YouTube. Remote participation is available via Zoom.
In addition to the moratorium ordinance request, board will also discuss broadband expansion in Lincolnville, and town meeting preparations.
Last winter, a group of Lincolnville citizens raised objections to the proposed construction of a pier that would, if approved by the Maine Department of Environmental Protection, extend 300 feet into Penobscot Bay from a private home on the shoreline.
The citizens had appealed to the DEP Commissioner, requesting that the Board of Environmental Protection assume jurisdiction of the permitting application process; however, Commissioner Melanie Loyzim declined to approve the request.
Since then, the DEP’s Land and Water Bureau has been reviewing the application, having extended the review timeline and kept its public comment period open until April 11.
The moratorium ordinance request asks that the town to approve a new ordinance that would retroactively prohibit, “the construction of any new or currently proposed piers, docks, floats, ramps, and other permanent structures along the coast in Lincolnville, for which construction has not yet commenced as of March 31, 2022.”
(See attached PDF for complete ordinance language.)
The citizens proposing the moratorium have stated that the town’s existing zoning ordinances may not specifically or adequately protect the shoreline.
They cite developmental pressures, as well as navigational, habitat and scenic view hazards and impediments.
They also maintain that Lincolnville property owners would be able to sink moorings during the moratorium.
