Guest Editorial: Gretchen Straub on Businesses & Property Taxes
South Berwick resident Gretchen Straub has been thinking about the impact of businesses on property taxes and submitted this editorial:
I was thinking about how getting new businesses in town might affect the tax base so I did some research. It shows that economic development should not be equated with tax relief at all.
The diagram shows why this is so. South Berwick’s taxable property base is roughly 640 Million dollars. That is over half a Billion dollars. Billions are difficult to visualize, so this graphic puts the magnitude in perspective. In this presentation all these little houses, valued at $200,000 each, total $640 Million. (64 rows X 50 columns at $200,000 per house)
Click image for larger
This graphic demonstrates that adding business property value of 2 or even 10 million dollars to the Town of South Berwick would have no appreciable effect on property taxes.
The bottom row depicts some of our South Berwick businesses to make it apparent that these large businesses are drops in the bucket in relation to the mass of valued property.
To make a dent in property tax rates by, say, 10% the tax base would need to increase by 10%.
A 10% increase would need the equivalent value of all the items listed below:
8 more Links Golf Courses,
8 more York Hospitals,
8 more Berwick Estates,
8 more Spring Hills,
8 more Ocean Banks,
8 more Fogarty Restaurants,
8 more Century 21s,
8 more Granite State Gas Transmissions
The premise that added business property would lower South Berwick’s property tax rates is only legitimate if the added value is incredibly and implausibly large.
This analysis ignores an important point regarding school funding: The more South Berwick’s property valuation goes up, the more our share of SAD 35 funding by the State goes down. This increases the amount of revenue the Town needs to collect from tax payers, negating over 60% (currently) of any tax benefit from new development.
So, let’s continue to welcome businesses that add to “quality of place,” but without expectations of some kind of tax relief panacea.
–Gretchen Straub
Tags: Economic Development, opinion
July 26th, 2008 at 11:32 am
what is your idea of a business that ads “quality of place” as you put it.how many of those little places can we fit in this town and how many “quality of place” businesses will it take? to show something on the return.
there are only so many shops to put them in.they may have to BUILD a building.what would you all say to that. i know what would be said to that.
so we do nothing basically,because you cant have it both ways. plain and simple.i belive the saying has to do with cake,and eating it. right?
July 26th, 2008 at 1:05 pm
Wow, that graphic is really someting. It puts a lot into perspective. The magnitude of new construction required to even dent the tax rate is off the charts. Seems the way to control taxes is to limit spending.
July 26th, 2008 at 1:21 pm
Hello All,
This visual analysis is useful. It makes it stunningly clear just how little new businesses will affect property tax.
South Berwick is really quite a large town. There are a large number of back roads that most people never drive on. Each of those roads hold 50 or so houses, so the tax base is really quite large.
It seems that we could build a couple Wal-Marts, Targets, and Home Depots and achieve little other than add traffic and make South Berwick look like a strip mall. Especially taking state funding of SAD 35 into account, it would hardly influence the tax base at all.
The question is this:
Do we want to remain a largely residential town, or do we want to be more like a Somersworth, Dover, or Kittery? The choice make little difference to taxes, affecting only the type/quality of life in South Berwick.
Personally, I moved to South Berwick because it was a nice place to live. Precisely BECAUSE it was not over-developed. My personal wish is for it to stay that way, especially when the storefronts of Dover and Kittery are so close anyway.
Best wishes to all,
Adam
July 26th, 2008 at 4:46 pm
nice diagram! I hadn’t realized the golf course was so big!
July 27th, 2008 at 7:17 am
Gretchen,
You are going on the premise that the goal is to lower the property taxes.
The goal is actually to slow down and reduce the rate of increase.
If the natural gas station had gone in then the $200,000 tax increase for this year would not have been added to the residential property tax bill for this coming year.
In short, to keep taxes from going up so quickly, we would not need the
8 more Links Golf Courses,
8 more York Hospitals,
8 more Berwick Estates,
8 more Spring Hills,
8 more Ocean Banks,
8 more Fogarty Restaurants,
8 more Century 21s,
8 more Granite State Gas Transmissions
July 27th, 2008 at 8:17 am
Dave,
“Lowering” or “reducing the rate of increase” are exactly the same thing: bringing in more tax dollars in a way that’s significant. The graphic tells me that more development has a miniscule effect on the total tax base (to either lower or slow the growth of the tax rate). The existing tax base of $0.64 BILLION is so large as to make the requirement implausible.
And there’s that SAD 35 funding formula knocking down by 2/3 any (extremely small) effect. This formula , by the way, saves the Town massive amount of taxes. It’s the best tax feature we have………..
Look- to lower taxes, we need to lower spending. For example 10% less spending would results in 10% less taxes– DIRECTLY. Trying to do that with expanded tax base is like waiting for Santa Claus on Christmas morning. Sounds wonderful, but it never happens.
July 27th, 2008 at 8:20 am
PS - Or to slow the tax date increase, in you rview of things, slow or stop the spending increases ( which was done this year in SB in the budget process, by actions of the Council, and additional actions by citizens at Town Meeting in June). We stopped municipal budget growth in its tracks this year. Can it be done more? I think so.
July 27th, 2008 at 8:25 am
PPS - If you are talking about that Gas Valving station - That was never going in SB because of technical reasons, not political reasons. To bring that up as a “lost opportunity” is a false claim.
July 27th, 2008 at 12:26 pm
Sharon and Joshua, It is obvious you are anti industry and economic development coming to So. Berwick. We who have made our living in this area are just trying to maintain some quality of life but we are suffering the unintended consequences of becoming a bedroom community where the people who have moved here in the last 20 yrs. or so made or are still making their living in Massachusetts or elsewhere where the the wages for some of the same jobs are almost double what they are in this area so much so they travel up to 2 hrs. one way to work. Truth be told they live in So. Berwick partly to avoid paying the cost of living in Mass. Bottom line is they moved here after industry left and they want and can afford to keep it that way. That’s why this site doesn’t resemble a diner it’s more like a tea party at the country club. You could care less about the people in this town who are struggling. To bad you couldn’t leave your selfish elitist attitude south of the border
July 27th, 2008 at 1:55 pm
Wow. That was severe. I agree with Gretchen’s editorial. Good thing, because we are married. And Ken, you assume all kinds of things about people who agree with it, and with that, you leap to conclusions.
First, it’s an analysis of facts; it’s not a political or social position. It seems that if you want to acomplish something, you’d want to know if it’s possible. That graphic explains some real constraints that people ought to understand about “economic development” and taxes. Hard facts, well presented. . If you have some other way of looking at the facts, please present them.
Second, you don’t know anything about us. We came “down” to S. Berwick, from a smaller town in economically depressed northern New Your, along the Canadian border. We have lived here for 28 years, I have been in the Seacoast area for 35 years. We did not bring “elitist” attitudes from south of the border. Believe me, where I come from is not elitist…. it’s one of the most economically depressed areas in the northeast.
So I’d be careful what you assume, Ken.
July 27th, 2008 at 1:56 pm
New York
July 27th, 2008 at 2:51 pm
Ken,
It is apparent you resent a lot of South Berwick residents.
Calling people “selfish elitists” doesn’t change facts.
Even if people ARE selfish elitists, this doesn’t change facts.
Anger, deserved or not, toward a group of people doesn’t change facts.
FACT: New businesses in South Berwick will not hold your property taxes down and alleviate your financial struggles.
Can you clearly demonstrate otherwise? Give it a go.
July 27th, 2008 at 9:25 pm
Sharon states “we stoped spending in its tracks” lets get a grasp on that. Stop spending and do it again next year , hell lets really cut ,there’s all types of saving’s in cutting ! In just a few years all that intelligent cutting will be great for our QUALITY of life. We will even save by not maintaing our own property. Might as well as all that cutting Sharon wants will keep south berwick a QUALITY place to live and raise our children. I am grateful spending is and will be stoped dead!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Wow
July 27th, 2008 at 10:04 pm
???????????????????????
July 28th, 2008 at 8:13 am
Sharon,
You are not correct in your assement of my comment.
If we bring in $100,000 in new taxes, and the state cuts 2/3 as you said, then we still show a net gain of $40,000 in taxes that do not have to get passed on to the home owner.
Every dollar that does not have to be passed on is a cut in what the budget will cost the home owner.
I also did not bring up any reason, technical or political, for the fact that the gas valving station is not coming to South Berwick.
As far as the 2/3 school reduction goes, since the facility will now go into Eliot, we will see the same cut, but have NOTHING except residential property tax to pay for it, while Eliot will be able to cover their share with part of the taxes they receive, while keeping the rest for the town.
The town can not cut much more out of the budget with out reducing services. What services do you propose they cut next?
July 28th, 2008 at 10:19 am
We are not alone in trying to address many of the problems and issues raised in this thread of comments. There are many others in our state and region that have formulated plans and are taking action.
For those who are interested in learning more please contact growsmart maine (www.growsmartmaine.org) In 2006 they published with the help of the Brookings Institution, “Charting Maine’s Future: An Action Plan for Promoting Sustainable Prosperity and Quality Places.”
Thousands of people from all over Maine are excited about this report, the promise of what is ahead and are getting on board. We can do the same on our local South Berwick level as we are uniquely poised, based upon our location to maintain our sense of place and at the same time promote sustainable locally based businesses.
What we need to do is identify our brand and what makes us, not the same as anywhere USA, but uniquely different and at the same time appealing to others that seek to visit our region. That is the formula that is working in Portsmouth and Portland and why not seek to build on those successes in a way that makes sense for us and at our scale?
Please take a look and see if it doesn’t make sense. If you can’t afford the 10 dollars, it is downloadable on the growsmart website or I believe there are copies at town hall or the town library.
July 28th, 2008 at 11:03 am
Dave (NTEC),
Let’s see: in your example if there’s $100,000 in new tax revenue, and the tax rate is about $0.016, that’s $6,250,000 in new taxable property. That’s a huge amount of new property. From my research, about 6 big box stores. Where would they fit in SB?
July 28th, 2008 at 11:58 am
Sharon,
One question.
Who has raised the idea of putting in Box stores?
It certainly was not me.
I do, however, believe that your valuation of say a Home Depot at only 1 million dollars is quite low.
Now, if we have a business that goes in and pays $10,000 a year in taxes, and the state takes away $6500 (which I thing is too high an estimate)
the town then has $3500 dollars to add to the tax base.
That would be raises for several town employees, or the purchase of needed equiment, with out raising residential property tax for that amount
Is that wrong?
It two such businesses go in, then we have more additional tax capital to provide money for other things along those lines with out having to raise residential property taxes for that amount. Again, is it wrong to do this?
The first thing out of some people is that we are trying to bring in huge box stores, strip clubs, casinos, mobsters, and turn South Berwick into some kind of Vegas strip.
Adding busnesses to South Berwick will bring in additional taxes, as well as providing a more local commute for some people, there by saving gas. Is this wrong?
July 28th, 2008 at 12:17 pm
I really like Dave’s last post. It invites the compromise that we all need.
The anti-development people (myself included) and the pro-development people have gotten so riled up that we’ve started making harsher stands than we really mean.
The anti-development base was not started because we didn’t want new businesses. It was started because we didn’t like the form of the Contract Zoning bill that was being pushed through by the old town manager.
We didn’t like Contract Zoning because it allowed developers to bypass the Planning Board. It didn’t have any written-in restrictions concerning size or appearance, and citizens appeals had to go through the highest state courts.
It was bad legislation.
As far as I know, the “anti-development” people aren’t really anti-development. We just want well-controlled development, in keeping with the values of South Berwick. If we can introduce legislation to make sure that this is the case, then I’d bet things would calm down and we could stop fighting over it all.
Dave is right - $3000 is still $3000, even if it isn’t much compared to the whole budget. He’s also right that no one ever mentioned box stores. The new York Hospital satellite had to follow strict laws concerning outward appearance, and as a result, I don’t think anyone is upset about it. Let’s make sure we keep the same standard for future development.
July 28th, 2008 at 12:37 pm
Joshua,
That is my point exactly, We don’t need to bring in huge box stores to make a difference in the taxes, but we do need to do something to alleviate the residetial property tax increases, however minor.
At least it’s a start.
Unfortunatley for us, the town’s portion of the mil rate is only around $4 per thousand, less than half of what goes to the school, so even if we cut services and thereby town based taxes down to bare bones, we would still have a tax rate over $12 per thousand.
Anything we can do to prevent the total amount from being passed on to homeowners is a good start.
July 28th, 2008 at 12:44 pm
Dave (NTEC),
I see Sharons’s point is tax relief of any significance is not going to accompany “economic development”. The numbers of total valuation are just so high, that in your example of $3,500 additional taxes (from $625,000 additional tax base), is about 1/10 of 1 percent tax relief. That’s a $3 reduction in a $3,000 tax bill; for a rather large new development.
My concept is that a new development may be something that adds to the community in some good ways; but tax relief just isn’t one of them. The idea needs to be what’s good for the town; what kind of growth adds (not detracts) from our community. The idea that any development is good because it lowers taxes is just wholly unrealistic.
July 28th, 2008 at 12:49 pm
I’m not interesed in saving $3 for new commercial construction that destroys what’s good about South Berwick.
July 28th, 2008 at 1:01 pm
Well, Bill,
As has been said before, you and I don’t agree on this.
I would rather try to alleviate some of the tax burden than keep passing it on to the home owners until only the rich can afford to live in South Berwick.
No one wants to do anything about the biggest tax burden we have, which is the school spending so the only thing we have left is to try to chip away at the taxes what ever way we can.
Unfortunately, there are people who feel that any change is evil, and you can never change their minds.
July 28th, 2008 at 1:17 pm
Dave (NTEC)
Oh, I don’t think there are people that feel any change is “evil”; that’s quite an exaggeration, to me. People do want change to make sense. People also don’t want to pusue false hopes of tax relief. They want growth to add, not detract from the Town.
Your post suggests that SB’s taxes are high in comparison to our neighbors. Now everyone wants lower taxers, to be sure. But only the rich will be able to live here? I’d urge you to do some research into comparative tax rates in southern York county, or better yet, for Seacoast ME and NH. I’d be interested in what you find and report on the “diner”.
July 28th, 2008 at 1:25 pm
Bill,
Since New Hampshire doesn’t have an income tax, any comparison would be invalid.
July 28th, 2008 at 1:30 pm
OK then, just Maine.
July 28th, 2008 at 1:54 pm
Bill,
I could do that.
Then you could go through each town’s budget and describe how their spending differs from South Berwick, the differences in school funding from the state, how each town’s school budget differs from SAD 35 etc.
That would be the only way to compare the differences accurately.
Or I could focus on the area that affect me,which is South Berwick.
Taxes for the town and school are only going to go up with the increase of the cost of everything.
Dimissing any form of development just because you are comfortable with the taxes is not relevant to everyone in town.
Some people are already having a hard time with the taxes.
July 28th, 2008 at 2:22 pm
I was thinking of just a straight comparison, so the comparative facts are out there. I did that some months ago. I recall that the towns with large commercial tax bases ( Kittery), and big vacation home value (York) had about the same or higher tax rates. I would guess that’s because their state aid to schools was much lower, because of their high commercial and non-school-age-ocean-front housing base.
Dave, it would seem that you would want to know how we measured up; how much is achievable based on regional realities. It would help you to get where you want to be.
And your statement: “Dimissing any form of development just because you are comfortable with the taxes is not relevant to everyone in town” suggests you ignored the first paragraph of my previous post.
Dave- people don’t think that, in spite of your insistance that they do.
July 28th, 2008 at 2:55 pm
Bill, My post was to Sharon and Joshua.
July 28th, 2008 at 3:06 pm
You assumed that they, and their “elitist attitudes” came from Massachusettes? I don’t think you know that. What if they came from, say, Westbrook, or Milllinocket? Or maybe they were born here.
July 28th, 2008 at 3:59 pm
Bill I made no mention of where anybody came from.
July 28th, 2008 at 5:00 pm
I’ll chime in here:
Ken, then what did you mean by the last sentence of your post: ?
“To bad you couldn’t leave your selfish elitist attitude south of the border”
That’s a pretty clear expression of something. What is it?
July 28th, 2008 at 5:44 pm
Paul, because that’s where the majority of the bedroom commuters work. A
July 28th, 2008 at 5:45 pm
The A was a mistake.
July 28th, 2008 at 6:46 pm
Hell I think we need a Lowe’s right across from the high school. I’d throw in a target and kohls to boot. I’m sick of going over to that crappy Homer depot ever since Sharon closed Rideouts. Instead of 5 min down town it’s an hour back and forth.
July 28th, 2008 at 8:33 pm
There certainly is a lot of back-and-forth here. I’d usually say that’s a good thing, but it seems to mostly centered around misunderstandings and not very subtle insults.
Let’s try to get back to the main point. Unless I’m totally off base, the goal is to come up with a plan concerning economic development in South Berwick that people are happy with.
It seems to me that people on both sides of the issue would all agree on the following solution:
Encourage economic development, with provisions in place to preserve the spirit / quality of South Berwick.
With new businesses, the pro-development people are happy. Most have said they want provisions for spirit/quality anyway.
With the provisions in place, the anti-development people don’t need to worry about big box stores (sorry Mark).
This isn’t my idea, it’s been said hundreds of times by people on both sides of the argument.
For some reason though, it seems that people are so busy arguing that they don’t notice when the solution has been found.
July 28th, 2008 at 8:59 pm
I can’t see that there IS a solution. Perhaps it is my melancholic nature, but I don’t see that there are any businesses out there, other than small mom and pop type stores like we have already (don’t get me wrong- I love our bakery, the toy store, the market, the restaurants…) that will satisfy both sides. I can’t for the life of me figure out why it is okay to have a Dunkin’ Donuts, of all things, but we can’t have a drug store, or a box store. To me there is no difference at all. I still miss the bakery that stood there before Dunkin’ Donuts. And while I’m on the subject of doughnuts, I miss Down East Donuts in Eliot, too.
July 28th, 2008 at 10:55 pm
Joshua, I appreciate your striving to be empathetic and respectful. These are heated topics and we all have an opinion. I live close to town and would just love to address the speed limits. Tax base? It is all our viewpoint…I work in a private school, yet the strong public school maintains my property values. I drove the back roads to Ogunguit today and the road quality (or lack of) made me drive very slowly…not a bad thing (solution to the previous point?). We need to be careful and fair here, and consider the previously unconsidered. I love that there is this dialogue and hope that while we push to the interesting extremes, we will define the purpose of SB, which may or may not include the transport of modular homes….and the issues expand. As Ladyjane said, there may not be a solution. However, I love our drug store! There is so much good here and we need to build on it.
July 29th, 2008 at 9:25 am
Ken, you speak for a lot of people. Thank you for sharing your views.
No reason for anyone to take offense to what you said.
Nice to know that there are others who do not have that elitist attitude.
July 29th, 2008 at 12:02 pm
Just wanted to add that if building a Walmart next to, or across the street from me meant that it would slow down the tax hikes (even if it would be a tiny break), I would be all for it.
I think being able to afford the cost of living takes priority over keeping things pretty. That is just my opinion. I might feel differently if my income were greater.
July 29th, 2008 at 1:08 pm
Let me ask a simple question:
What would South Berwick have to do to encourage a business (or businesses) to locate here instead of our neighboring communities (including NH)?
I think that the simple answer is: Offer Tax Breaks! Just like MA did for a company called Wang. Wang paid no taxes to MA and when Wang closed it’s doors that state was out millions!
It is CRAZY to think that any business would want to open in South Berwick MAINE (the 49th worst state to do business in according to Forbes Magazine) when right across the river is plenty of land in the 4th best state to do business in!
Everyone is posting their arguments as if there is some business out there that WANTS to move here…I don’t think that’s the case.
July 29th, 2008 at 1:30 pm
That’s a really good point. There are few incentives and there probably aren’t a lot of businesses lined up waiting in the wings to come be a part of the South Berwick experience.
July 29th, 2008 at 1:32 pm
Brian,
You’re right. The thing I’m concerned about is the “economic development” and “tax relief” myth being used to promote zoning changes and specific poor development projects that don’t work for the town. People will support anything with the misplaced belief that it will lower taxes.
July 29th, 2008 at 1:38 pm
During one of the recent town meetings, the temporary Town Manager, Mrs. Orsini, stated that she had had some contacts from people who were interested in doing business in South Berwick.
Since there was nothing we could offer them, they went elsewhere.
Mrs. Orsini did not get into specifics aboput who had contacted her, but she stated at the time that she felt if South Berwick had some type of business atmosphere to offer them, we would probably have had some new businesses in town.
Now we need to look into what we can do to make it attractive for businesses to come here.
Part of that is providing some infrastructure that is conducive to busnesses.
The planning board is looking into some of this.
It’s easy to say that business will never come to South Berwick, but if we don’t do something to provide the possibility, we’ll never know for sure.
July 29th, 2008 at 1:52 pm
I don’t get it.
Your individual tax bill would drop from $3,000 to $2,994 for a $10 million dollar business property coming to town.
Can’t you all see this.?
How can you keep screaming for business coming to town for tax relief?
I just can’t figure out how you can see that 2 plus 2 equals 4 but then turn around and insist that 4 subtract 2 equals 10.
July 29th, 2008 at 8:57 pm
I am sure that there are businesses that would find South Berwick an attractive place to locate. If I owned a fast food chain, drive through pharmacy, or gas station- I’d want to locate it where there is alot of traffic converging from two highways. Of course the one drive through business that has been allowed, Dunkin Donuts, closed the gate on all other businesses of it’s type.
I think there are three things that we all need to agree on before we can move forward:
What type of business would South Berwick want to attract?
What can South Berwick do to make it more attractive to this type of business? (ie what do we have that sets us apart…water power? highways? gas line? electrical trans lines? educated workforce?)
What is the long term impact of the business? Does the revenue it generates offset the increase in services it requires and what is the cleanup associated with the industry if they close?
July 29th, 2008 at 9:51 pm
Brian,
You talk about businesses wanting to locate “where there is alot of traffic converging from two highways” and I just found out that right there where 236 meets route 4 in South Berwick is about to be rezoned from residential to business. See the comments from the Town Council Meeting that were just posted. Can those properties become drive through??
July 29th, 2008 at 11:09 pm
All I can do is laugh-thats all you can do when read all the blogs on this site. I’ve lived all my life in this town and state, all 44 years. Maine ” The way life used to be” , the flower wilting on the vine.
It is so plain to see-don’t my fellow citizens realize that this town is just a micro model of whats going on with the whole State of Maine? Do nothing but encourage residential development and discourage business/industrial development. Do nothing about creating jobs for your citizens and have the “not in my backyard syndrome”. All great if you want to create a state in which: All the young people move out for better opportunities, you have more people dying then are being born, you want the oldest population in the country, you want to fork over 13.4 cents for every $1 you earn to the State for taxes putting your State the second highest in taxes per capita in the country, you want some of the highest health insurance costs in the country, you want one of the lowest median incomes for your citizens in the country, you want your college grads to graduate with the 7th highest student loan debts in the country, you want to rank next to last in being a business friendly State…. I can go on and on but I hope you get a since of what is happening to this once great State of Maine.
Bill and Gretchen-it is not about the property tax revenue that business/industrial development creates-it is about jobs. Without jobs there is no tax revenue!! No jobs-no income taxes. No jobs-no $$ to be spent in my store-meaning no sales tax for me to sent to the State. No $$ being spent in my store means I spend less, I lay my help off-those former employees have no $$ to spent in other stores all leading to lower sales taxes and income taxes. The good news is that we have great social programs to take care of all the unemployed and elderly people, heck I know people who have moved here from other states because our State has such better programs. The bad news to this is that it leads to more burgeoning State and local budget deficits-which in turns leads to higher taxes for all the other people who are struggling now to pay our already sky high taxes being paid to this State. Its all about jobs and that is why some other States and communities will provide property tax incentives in order to land some of these business/industrial developments.
The problems that exist today in this town started over 20 years ago when the largest housing development in the State of Maine at the time was allowed to go forth with no thought as to what it would do to the school system or town services in the future. 300 plus houses in Aggie Estates and Old Mill combined to overwelm the school system in future years and over those years only residential developments were encouraged. Tax revenues from most homes will not cover the costs to provide town/school services to that property and that is why you need to have a mix of development.
My food for thought and enough ranting for this night.
July 30th, 2008 at 6:05 am
Disgusted,
Couldn’t agree with you more. You present all great reasons for the right kind of development. BUT, when you get this development, don’t expect lower taxes. Jobs, sure; variety of opportunities, sure. Social fabric expanding, sure. But don’t do it for lower property taxes. The numbers don’t work.
July 30th, 2008 at 7:38 am
In reading this blog, I see the essence of what needs to be answered by the EDC’s process. What does “Economic Development” really mean? Above, we have seen examples of broadening the tax base, a busy downtown, jobs, etc. Part of our problem as a town is that we have not come to agree upon what the term economic development means. Until we do that, we will continue to argue and fall short of reaching any goal beacuse pursuing all of the above definitions is not feasible for the town. We need to have the discussion, come up with some form of consensus and FOCUS on a result. One goal does not need to be mutually exclusive of the other goals, but priorities for limited government resources (our tax dollars) must be clearly defined. Ultimately, a succesful business in town will have all of the effects people are looking for ( broadening the taxbase, jobs, etc.) It may also come with expenses to the town in services or displacing other businesses - a valid reason for this debate. I don’t believe that government should have all the answers/solutions for our economic woes. As has been pointed out on this website numerous times… we hold the key to our downtown being a vibrant place. If we shop there and support our local businesses, they will thrive, they will hire local people and pay them. If those employees support local services and businesses, our consumer dollars will stay within the community and turn over multiple times.
July 30th, 2008 at 8:12 am
If we want to keep South Berwick Dollars in South Berwick, we need our own currency! It’s a wacky idea, but other communities have had some success. I’d love to pay part of my taxes through community service. It would be great if local businesses accepted community dollars and your volunteer work could be transformed into dinner out, a good book or toy.
I think that we can all agree that much of our economic trouble is beyond our control. Conventional steps have not been working…it may be time to set South Berwick apart by thinking outside of the box.
Here’s a link http://www.michigancoinclub.org/Baybucks.htm
July 30th, 2008 at 8:48 am
Brian,
The State of Maine has recently approved of a program for senior citizens to do just that in their community.
Each community has to approve of the practice for their own citizens.
At Mondays council meeting this was brought up by the council as something to potentially adopt.
I know it isn’t exactly the same thing as you are proposing, but this would bring some property tax releif to the people who are on a fixed income and could really use the help.
July 30th, 2008 at 9:11 am
Well it certainly sounds like a positive step. Perhaps if it works well the town might be interested in offering it to everyone. I like the idea of working within my community to offset some of my taxes.
July 30th, 2008 at 9:51 am
Bravo DISGUSTED MAINER! Thank you for articulating every point I’ve been unsuccessfully trying get across on here for months. There is NOTHING South Berwick Maine can do to overcome the hole our state legislators continues to dig for us. No one except the anti-business crowd cares about “quality of place”… It’s okay tough, you need not worry about big box stores coming to town. Why would they when they can build just over the border and leverage their no sales tax advantage? Why would industry move to town when they know the anti’s will assemble and fight them all the way? Why would a small mom and pop business move to Maine when they can offer their employees better and more affordable benefits in New Hampshire? Both the “business at all costs” and the “anti-Business” factions are fooling themselves if they believe there’s anything WE as a town can do about Maine’s business climate, other than implementing regime change in Augusta. That won’t happen as long as the wagon riders outnumber the wagon pullers in this state.
July 30th, 2008 at 10:41 am
DISCUSTED MAINER Here! Here! from another although not so articulate frustrated Mainer
July 30th, 2008 at 11:38 am
Discusted!!! Great to hear from the real side of Maine!!!! You hit it direct, we need more then a few small stores in town, we need positive development that create Jobs . Maine is in trouble and it has developed its problems caused by a state full of NIMBY’s. Thank you for putting it out there in such a clear way!!!!
July 30th, 2008 at 12:01 pm
Bill !!! You are also correct we need the RIGHT Kind of development. Now Lets here the 100 reasons or opinion’s of whats right for southberwick or Maine. That is why this town is so boged down. This blog is clear no one has positive direction of the word RIGHT. NIMBY . Look we need power to live but no new poles in my back yard cuz there to big poles dont fit the fabric. what the )(*& I want electricity don’t you.
July 30th, 2008 at 12:23 pm
John C,
The Economic Development Committee is launching an organized process to do just that: See what the ideas are of people in town as to what kinds of development are desired. They are starting that this month.
Interesting comment about those power lines……….
July 30th, 2008 at 12:48 pm
Gretchen,
Thanks for initiating this conversation, the graphic at the beginning is key…
I couldn’t help but notice that a nice chunk of the total is the Links at Outlook and York Hospital. Both of these businesses add to our “quality of place” and make SoBo a great place to live. I don’t golf, and I don’t plan on stopping in at the hospital anytime soon, but I enjoy driving by these places and knowing they are there adding jobs, (taxes), preserving open space, providing healthcare, and other benifits to our community. I agree with John C, lets hear some other ideas of as to what would be right for South Berwick.
I would love to see a facility similar to the “Works” (in Somersworth, come to town. The Works is a healthclub owned by Wentworth Douglas Hospital providing pools, raqetball courts, senior citizen programs, weight loss programs, child care, Tae Kwon Do, and many other programs… They have been constantly expanding in Somersworth for the past four years or so…I bet with a little effort we could make a business case for York hospital to open a version in South Berwick that would add to our quality of place.
July 30th, 2008 at 1:15 pm
Eric,
I love racquetball.
A facility like The Works would be terrific.
If I were rich I would try to put one in South Berwick.
Gretchen
July 30th, 2008 at 1:19 pm
I would love to find a place to play squash. The closest place at this point is UNH.
July 30th, 2008 at 2:07 pm
I would like to see a small motel (nicely designed, not a box) and/or more Bed & Breakfasts in South Berwick. With all the weddings at Springhill and Outlook I would think there are more and more people who are looking to stay nearby. And when people stay in a place they eat at restaurants and shop in local stores.
I’m also still in mourning for Rideouts–I would like to see a hardware store like an Ace Hardware that is locally owned. A few more moderate and low priced restaurants options would be nice too, like Dos Amigos in Dover or Tasty Thai in Kittery.
July 30th, 2008 at 2:24 pm
I’m also intrigued by the idea of some kind of commercial greenhouse that grows vegetables year round. Backyard Beauties in Madison Maine (http://www.backyardbeauties.com/) grows tomatoes year round. They have a 25 acre greenhouse. I’m not sure there’s even a location in South Berwick that would accommodate something of that scale. There might be other crops that can be grown in smaller facilities. I would want to know more about the environmental impact of such an operation, but the idea of locally grown food gets more interesting as the cost of transportation drives the price of food up and up.
July 30th, 2008 at 2:29 pm
Molly,
There is probably room for such a green house in South Berwick, but not near downtown.
They might have to either open a store downtown, or supply the Nature’s Way Market.
July 30th, 2008 at 4:27 pm
There are reasons why the Shoe Shop, Prototype Tools, Flynn’s, Rideout’s, Peter’s TV, Bishop’s Store, Maine National Bank/Fleet and others didn’t make it in our town.
We have successful businesses in our community which continue to succeed. Politics and business usually work against the business (Just read the blog for evidence that a strong opinion is sure to tick off some fraction of the customers).
As we move ahead, I sure would appreciate if some of the five grand we’re spending on the EDC consultant is used for an anonymous outreach to, including but not limited to, US Post Office, Civil Consultants, Lassel Architects, Village Motors, Portland Street Mobile, P. Gagnon, SB Pharmacy, Pepperland, Outlook, Spring Hill, Spray ME, Kennebunk Savings (not here but should be (NHBSB)), Berwick Estates, Paterson Realty, Academy Street Inn, Ocean Bank, York Hospital, WDH (NHBSB), Historic New England, Dunkin Donuts, Olde Barwick Engineering, Fogarty’s, the Chinese Restaurant, SB house of Pizza, OBHS and all the others that have earned a right to express their views. Input, without retribution, from their specific points of view is a welcome addition to our information base.
There are many others in town that are responsible for making a payroll every week or two. While they are not necessarily located in town we should make an attempt to find out what drives their success.
By this type of outreach combined with other sources, we can broaden our base knowledge, sort out unsubstantiated rhetoric and develop standards which effect the best possible compromises.
Speaking of standards, has anyone been following the continuing saga about yet another attempt to enlarge the commercial zone without first adopting performance standards? This is the same type of thinking that resulted in a certain vendor’s continuing gateway eyesore over the last 28 years. Why do we continue to overlook unpleasant reality rather than do something about it?
July 30th, 2008 at 4:45 pm
The story I have is that the reason the town council wants to enlarge the commercial zone is not because of “economic development” but instead it is because they are being pressured by who ever owns the big mansion referred to as the Richter property. That owner wants to build condominiums or something. My worry is that once the place is deemed B1 zone then anytime in the future a huge box store could be placed downtown. That surely would take away from the current streetscape of the town.
I wish the town council didn’t feel they needed to REACT to a residential homeowner.
Maybe we all should ask the Town Council to let us rezone our residents so that we could put in some Cumberland Farms on our street corners and make a good buck.
July 30th, 2008 at 5:27 pm
I’ve been reading all of the recent bloggers’ discussions on So.Berwick’s economic future with great interest, grateful that Molly has provided us all with such a great public forum for exchange of ideas. I didn’t realize just how much I had been drawn in until I awoke in the middle of the night from a dream on Monday - we were building an actual, physical diner on Route 236! It was wild, with a menu using bloggers’ names (honestly - Ladyjane’s donuts, Ken’s spicy spaghetti, etc.), and there were artistic logo
t-shirts and mugs for sale. Tourists were flocking in by the hundreds, buying cookbooks so they could make their own Powderhouse Hill pancakes - I felt like Scrooge, with a spirit visitation! My husband humored me when I shared all this, but I can tell he’s watching me carefully…
Okay, until now this has just been a marvelous source of information and differing perspectives - and I haven’t even minded that one weird night. But today I must speak up about a recent posting dealing with the intersection of Route 236 and Route 4. I live there, and have with my family for the past 28 years. We raised 3 daughters here in So. Berwick - skiied in Vaughn’s woods with them, canoed on the river, hiked Aggie when they were little, got to know the wonderful other young families raising children who became our kids’ friends, ate at Fogarty’s, and shopped at the stores downtown. Years back, we received an extraordinary offer from a business which wanted to buy our home - and completely raze it, so they could put a nationally known business here. “Why”, they said in shock, “would your daughters not want money instead of this old house, down the road?” We didn’t bother to try to get them to understand the prospect of our grandchildren seeing a pharmacy when they drove into town, instead of the old homestead.
Reading comments about the feasibility of locating a drive-through anything here raises the old specter again. We can’t begin to imagine what the traffic would look like here for us and our neighbors, and all of the poor people trying to make it down Rte 236, if that were to happen - think of it now, early in the AM and late in the afternnoon! It’s not the issue of becoming a B1 zone; we’ve all lived through those changes twice, and certainly my husband’s antique business has benefited from the B1 district. But it seems imperative that there be really careful scrutiny before any new businesses add to, or change, the streetscape, architecture, and general ambience of our town. Design Review is a reasonable and effective way to deal with growth, and seems a natural accompaniment to zoning changes.
Ultimately, we must all remember why we love living in this town, hold on to and enhance those special assets, and work toward consensus. It’s a very exciting time for So. Berwick. The Planning Decisions citizen interviews and the fall meetings coming up are a terrific opportunity for each of us to help shape the future. I look forward to the results of our collective efforts to keep our village alive and thriving. So, go, South Berwick - the Chadbournes, Sarah, and Gladys are all watching!
July 30th, 2008 at 5:41 pm
Hi Everyone
My Bees are doing fine.
Great discussion going on, Is it true that economic development is only
possible in the village area? We need businesses to provide jobs, and of course revenue. Do they have to be in the greater village area? Our Town is hemmed in by Berwick, and the Salmon Falls River. We need to look outside the immediate Downtown and have zoning that allows businesses to come in on the periphery.
We also need to address the traffic problem.
Dan Webster spoke at the last Town Council Meeting about alternative energy investment, The School Budget does not reflect any investment in this direction. We need to get on the Bandwagon and start investing. How about School Board meetings to get the School Board on track.
George
July 30th, 2008 at 5:54 pm
Paul,
Before you and all the others get all hot under the collars about this proposed zoning change you need to know a few facts.
This area from Dunkin Donuts to Sewall St. was always B1 Zone-from the beginning of when zoning was first created in this town until about 5 years ago or more (I forget) when it was changed (by illegal procedures and in record speed over the course of 3 months with little or no public input) to residential zoning. This was all done during the Dick Brown era and when David Webster was the town council chairman. It also should be a wakeup call to the people as to the power the council has when they what to do something. This was all done basically overnight in record fashion with no discussion from land owners in that area or public forums for the rest of the citizens in town to speak on the issue. The council did this because Rite-Aid has expressed interest in purchasing property within that area to build a store. There are I believe 8 properties within this area (and yes I own one) and during that time there were 5 businesses operating within that area-today there are 4 or 50% of the properties have running businesses. For all you history buffs research this area, over the past 200 years-you will find that there has always been businesses in this area. Why change it to residential zone when you have 50% business usage? Why ?, because everyone was afraid of a “box store”. My arguement was then and is now is that you can place restrictions on what size footprints or designs that buildings should have to fit in with the existing area instead of axing out more business area for your potential small businesses to locate. Where were all the crowds back then? Nobody gave a hoot-fast forward ahead 5 years and trying to get it changed back will require an act of congress.
Now you want to know why the town council wants to revist this? A potential lawsuit maybe because it was done without proper procedure back then is my guess. Another property owner in this area has already looked into the subject with lawyers and approached myself to see if I would like to join suit (to which I declined) and no it was not the current owners of the Richter property who approached me.
Just some facts to set the record straight.
July 30th, 2008 at 6:00 pm
Linda,
When you said: it seems imperative that there be really careful scrutiny before any new businesses add to, or change, the streetscape, architecture, and general ambience of our town. Design Review is a reasonable and effective way to deal with growth, and seems a natural accompaniment to zoning changes.
I realized that just last week I had spoken with someone who is working with something called “Form Based” zoning which is what forward thinking communities are turning towards.
Instead of basing the zoning on simply “usage” (ie residential vs business) the zoning is based on buildings fitting into the “form” of the existing streetscape. This kind of zoning allows both residential and business and the zoned areas have to keep the streetscape intact.
I think our Town Council ought to be looking into Form Base Zoning instead of the simplistic B1 that has design review. With design review….the devil is in the details.
July 30th, 2008 at 6:30 pm
This “Form Based” zoning thing sounds good. Strikes the compromise I mentioned earlier.
July 30th, 2008 at 7:30 pm
Gretchen -
Hearing new (and hopefully better) ideas is what this process is all about, so thanks for the info on a term I am unfamiliar with. Do you know if our Town Council is even aware of it? The more word gets out, and the better informed we all are, the more rational our decisions can be. Are any of those forward thinking communities around here?
July 30th, 2008 at 7:53 pm
Linda,
I don’t know if our Town Council is aware of this new kind of zoning.
I have heard that Dover, NH is trying to use it.
With JHC saying: It also should be a wakeup call to the people as to the power the council has when they what to do something. This was all done basically overnight in record fashion with no discussion from land owners in that area or public forums for the rest of the citizens in town to speak on the issue.
Let’s hope the Town Council works very slowly and carefully with this rezoning concept.
July 30th, 2008 at 9:18 pm
Form based zoning sounds like it could be the compromise that South Berwick needs. I agree with Jack, the existing businessess need to be allowed the opportunity to expess their economic development visions without alienating their customers based on their political opinions…
I would like to see new development focused on the downtown instead of having it sprawl out like so many other towns have experienced. (Just leave a little room in the village for the bees.) But obviously there are some things that would need to be located elsewhere (like the greenhouse). As for the 236 corridor…I think there have been businessess there for quite a while…and as long as they fit the “form” we are looking for, it is a good place for them.
July 31st, 2008 at 8:03 am
Hmmm,
Form based zoning sounds an awful lot like contract zoning which everyone shot down.
Not that I am against it, but the similarities are there.
July 31st, 2008 at 11:25 am
Form based zoning could, among other things, set requirements as to:
1) Maximum square footage of buildings on a lot…..say 5,000 square feet
2) Percentage of lot coverage allowed
With regulations like that in place big box stores would be discouraged from coming to town and knocking down buildings.
July 31st, 2008 at 11:33 am
Personally, I can’t see any big box stores having an interest in coming to South Berwick.
July 31st, 2008 at 12:02 pm
Me neither, but I’d still be a lot happier having provisions in place for it.
As for similarities to Contract Zoning, to me they are extremely different.
Contract Zoning had zero regulation and bypassed the Planning Board.
Form Based zoning is infinitely better in that regard.
July 31st, 2008 at 12:02 pm
(Assuming we implement it intelligently)
July 31st, 2008 at 12:11 pm
Joshua,
That is the key.
Just because it has a different name, if it is not implemented in a responsible fashion, then it will be just like the contract zoning.
It is in our power to speak up and let the Town COuncil know what we will tolerate as far as building size, the type of business, etc…
People need to make sure they get invloved in town meetings and the new survey program the palnning board will be using to determine what people want in town.
I keep hearing about not wanting a Rite Aid in town (not that I feel the town could support one) but at the same time hear people say they would like a building that is just as big if not bigger in the shape of a health club that has racquet ball and hand ball courts etc…
As long as a business meets the standards that are set down, we really can’t say too much about the type of business, other than say, an adult club, or a bar, etc…
July 31st, 2008 at 12:45 pm
Dave NTEC,
Back in 1978 when zoning was implemented the downtown commercial zone was fully built out and no one envisioned the need for detailed lot standards or the potential for uncontrolled redevelopment.
There were very real inquiries in 1997 by a development entity to purchase 4 downtown abutting lots with the intent to redevelop the properties. With the rules extant this would have allowed unregulated 100% lot coverage development.
In response to the perceived threat to the community fabric, cooperatively, the Town Council, Planning Board, HDC, residents and businesses started a process to document physical structures in order to the create ordinances by which redevelopment could occur in harmony with what we have and seek to preserve. The HDC has taken further steps to augment the earlier research.
The information is still there. We have model ordinances that are working in other communities. We just need to establish the political will to finally implement the long needed performance standards and design review criteria to make it happen.
The bottom line for me is this. The yellow on the road map which indicates population centers is growing from Portland south, Manchester east and Boston north. South Berwick is right in the cross hairs, and, for certain, growth shall happen. Developers shall come and ask, “Let me see your rules.”, and they will happily comply with the minimums specified. What remains to be seen is where our town is on the curve, ahead or behind.
July 31st, 2008 at 1:04 pm
Jack,
I understand what you are saying, and it goes along with what I believe.
If Form Based Zoning is to be implemented, we need to ensure that rules are put in place to prevent those things from happening.
If they are not put in place, then Form Based Zoning becomes more and more like Contract Zoning.
That is what I meant when I said that the people need to get involved in the process.
I believe we need to bring business to town, but I don’t feel we should leave things open ended so that just anything can happen.
That being said, I really don’t believe that there would be enough business in South Berwick that Walmart, or Home Depot, or Best Buy etc… would want to consider building here.
Eliot had an IGA in the Eliot Commons (it replaced Joan’s Foods)
That store was too big for the community it served and failed.
Responsible business owners will most likely be looking at what the town can support before they decide to build.
The rules the town puts in place will need to reflect a reasonable restriction on foot print, setbacks, parking etc, but I don’t feel we can say that Fred’s Hardware is ok, but an Ace Hardware of the same size is not
July 31st, 2008 at 1:13 pm
Dave, from what I understand, Form Based Zoning and Contract Zoning have nothing in common except the word “zoning.” They are completely different tools. Form Based Zoning is a type of performance standard, meaning that towns use it to control the scale and appearance of development. So it sounds like it might be a good tool for South Berwick to explore. It would be applied to our zoning code.
July 31st, 2008 at 1:19 pm
Wendy,
What I am trying to say is that with the existing ordinances in place, Form Based zoning does not mean that someone can not come into town and buy up 6 parcels and build a large store.
We need to ensure ordinaces are put in place to ensure that anything that comes to town meets the standards everyone seems to be looking for.
I am not against it, I just think we need to make sure it will do as everyone expects.
To ensure that happens, we need to make sure that ANYtHING implemented has standards and ordinances that are clear and concise. If we fail to do that, then it doesn’t matter what you call it, there will be loopholes that will be exploited.
July 31st, 2008 at 1:20 pm
In other words, lets make sure all the Is are dotted and the Ts are crossed
July 31st, 2008 at 1:22 pm
Joshua is right when he says that Contracy Zoning was completely different than what Form Based Zoning would be. Contract Zoning was to be implemented by the Town Council directly, and would probably have been a political process, not a planning process. The Planning Board was to have had simply an advisory role, that was not at all binding on the Town Council.
Form Based Zoning would be incorporated in the land use ordinance, to be implemented by the Planning Board much as any project in a zoned district is. It would,as such, have the same safeguards including due process and local appeals. The devils are admittedly in the details, but if done correctly, FBZ could accomplish what most people (from most sides) want the Town to accomplish.
Particularly in the area between Dunkin Donuts and Sewell Road, this area begs for a thoughtful and forward thinking zoning approach; and not a blanket application of B1.
July 31st, 2008 at 1:30 pm
That’s right, Dave and Bill. That’s what so alarming about the prospect of (apparently) the town now calling for hearings that would just do a blanket B1. We need those details (i.e. the “performance standards” Jack mentions)
July 31st, 2008 at 1:45 pm
Jack is on to something crucial when he suggests we address the question of PERFORMANCE STANDARDS for zoning. “Performance standards” refers to any kind of controls a town uses to shape the kind of development allowed. One type is “design review,” and South Berwick has been discussing the design review approach for downtown for about 10 years. Another type is “form based,” another great tool towns have apparently successfully used. South Berwick already touches on form based zoning with its dimensional requirements, “Table B” of the zoning code, but only in a limited way, and B1 is free from any such requirements.
B1 zoning means “anything goes.”
As JCH, Linda, Jack and others point out, when Main Street from Dunkin Donuts to Sewall Road was previously zoned for business, residential (R1) zoning was substituted by the town council about 2000 in response to the so-called Rite-Aid scare, when a developer proposed a project that might have badly impacted the heart of the downtown in terms of traffic, demolition of historic buildings, ruining village character, etc. As Jack mentions, performance standards were actually developed in response to this scare, but unfortunately the town council didn’t implement them; they just replaced business zoning with the R1 zoning.
In other words, when business zoning wasn’t protective enough, the town put in R1 without performance standards. Now we have the problem that some of property owners say R1 is too restrictive. In responding to them let’s not make the same mistake all over again. Implementing a blanket B1, once again omitting performance standards, could open the downtown to changes most residents would hate to see.
Let’s do it right this time: propose business zoning WITH PERFORMANCE STANDARDS (design review and/or form-based zoning) simultaneously.
Why are we even considering B1 zoning now, without passing performance standards at the same time?
July 31st, 2008 at 10:20 pm
so much bls &(*&* and so uninformed!!!
July 31st, 2008 at 10:36 pm
Form based, performance based! like the two doctor’s parks, cummings mill ,community center.fire house , new rentals on norton , run the drug dealers out of town on norton street, side walks , pavement, lower main street rebuild, several parks built by Yep The past town manager Brown . you People belive your on to new directions. OK . Take a look at the photos in the council chambers. the cows are gone and the vehicles have motors. Now thats form based performance! you are not on to anything new its just a few new players thinking its new! New poles new power performance. If you want anything to work lets work on real change not this reworded coverup!
July 31st, 2008 at 10:53 pm
wow bozo I mean Jack, I went back several blogs, You think the shoeshop, hardware store ect did not make it in town? with all the change in time those were all very very manwell aged and very lucrative. Do you remember when P gagnon sold coal,Jerry Beaudette repaired shoes made at the shoe shop, thay sawed wood at the mills, the first water wheel was built at greatworks,the mill at counting house park made wool, the settlers were killed by the Indians. well I do not remember all of it but I DO NOT THINK THE COUNCIL HAD ANYTHING TO DO WITH THE CHANGE CAUSED BY TIME . Bring it back to earth PEOPLE!!!
July 31st, 2008 at 10:56 pm
WELL MANAGED AND LUCRATIVE!!!! sory spell check broke
August 1st, 2008 at 4:46 am
Pretty gunky stuff, those last few posts. For the most part though, I think this has been a very useful discussion.
Myself, I couldn’t agree with you more, Wendy. If we want to open up downtown property to development, B1 is certainly not the way to go.
It’s the heart of the town, so it deserves a lot more consideration. There are a lot of good ideas showing up here - now we just need to make sure they get passed on to the right people.
August 1st, 2008 at 10:13 am
South Berwick could be a destination…charm, beauty and history are marketable assets and form an authentic and increasingly rare basis to build on - to build the type of industry people would like in their backyards. We live at the gateway to vacationland, what would get people to pull over here and spend?
Molly mentioned greenhouses, they would be great - year round local food is about as basic as it gets - it can be sustainable and provide jobs. Following Gretchen’s thread of “if I were loaded”,and Linda’s dream - I’d add an indoor botanic garden to go along. Wouldn’t have to be huge, but it could have a theme (something families HAD to take their kids to…and buy the t-shirt, and purchase a membership to, and rent for their next birthday party…more jobs), and a restaurant (the 236 Diner?), and programs and it would be a place people would come to because our winters are so long and not everyone can afford to go to Florida to see green things growing during those long months, but they could come to South Berwick, have dinner, buy fresh produce. Greenhouses cost more to cool than to heat, and there are green ways to heat…if we were innovative enough in the overall plan, there might even be some kind of funding available, being on the crest of the green wave and all…(Do I hear derisive snorting?? Why yes, I believe I do…that’s okay. It’s just a dream.)
Aside from the start up costs - would people object to such an enterprise in our backyards? Any solution to sustaining the town and ourselves will take lots of creativity - this town has a very deep well of creativity.
Thanks again, Molly - for giving us this way to share thoughts…
August 7th, 2008 at 12:25 am
Wow, I enjoyed this thread. It caused me to go and read the zoning regulations for South Berwick, for Freeport and for a random town in Vermont. And I’m not even a lawyer. I learned B1 and B2 are not designations of land use. Rather they are zones bounded by a particular geography. There’s not a lot in the rule book about things you can’t do unless you’re very noisy, emit grey smoke, put up a billboard, encroach on salmon habitat, turn a bulding consturcted after February 25, 1999 into multifamily dwellings, or forget to make room for bicycles.
Thanks for giving me a window on a community of people working hard to balance the things that matter most: a healthy town government that provides needed services and a tax base that is made up of neighbors you’d be happy to rub shoulders with.