Wayne planning board recommends updated campground ordinance, asks for inspection logs and edits

The Town of Wayne Planning Board voted on Feb. 20 to forward an amended campground, RV park and mobile home park ordinance to the Select Board with a favorable recommendation and several requested changes, following a lengthy public hearing and comment period.

The recommendation comes after members of the moratorium advisory committee presented a redraft that they said clarifies permitting standards, aligns campground rules with Wayne’s zoning and subdivision regulations, and distinguishes lower-intensity wilderness campgrounds from full-service resort-style developments. Patty Scheidt, a member of the moratorium advisory committee, summarized changes the committee proposed, including a seasonal operating window, limits on site size, added buffers and setback provisions and an explicit requirement that campgrounds follow applicable state campground statutes and regulations.

The planning board’s vote follows two hours of public comment from residents and organized groups, who generally supported moving the amended ordinance forward but raised specific concerns and suggested edits that the board asked the committee to address before the Select Board takes it up. Those items include clearer language about invasive-aquatic-species inspections at campground launches, requiring campgrounds to keep logs of such inspections and to provide educational materials to boat owners, reconsideration or further study of a proposed prohibition on phosphorus-containing fertilizers, and a revision of the permit-renewal/application timing so the board has time to review proposed changes before camps open.

Why it matters: residents and several public commenters said Androscoggin Lake is fragile and that clearer local rules are needed to prevent heavy development from degrading water quality or changing the town’s rural character. The moratorium, adopted last year, paused new or expanded campgrounds while the committee studied the zoning gaps; the committee’s draft is intended to close those gaps and give clearer performance standards for future proposals.

Key provisions and public concerns - Seasonal operation: The proposed ordinance sets a seasonal operating window for campgrounds beginning the third Friday in May and ending the third Sunday in October, language presented by the committee as a way to reduce year-round pressure on town services and traffic. - Size and density limits: The draft limits temporary living quarters to 400 square feet and proposes a cap of 80 sites for new campgrounds (the committee said many viable campgrounds operate profitably at that scale elsewhere in Maine). - Buffers and setbacks: The draft adds larger buffers and a required vegetated or fenced boundary (committee language referenced a six-foot-high vegetative screen or fencing and a larger setback from residential property lines; the transcript referenced a 200-foot figure in this context). - State compliance: The ordinance would require campgrounds to adhere to state statutes and regulations that govern campgrounds; the committee cited (verbatim) “chapter 205, the State of Maine statutes” and noted Department of Health and Human Services oversight and inspections. - Boat inspections and invasive species: The draft requires campgrounds with launches to provide educational materials and to conduct invasive-species inspection procedures before allowing boats to be launched from the campground. Multiple public commenters and board members pressed for clarifying that the inspections are for aquatic invasive species, that volunteers who perform inspections are trained and that records be maintained and made available at renewal. - Fertilizer language: The draft contains language prohibiting phosphorus-containing fertilizer at campgrounds. Several board members and commenters expressed concern that the provision as written does not distinguish between synthetic and organic sources of phosphorus and suggested removing or reworking the provision so it would either be broadened to a townwide shoreland/fertilizer policy or be limited to synthetics, not organic amendments. - Special events and day-use limits: The committee proposed limitations on large day-use or event activity to reduce intense, transient traffic and preserve the campground use as lodging rather than an amusement or high-traffic attraction.

Public comment and stakeholder input Residents, seasonal property owners and representatives of the Wayne Conservation Commission voiced support for forwarding the ordinance to the Select Board, citing the need to protect Androscoggin Lake and the town’s rural character. Douglas Kinsman (139 Perkins Beach Road) said the prolonged confusion under the old rules showed the need for reform and encouraged moving the draft forward to a town vote. Sally Osberg (209 Lincoln Point) and others urged stronger wording on the lake’s vulnerability and a focus on water-quality protections. Multiple commenters asked that the planning board consider requiring that campgrounds keep a log of courtesy boat inspections and include language clarifying what constitutes an inspection and the required training.

Board deliberations and decision Planning board members asked the committee to incorporate a short list of clarifications before the Select Board review: revise the fertilizer language or remove it for separate study, add the word “aquatic” to invasive-species references and require inspection logkeeping as part of annual permit renewal or inspection records provided on demand. Board members also discussed but did not finalize whether to relocate the ordinance into the town’s land-use code (general code staff indicated incorporation would be possible without additional fee).

Formal action: The planning board made a motion to forward the amended ordinance to the Select Board with a favorable recommendation and the suggested minor changes; the motion was seconded and approved by voice vote. The meeting minutes and the transcript record a voice vote in favor; a roll-call tally was not provided in the transcript.

What’s next The planning board will prepare a written recommendation and a draft of the edits it seeks; the matter will go to the Select Board, which will hold additional public hearings before deciding whether to place the ordinance before voters at town meeting. The planning board indicated the March-to-April timeframe is tight if the town intends to put changes on the warrant for the next town meeting; members urged the committee to finalize edits promptly so town counsel and the Select Board can review them.

Quotes "It's great to see so many people in our small town come together with one common goal," said Patty Scheidt, a member of the moratorium advisory committee, summarizing the committee's work and changes.

"I support having the proposed campground ordinance amendments forwarded to the select board for town vote," said Douglas Kinsman of Perkins Beach Road during public comment.

"This lake is at the end of a watershed and a chain of lakes, and that has no effective drainage — that is a huge, huge challenge," said Sally Osberg of Lincoln Point.

Ending The planning board’s favorable recommendation does not finalize policy; the Select Board will review the amended ordinance, hold further hearings and make the next procedural decisions. The committee and board members said they expect to present a revised draft and the planning board’s recommendation at their next meeting, and then the Select Board will determine the schedule for public hearings and the town meeting warrant.