Saco council grants Riverwinds Farm special entertainment permit amid contract-zone legal questions

The Saco City Council voted 5–0 on Jan. 5 to grant a renewal special entertainment permit to Riverwinds Farm, allowing the venue’s entertainment activities to continue concurrent with its liquor license.

The permit was approved after a public hearing in which neighbors and longtime observers urged the council to review the city’s contract-zone records and applicable legal opinions before approving future actions. Inga Brown, an abutter, told the council that "when that was repealed in January 2021, all of those contract zones were repealed," and urged officials to limit the permit to activities explicitly allowed under Riverwinds’ 2017 contract-zone agreement. Kelly Archer, who identified herself as a resident of Bradley Street, said the city should "help us move past the era of workarounds and bring us into an era of best practices."

Councilor Edwards, who moved to close the public hearing and approve the permit, acknowledged citizens’ concerns but framed the action as narrowly focused on renewing the special entertainment permit for events allowed under Riverwinds’ existing contract-zone framework. "We should be able to legislate something and not punish the business which has been successful and working in good faith," another councilor said during the discussion. Councilor Hewitt seconded the motion. The roll-call vote recorded yes votes from Councilors Edwards, Parks, Arnon, Gale and Hewitt.

During testimony, Deputy Administrator Emily Cole Prescott and a staff packet included an attorney opinion referenced by a resident. The letter — cited at the hearing — stated that "to the extent that persons and businesses timely acted under those contract zone agreements to obtain required land use approvals and permits and then constructed the buildings, developments, and uses allowed by those agreements before the repeal, the buildings, developments and uses most likely are protected as lawful nonconforming structures or uses." That legal view was presented to explain why some existing uses may remain lawful despite the 2021 repeal of the zoning ordinance.

Councilors recorded support for approving the permit while also agreeing there are outstanding legal and record-keeping issues to resolve. After the vote, Councilor Edwards said staff and legal counsel should be engaged to "tie up some of these loose ends" on contract zones and amendments. Deputy Administrator Prescott said staff will work with city administration to obtain a specific legal opinion and address the concerns raised.

The permit renewal applies to Riverwinds Farm, owned by Beth Austin and operating as RW Events, and will remain concurrent with the venue’s liquor license. The council’s action was limited to the application before it and did not adopt any broader policy changes; officials indicated future steps would include internal legal review and, if necessary, legislative fixes to clarify contract-zone authority and approvals.

Next steps: staff will pursue legal review of contract-zone records and report back to the council; no additional regulatory action on Riverwinds was taken at the meeting beyond the permit renewal.