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Planning board approves handbook edit clarifying abutter notices after cancellations
Summary
The Lewiston Planning Board approved a minor amendment to the board handbook clarifying that additional abutter notices will not be sent if a meeting is canceled or an item is postponed; staff will include phone and website contact information in initial notices to assist non-digital residents.
The Lewiston Planning Board approved a brief procedural edit to the planning-board handbook clarifying notification practice for abutters when meetings are canceled or items postponed.
The two-sentence change makes explicit that in the event a meeting is canceled or an agenda item is postponed, additional abutter notices will not be sent. Board members pressed staff to ensure the initial notice includes phone and website contact details so people without reliable internet can check rescheduling; staff confirmed the department provides a phone number and email contact on notices.
Members also discussed the existing practice of notifying owners within a 300-foot radius for most projects and asked staff to be consistent about using both the defined terms "abutting" and "affected" throughout handbook text. The motion adopting the grammatical and procedural edits passed on a roll call (one member recorded a No vote). The board instructed staff to incorporate the agreed wording and minor typographical fixes into the handbook.
Next steps: staff will update the handbook text per the board's edits and incorporate the clarifying sentence about postponed items, and will ensure initial notices include a phone contact to aid residents without internet access.
