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Board debates growth-cap option but flags outdated comprehensive plan and cost to update
Summary
Members discussed a possible development growth cap based on a 10-year building-permit average (capped at 125%) but concluded the town’s 1999 comprehensive plan is too old to support a defensible cap and updating it would be costly.
The Green Planning Board spent substantial time on June 16 weighing a proposed growth cap tied to the town’s comprehensive plan. Staff explained the cap concept: calculate the 10-year average number of building permits and set a cap at 125% of that average, subject to review every three years. Using current records, staff estimated such a cap would limit permits to roughly 17–18 per year and observed the town would already have reached the cap for 2026 if enacted now.
Several board members and staff cautioned that the statute and implementation process rely heavily on the comprehensive plan. Green’s comprehensive plan dates from 1999 and board members said updating it would likely cost in the six figures; the town’s previous attempt found the total cost much higher than estimated. Members expressed concern a growth cap anchored to a 27-year-old plan would not withstand legal or administrative challenge and could trigger permit denials that lead to appeals.
Given the outdated comp plan and budget constraints, the board did not adopt a cap at this meeting. Members asked staff to continue researching options and to raise the matter again with the selectmen if resources for a plan update become available.
