Bridgton planning board hires GP COG to guide ordinance updates under new state housing laws

The Bridgton Planning Board voted to move forward with consultant recommendations from the Greater Portland Council of Governments to help the town update its zoning and subdivision rules to align with recent state housing laws.

At a July meeting, Shannon Chisum, senior planner with GP COG, told the board she would confirm which ordinance sections need edits, produce recommendations for ordinance updates, and prepare presentation materials and up to three public workshops to explain how the statutory changes will affect development outcomes. "We'll look at mitigation tactics — buffering, design standards — and show development scenarios so people can see how the changes play out," Chisum said.

The work is limited to technical recommendations and analysis; Chisum said GP COG will not prepare the legal redline or run the statutory public‑hearing process. "We will identify what to change and how it should be updated to come into compliance; the legal team will prepare the redlines and notices," she told the board.

Board members pressed for clear deliverables and explicit exclusions in the scope. Chair Deb Brzini said the town has grant funding from the Housing Opportunity Program to cover legal review and that the project has a tight timetable: GP COG plans to present development scenarios at a planning‑board workshop in July with an aim to complete the work by the end of the year or early January, depending on legal review and rulemaking timelines.

Chisum reviewed several statutory details the board asked GP COG to analyze, including minimum lot sizes outside growth zones (she cited 10,000 square feet for single‑family lots and 20,000 for attached duplexes with public water and sewer), and the threshold for when subdivision review is triggered by conversion of structures into multiple dwelling units. She said some elements remain ambiguous in the state statutes and that GP COG would verify interpretations with legal counsel.

During public comment, landowner Paul Skinner thanked the board but urged caution: "My first preference would be to not implement it at all — leave it out and refer to state law," he said, arguing that inserting state provisions verbatim could create confusion and appeals. Board members responded that careful local implementation — with mitigation tools such as buffering and design standards — can clarify expectations for applicants and reduce legal disputes.

What happens next: the planning board agreed on a set of drafting priorities for GP COG to analyze and asked staff to send the draft recommendations to the town attorney for preparation of a public‑hearing draft. The board expects a public workshop in July and possible additional workshops before any warrant article or final adoption.

Sources: Remarks and motion at the Bridgton Planning Board meeting; presentation by Shannon Chisum, Greater Portland Council of Governments.