Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Zoning Ordinance topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Kingfield Planning Board sets timeline for zoning and sign-ordinance updates ahead of November vote
Summary
The board outlined work to update its primary zoning ordinance (including ADU-related language) and a separate sign ordinance, delayed pending legal review due to lack of funds; the board aims to prepare warrant articles and hold public hearings with much work to be done by Sept. 1.
Chair Richard Hawkes told the Kingfield Planning Board on May 12 that the board has been updating its zoning ordinance to comply with recent accessory-dwelling-unit (ADU) legislation and has also drafted a sign ordinance. Hawkes said both drafts require legal review, which has been delayed because the town lacks dedicated funds to pay for attorney review; he said the lack of funding should be addressed at the June town meeting.
Hawkes said the board will need to hold one or more public hearings and create warrant articles for the November town meeting; pulling back from the November deadline, the board identified Sept. 1 as the practical date by which much of the work should be complete. He noted the sign ordinance is shorter and might be completed sooner or possibly folded into the main ordinance.
The board discussed specific substantive issues that the ordinance rewrite must address, including whether to convert language about buffers for the Rt. 27 Scenic Byway from "suggested" to "required," how the table of allowed uses by zone should treat development such as hotels, gas stations, extraction or research facilities in Rural 1 or a growth district, and concerns about sediment tracked onto Route 27 from nearby gravel-mining operations.
Rob Woodhouse asked about the history of current zones and why certain areas, such as Ira Mountain, were designated growth districts despite constrained access; Hawkes noted original right-of-way widths and said the comprehensive plan could inform legal instruments. Taylor Jordan, who has served on the comprehensive-plan committee, said next steps include review and input from both the select board and planning board before taking recommendations to a town vote.
Board members confirmed that a moratorium petition from Ira Mountain residents is separate from the ordinance work. Woodhouse said he had used an artificial-intelligence tool (Grok) to rework the ordinance draft to include ADU/LD2003 language. Sue Davis, the board secretary, said she preferred holding shorter, more frequent meetings to meet the September timeline.
The board scheduled a June 2 special meeting focused on Bowdoin and confirmed the regular monthly meeting for Tuesday, June 16, 2026, as the primary voting day.
