Planners continue shoreland zoning discussions

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by Mary Grow

The three China Planning Board members available to attend the July 27 meeting continued discussion of planned amendments to shoreland zoning regulations, but postponed a decision. The main stumbling block is the lot coverage question (see The Town Line, July 22, p. 2).

As board members pointed out, many of the old shoreland lots around China’s lakes are much smaller than current regulations allow. The current Land Use Ordinance says a lot in the shoreland (or stream protection or resource protection) district meets ordinance criteria if its area is at least 40,000 square feet, it has at least 200 feet of shore frontage and there is space to set structures at least 100 feet from the high-water line.

Owners of buildings on non-conforming lots (those failing to meet one or more requirements) may continue to use them. The ordinance allows some changes and expansions, within limits.

One limit is the amount of the lot that is covered by impervious surfaces, which do not absorb rainwater. China’s current ordinance says two things: parking areas and driveways do not count as impervious surfaces; and the lot-coverage limit is 15 percent.

The Maine Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) will not approve the town ordinance unless driveways, parking areas and “other areas from which vegetation has been removed” are counted as impervious areas. DEP allows up to 20 percent lot coverage by impervious areas, a standard less strict than China’s.

Usually, if a large camp or house on a small lot covers 15 percent of the lot area, the owner cannot enlarge the building, add a shed or otherwise increase the impervious area.

If DEP’s additions are put into the ordinance, planning board members fear more shoreland owners will find themselves, through no fault or action of their own, over the 15 percent impervious-area limit and therefore unable to add the deck or build the garage they were planning.

Chairman Randall Downer said he tried to find from town records how many people might be affected and “the town does not have that information.”

One suggested way to minimize the effect on property-owners was to propose two ordinance amendments, enlarging the definition of impervious surface and simultaneously increasing the maximum allowable impervious surface from 15 percent to 20 percent.

After almost an hour’s discussion, board members tabled the issue to their Aug. 10 meeting. In the interim Downer and Codes Officer Jaime Hanson will check lot coverage regulations in comparable Maine towns.

After a shorter discussion, the three board members also tabled a final decision on the proposed alternative ways of treating solar panels, in terms of lot coverage. Part of the debate was over whether China should try to encourage or discourage solar development.

There appeared to be consensus that “green” solar energy is good. Potential effect on local landowners was the question: should farmers be encouraged to continue to grow, mow and sell hay? Should they be encouraged to sell or lease land to solar developers? Would strict regulations that discouraged development unfairly limit their freedom of choice?

Downer hopes all five planning board members will be able to attend the Aug. 10 meeting. Once they agree on one or more questions for voters, they intend to ask selectmen to put them on the Nov. 2 ballot.

Hanson’s biweekly report told board members that the number of permit applications has finally slowed, after several very busy months, and he is making progress on clearing the backlog. He has tried to act on applications based on applicants’ schedules, taking those who planned immediate construction ahead of those looking at fall projects, he explained.

Noël Bonam named new state director of AARP Maine

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Noël Bonam

AARP Maine has announced that Noël Bonam joins the organization as the new state director. He succeeds Lori Parham, who served in the role for nearly ten years and accepted a new position in AARP’s national Government Affairs office in May.

Noël Bonam brings extensive experience in leadership development, stakeholder engagement, diversity, equity and inclusion practice and civic leadership. Before joining AARP, Bonam had been the head of The Global Institute, a public benefit organization (with operational hubs in Denmark, India and the US), specializing in social equity, leadership development and organizational sustainability.

“I am thrilled to join AARP and look forward to being a forceful voice on behalf of its 200,000 members in the state and all Mainers 50 and older,” said Bonam. “This is the opportunity of a lifetime to advance the quality of life of older people in our state and cultivate appreciation of the important contributions that we make to our community. I look forward to leading AARP’s vital work to build livable, age-friendly communities and to fostering social connection and inclusion..”

Bonam has worked extensively with diverse partners from across the world, particularly in the public and not-for-profit sectors. Formerly, he was the Director for the Bureau of Multicultural Affairs for the State of Maine. In that role, he oversaw systemic changes through diversity, equity and inclusion efforts by working closely with inter-departmental stakeholders and with key community partners from across the state. He practices collaborative facilitative leadership and is committed to stakeholder engagement and empowerment, long-term sustainability and dialogue for action.

China Broadband Committee to hold public informational meeting

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by Mary Grow

China Broadband Committee (CBC) members spent much of their July 22 meeting planning for July 29, the next step in a schedule they hope will lead to voters approving a Nov. 2 bond issue to expand and improve broadband service throughout town.

The major event Thursday, July 29, is Brownies and Broadband, a public informational meeting on committee plans accompanied by refreshments. The presentation begins at 6:30 p.m., in the China Middle School gymnasium.

There will indeed be brownies, gluten-free, selectman and ex officio CBC member Janet Preston promised; and high-fiber cookies from CBC Chairman Robert O’Connor.

John Dougherty, vice-president and general manager of consultant Mission Broadband, based in Bangor, is expected to bring an as-yet-unspecified dessert. Attendees who would like something other than water to drink should bring their own (non-alcoholic only).

Immediately after Brownies and Broadband, probably around 8 p.m., Thursday, CBC members have scheduled a committee meeting, open to interested residents, to finish their planned presentation at the Aug. 2 China selectmen’s meeting.

The presentation will be in two parts: a proposed article for the Nov. 2 local ballot that committee members hope selectmen will approve for forwarding to the budget committee; and an explanatory statement supporting the article.

The draft article asks voters to authorize selectmen to issue a bond to finance construction of expanded internet infrastructure. CBC members do not yet have a firm cost estimate; by July 22 they had begun to hope to have one by late August.

Costs depend partly on the condition of existing infrastructure, especially telephone poles. Through Axiom Technologies, the CBC’s recommended future internet service provider, CBC members intend to contract with Hawkeye Fiber Optics (also called Hawkeye Connections), of Poland, Maine, to survey the town.

At the July 22 meeting, Axiom President Mark Ouellette said Hawkeye crews have started their survey, although the contract remains unsigned (see The Town Line, July 22, p. 3). Since Ouellette, Dougherty and Mission Broadband Network Engineer Mark Van Loan have already developed financial models showing effects of different costs, Ouellette said once Hawkeye provides information, calculating final figures will not take long.

CBC members’ goal is to have internet subscriber fees cover bond repayments, operating and maintenance costs and Axiom’s profit, so expanded broadband will not increase taxes. They pointed out that future state and federal grant funds might help; and O’Connor suggested asking selectmen to take out a 25- or 30-year bond, instead of one for 20 years, to make annual payments smaller.

CBC members plan to attend the Aug. 2 selectmen’s meeting. They scheduled the initial August committee meeting for 5 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 5. They hope to meet with budget committee members the week of Aug. 9 and plan to attend the Aug. 16 and Aug. 30 selectmen’s meetings.

They discussed which members will be available to answer questions at a CBC booth on the ballfields Saturday, Aug. 7, during China Community Days. CBC member Neil Farrington, in charge of the booths for local businesses and organizations, said they open at 10 a.m. and continue through the afternoon.

In addition to the July 29 Brownies and Broadband presentation, residents are invited to visit the CBC website, chinabroadband.net, for updated information and to sign up for email reports.

CHINA: Half dozen questions may be on November ballot

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by Mary Grow

If relevant town committees’ plans work out, China selectmen will be asked in early August to approve half a dozen Nov. 2 local ballot questions. China’s elections for selectboard, planning board, budget committee and Regional School Unit #18 board will also be held Nov. 2.

— The planning board is working on two draft ordinances, a Solar Energy Systems Ordinance and a Shoreland Stabilization Ordinance.
— At their June 28 and July 13 meetings, planning board members developed a separate question related to the proposed solar ordinance.
— Planning board members also intend to propose amendments to the shoreland regulations in China’s Land Use Ordinance, as required by a May letter from the state Department of Environmental Protection.
— The China Broadband Committee plans to ask selectmen to ask voters to approve a bond issue to build new broadband infrastructure.
— The 2020 revision of China’s Comprehensive Plan is ready for voter action.

The Solar Energy Systems Ordinance is planned as a new chapter in the Land Use Ordinance, to guide planning board members as they review applications for solar installations, from rooftop or backyard panels serving one house to fields of panels generating electricity to be sold. At the June 13 meeting, board Chairman Randall Downer said the draft ordinance had been forwarded to the selectboard.

The related question members want to hand on to voters is whether the amount of a lot that can be covered by solar panels can be limited, and if it can, how strict the limit should be (see The Town Line, July 22, p. 2).

Projects approved in China so far, on Route 32 North (Vassalboro Road), off Route 32 South (Windsor Road) and on Route 3 (Belfast Road), have been limited to a maximum 20 percent lot coverage. Board members cite the development on Route 3 just east of Augusta as a local example of unlimited lot coverage.

The Shoreline Stabilization Ordinance is intended to clarify requirements for constructed barriers, as differentiated from buffer strips, intended to limit shoreline erosion.

China voters approved an amended Shoreland Zoning Ordinance in the spring of 2019. State regulators wrote that they need changes before they can give the document full approval.

The broadband committee has no firm estimate of construction costs; committee members expect to have one before the Nov. 2 vote. Previous estimates started at around $9 million and have decreased to around $6 million, a figure committee members think might still be high.

The revised Comprehensive Plan – 160 pages plus 14 pages of maps – is on the town website, www.china.govoffice.org, under the Comprehensive Planning Committee (which is under Officials, Boards & Committees). It is currently under review by state officials.

According to the website, the following local positions will be open in November 2021:

— On the Board of Selectmen, seats currently held by Irene Belanger and Wayne Chadwick. Selectmen are elected from the town at large.
— On the planning board, District One (incumbent Randall Downer), District Three (vacant) and the alternate at-large position (incumbent Natale Tripodi).
— On the budget committee, District One (incumbent Kevin Maroon), District Three (incumbent Dana Buswell) and the chairman, elected from anywhere in town (incumbent Robert Batteese).
— On the Regional School Unit (RSU) #18 Board, the position held by Neil Farrington. Farrington said in an email he does not intend to seek re-election.

For the planning board and budget committee, District One is northwestern China, District Three southeastern China. Copies of the district map are on the website under the Budget Committee and the Planning Board (which are under Officials, Boards & Committees).

Selectmen, planning board and budget committee members are elected for two-year terms. RSU directors are elected for three-year terms.

Nomination papers have been available at the town office since Monday, July 26. For a candidate’s name to be on the Nov. 2 ballot, signed papers must be returned to the town office by 4 p.m., Friday, Sept. 3.

China selectmen approve $10,000 grant request from China Broadband Committee (CBC)

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by Mary Grow

China selectmen spent most of a short July 19 meeting discussing the China Broadband Committee’s request that they approve a $10,000 grant from the Tax Increment Financing (TIF) fund. They ultimately approved the request on a 4-1 vote (see related story, this week).

Bi-weekly bills that board members paid included, Chairman Ronald Breton said, checks to the organizations approved for funding at the June 8 town meeting.

Deputy Clerk Jennifer Chamberlain, filling in for Town Manager Becky Hapgood, announced that the portable building behind the town office will host a pop-up Covid-19 vaccination clinic on Saturday, July 24, from 8 a.m. to noon. Moderna and Pfizer vaccines will both be available, she said.

Nomination papers for local elective office can be picked up at the town office beginning Monday, July 26. On Nov. 2, town voters will elect two members of the Board of Selectmen, three members each of the Planning Board and the Budget Committee and one representative to the Regional School Unit #18 Board of Directors.

Selectmen announced that China Community Days plans include closing Causeway Street at the head of China Lake’s east basin, between the China Baptist Church parking lot and the boat landing, twice:

— On Saturday, Aug. 7, from 4 p.m. to 10 p.m. for the annual street dance (rain date Sunday, Aug. 8, from 4 p.m. to 10 p.m.); and
— On Sunday, Aug. 8, from 8 a.m. to noon for safety during the annual fishing derby.

Next month’s selectmen’s meetings are scheduled for 6:30 p.m. Monday, Aug. 2; Monday, Aug. 16; and Monday, Aug. 30.

Vassalboro selectmen review mass gathering ordinance

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by Mary Grow

Vassalboro selectmen made decisions on two of the three major items on their July 14 agenda.

They spent three-quarters of an hour on the third, reviewing a draft Mass Gathering Ordinance, and decided they should continue working on it at their next meeting.

The ordinance is intended to make sure any such event is safe. It covers subjects like limits on attendance, provision of drinking water and toilet facilities, traffic management, parking and security.

Vassalboro’s draft is modeled on the Town of Readfield’s. It specifically exempts from the definitions of “mass gathering” and “mass gathering area” existing “established and permitted” facilities like athletic fields, auditoriums and “similar permanent places of assembly” that are equipped to handle crowds. Selectmen concluded it would not apply to places like Natanis Golf Course, St. Bridget’s Center or the old mill, in North Vassalboro.

Writing an ordinance was inspired by notice of a proposed country music concert in Vassalboro on July 20, 2022. Selectmen hope to present the draft to voters as a local ballot question on Nov. 2.

The second pending item July 14 was setting fees for medical marijuana establishments, as provided under the Marijuana Business Ordinance voters approved at the town meeting in June.

After discussing a range of figures, selectmen unanimously approved a compromise: a $500 annual license fee for each business, and if more than one business shares a building, the same $500 fee for the building owner and for each separate business owner.

Board members intend to monitor the amount of town employees’ time needed to administer the ordinance. They could change the fee, either up or down, depending on what they learn. They expect the town manager and the codes officer to be the people most involved.

Codes Officer Paul Mitnik presented the third issue for the July 14 meeting, continued land use violations at the former church building at 14 Priest Hill Road, in North Vassalboro.

The deadline for the owner to clean up the lot was July 15, Mitnik said. If he failed to comply, town officials could take enforcement measures through the courts. They could be authorized to clean up the property and bill the owner; or, if the building is deemed hazardous, to have the building demolished and the property cleaned up, and to bill the owner.

Selectmen voted unanimously to authorize Mitnik to proceed with enforcement as he deems necessary.

In other business July 14, selectmen:

— Heard Fire Chief Walker Thompson’s report on the broken-down fire truck, including the potential costs of repairs (variable, depending on whether a broken gear on the low-pressure oil pump damaged the engine) and the department’s ability to get along without the truck for a while.
— Heard the good news that Vassalboro’s new fire truck might arrive by the end of the month, if back-ordered parts come in.
— Planned next steps toward installing a new compactor at the transfer station, without undue optimism about the availability of needed parts there, either.
— Confirmed their previously unofficial plan to authorize repaving the parking lots at the town office and the North Vassalboro fire station and adjacent food pantry.
— Appointed Helen Devoe a member of the Conservation Commission.
— Appointed Savannah Clark, currently the intern assisting with compiling cemetery records, a member of the Cemetery Committee.

The next regular Vassalboro selectmen’s meeting is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 12.

China TIF committee hears financial reports

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by Mary Grow

China Tax Increment Financing (TIF) Committee members heard reports on how some of the town’s TIF money has been spent and approved a new $10,000 grant at their July 14 meeting.

Four Seasons Club President Tom Rumpf reported his group spent more than $65,000 out of $75,000 allocated from TIF, mostly on trail improvements. His presentation was illustrated with before and after photographs showing stretches of bumpy mud replaced by either a bridge or a gravel trail.

The club spent $25,000 on the concrete slab for their planned equipment storage garage, Rumpf said.

Rumpf told the committee the guardrails along the roadway and sidewalks at the head of China Lake’s east basin, part of the TIF-funded causeway project, need extended rub rails to protect snowmobilers and four-wheelers. Committee members accepted his offer to have Four Seasons Club members install them.

Scott Pierz, president of the China Lake Association and the China Region Lakes Alliance, praised Rumpf for his “excellent presentation” and added, “I’m so sad that I have to go next.”

Pierz reported on three main projects the groups carry out, the Gravel Road Rehabilitation Program (GRRP), Courtesy Boat Inspections (CBI) and LakeSmart.

Working in cooperation with road associations, the China Lake Association has completed run-off controls on Fire Road 11 and begun erosion control work on Fire Road 37, Pierz said. Work on Fire Road 41 is in an early stage.

CBI program employees check boats being put in at boat landings for invasive plants. Pierz is pleased that some people return year after year, so they can mentor new team members.

LakeSmart is a state-wide program educating and encouraging shorefront landowners who want to minimize undesirable effects on water quality.

The prolonged and expensive causeway project, which started with a new bridge, is finished, Michaud said. He and Town Manager Becky Hapgood are among those who inspected it. His verdict: “I’m happy with the work.”

The China Broadband Committee’s request is for $10,000 in TIF funds to hire Hawkeye Fiber Optics (also called Hawkeye Connections) to survey existing broadband infrastructure, in order to estimate costs of additional construction to provide expanded service.

Jamie Pitney, who is a member of both the TIF and Broadband committees, and Hapgood explained the plans and their importance.

TIF Committee Chairman Tom Michaud and other members questioned spending $10,000 to get a cost estimate that’s often free. Pitney and Hapgood said that Hawkeye representatives will spend up to two months evaluating telephone poles in town, to determine how many new and replacement ones will be needed. They will also provide information on miles of fiber optic cable and other needs.

The accurate cost estimate will let committee members decide how much they should ask selectmen and voters to borrow to fund the project. The loan repayment is to be funded from broadband user fees, not from taxes.

After three-quarters of an hour’s discussion, the TIF Committee members present voted 4-0, with Pitney abstaining, to recommend selectmen approve the $10,000 grant.

The next TIF Committee meeting is tentatively scheduled for Monday evening, Aug. 23. Agenda items are likely to include two postponed from July 14: review of the grant application form and discussion of a schedule for grant requests; and election of committee officers, since Michaud wants to hand over the chairmanship and his wife Marie her unofficial position as committee secretary.

China Broadband Committee (CBC) members seek ways to publicize progress

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by Mary Grow

China Broadband Committee (CBC) members spent their July 15 meeting planning more ways to publicize their progress as they seek expanded and improved broadband service for town residents.

The results include two more meetings: the committee will meet virtually at 5 p.m. Thursday, July 22, primarily to work on a video presentation that would give China residents a quick overview of the project; and a second public meeting is scheduled.

The public meeting is called “Brownies and Broadband” – there might be more varied refreshments, but committee members liked the alliterative title – and is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. Thursday, July 29, at China Middle School.

Committee members planned other opportunities for people to learn about their work.

CBC Chairman Robert O’Connor is to present a report on the 2021 loon count at the China Lake Association’s annual meeting, scheduled for 8:30 a.m. Saturday, July 31. He will include a broadband update.

Someone representing CBC will offer information at the ballfields during the Saturday afternoon, Aug. 7, part of China Community Days. Neil Farrington, a committee member and head of the Saturday afternoon part of the annual celebration, says he expects up to a dozen other organizations will be represented.

After the July 15 meeting, committee member Tod Detre completed the new CBC website, htpps://chinabroadband.net. By July 16 it already contained additional information about the July 15 meeting. The town website, www.china.govoffice.com, has a link to the broadband website under the Broadband Committee (which is under Officials, Boards & Committees).

Having gained a July 14 recommendation from the Tax Increment Financing (TIF) Committee for $10,000 in TIF funds for planning, CBC members O’Connor and Jamie Pitney asked for the appropriation at the July 19 China selectmen’s meeting, where another complication cropped up.

The money is be used to have Hawkeye Fiber Optics (also called Hawkeye Connections), of Poland, Maine, survey existing broadband infrastructure in town to help determine the cost of expanded service.

Committee members have a draft contract ready that authorizes payment of the $10,000 when the work is finished and a report submitted. However, Town Manager Becky Hapgood, who was not at the selectmen’s meeting, had noted the need for a second condition.

Funding for broadband is authorized in the revised TIF program (the Second Amendment) that voters approved June 8, and the state has not approved the revised program. Therefore TIF money cannot assist with broadband expansion until the appropriate official in the Department of Economic and Community Development (DECD) signs off.

Hapgood advised making payment conditional on DECD approval. After discussion, selectmen voted 4-1 to add the condition and to authorize Hapgood to sign the contract for the survey after board members re-review the final version.

The dissenter was Selectman Wayne Chadwick. Chadwick pointed out that the CBC has already received $10,000 (to pay consultants Mission Broadband) and was now asking for another $10,000, before selectmen had even decided whether to ask voters to approve the project.

Pitney explained that the survey was a useful step toward asking selectmen to ask voters to approve a construction bond issue on Nov. 2, because it will provide more accurate cost estimates than the committee has now.

When O’Connor offered selectmen posters advertising the July 29 Brownies and Broadband program, Selectboard Chairman Ronald Breton reminded him that CBC members needed to offer at least three kinds of brownies: regular ones with nuts, and, to allow for possible allergies, some without nuts and some without chocolate.

Transfer station to postpone revising fee schedule for special items

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by Mary Grow

China Transfer Station Committee members have postponed action on revising the fee schedule for special items – furniture, electronics, tires, fluorescent bulbs; the list is on the town website, china.govoffice.com, under Transfer Station – or adding a fee for brush disposal.

At their July 13 meeting, Palermo committee member Robert Kurek suggested fees should be based, as much as possible, on the amount of employees’ time each type of waste requires. Another potential criterion is how China’s fees compare to those in other Maine towns.

Committee member Ashley Farrington agreed to survey other municipalities’ posted fees for comparison. The issue is likely to be on the agenda for the committee’s next meeting.

Transfer Station Manager Ronald Marois had no major issues to raise. The Free for the Taking building is open and is again accepting clothing; it is too small to accommodate everything residents want to leave for others, but there is no room to expand it, he said.

Committee members who suggested asking the public works crew to move out of the sand-and-salt shed so Free for the Taking could move in were not making a serious proposal.

The compost pile is also available for residents to help themselves. Because the compost is not screened, Marois and committee members suggested it not be used for vegetable gardens. They recommended it for lawn and tree planting and restoration projects and flower gardens.

Marois said work on the planed concrete slab on which to store freon units is awaiting a site recommendation from the state Department of Environmental Protection, as well as town approval.

Committee members created a subcommittee, chaired by Chris Diesch, from Palermo, to draft a vision statement for the transfer station.

The next Transfer Station Committee meeting is scheduled for 8:30 a.m. Tuesday, Aug. 24. Barring emergencies, committee Chairman Larry Sikora suggested skipping a September meeting.

China planners discuss ballot questions for November

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by Mary Grow

China Planning Board members used their July 13 meeting to continue to work on planned questions to submit to voters on a Nov. 2 local ballot.

Board Chairman Randall Downer said the draft Solar Energy Systems Ordinance had been submitted to selectmen in advance of their July 19 meeting. Board members are asking selectmen to ask voters to approve it.

Board members further intend to ask voters to decide a question that will become part of the ordinance, after it’s answered: how should solar panels be counted when calculating the percentage of a lot that is covered by man-made structures that impede or change the natural flow of rainwater?

They currently plan to ask voters to approve one of three choices, in a ballot question separate from the ordinance.

— A solar panel counts entirely as an impervious surface diverting rainwater, allowing for the panel’s being tilted (to get more sunlight) so that it covers a little less ground than its actual dimensions.
— A solar panel does not count at all; only its footings that cover a relatively small amount of ground are considered impervious surfaces.
— A compromise proposed by planning board member Scott Rollins: divide the panel area by two, so that for calculation purposes it covers half the area it actually covers.

The point of limiting lot coverage is to allow rainwater to be absorbed into the ground, rather than running into water bodies with whatever pollutants it picks up. China’s current ordinance limits lot coverage to 15 percent in shoreland, stream protection and resource protection areas and to 20 percent in the rest of town.

Solar developers have argued that because the ground under an array of solar panels is covered with grass and other low plants and is mowed no more than twice a year, it adequately absorbs run-off from the panels.

Board members figured that having panels count completely would allow a solar developer to cover up to 20 percent of a lot with panels. The compromise, counting half the panel areas, would allow up to 40 percent of the lot to be covered. If the panels did not count at all, almost an entire lot could be covered, except for setbacks from lot lines.

Board members postponed sending the triple question to selectmen until they have the opinions of two members who were unable to attend the July 13 meeting.

The other potential ballot issue is amending shoreland regulations in China’s Land Use Ordinance to meet state Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) requirements for state approval. This issue, too, turned out to involve lot coverage.

China’s current shoreland ordinance does not count driveways, parking areas and similar impervious (or non-vegetated, in DEP parlance) surfaces when calculating lot coverage. DEP says it should.

The change would increase the amount of lot coverage in many shoreland lots. Increasing the lot coverage, planning board members said, could limit future expansion, like applying to add a deck to a camp.

Resident Brent Chesley suggested from the audience that the increase could be offset if another amendment were proposed to increase maximum lot coverage to 20 percent in the shoreland (and the other two restricted areas). DEP regulations allow 20 percent, he said, citing Chapter 1000 in DEP guidelines.

Downer referred to China’s Phosphorus Control Ordinance, approved in 1993 to try to minimize the amount of phosphorus entering China Lake and feeding algal blooms, as a separate limit.

Board members postponed action to their July 27 meeting. In the interim they will ask to have the proposed amendments and, at Chesley’s suggestion, a link to the DEP guidelines posted on the China website, china.govoffice.com, for residents’ information and comments. Downer and Rollins also discussed looking at lakeside lots to see what effects the proposed changes would have.