China voters to decide amendments to land development code

by Mary Grow

At the polls on Nov. 5, China voters will be asked to approve amendments to two sections of China’s Land Development Code and to the development district map.

The Aug. 20 planning board public hearing, intended to answer voters’ questions and collect their comments on the changes, almost certainly set several records.

One was for smallest attendance at a China public hearing: no members of the public came. Therefore acting chairman Michael Brown probably set records for shortest hearing – he held it open for three minutes in case someone came in late – and shortest meeting, six minutes.

The proposed amendments to Chapter 2 and Chapter 11 of China’s Land Development Code and the District Map are on the town website, chinamaine.org, under the Planning Board, which is under “Officials, Boards & Committees.”

The simpler changes are in Chapter 11, the section on definitions. The definitions of “expansion of a structure,” “expansion of use” and “shoreland zone” are all recommended for amendment.

Chapter 2, the Land Use Ordinance that is a major part of the code (69 pages on the town website) has multiple changes. Most, planning board chairman Toni Wall said when the board discussed the changes at an Aug. 13 meeting, are aimed at simplifying, clarifying or updating language.

The first change says that “all references to other local, state and federal regulations, rules, laws and the like” mean to the current version, so that voters will no longer need to amend the Land Use Ordinance every time an outside document is updated.

Many changes, codes officer Nicholas French said at the Aug. 13 meeting, will bring China’s ordinance into compliance with state law and regulations, something that should be done whenever state laws or rules that set local standards are enacted or amended.

A major change, if voters approve, will eliminate about eight pages of local regulations by transferring jurisdiction over timber harvesting in China’s Resource Protection, Stream Protection and Shoreland Districts to the Maine Forest Service.

Planning board and select board members, and town attorney Amanda Meader, have reviewed multiple drafts of the changes. At their Aug. 26 meeting, select board members approved them for the Nov. 5 ballot.

The next regular China planning board meeting is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 10.