TOWN OF LINCOLNVILLE, MAINE Comprehensive Plan March 2006 CERTIFIED BY: Name: H. Bob Plausse, Chairman Board of Selectmen Attested: David B. Kinney, Town Clerk Town of Lincolnville, Maine TABLE OF CONTENTS Chapter Page I. INTRODUCTION 4 Map: Town of Lincolnville 7 II. HISTORY & ARCHAEOLOGY 8 Inventory & Analysis 8 Goals and Implementation Strategies 16 III. POPULATION 18 Inventory & Analysis 18 Goals & Implementation Strategies 24 IV. HOUSING 25 Inventory & Analysis 25 Goals & Implementation Strategies 37 V. PUBLIC FACILITIES & SERVICES 39 Inventory & Analysis 39 Goals & Implementation Strategies 51 Map: Roads and Facilities 53 Map: Lincolnville Beach Insert 54 Map: Lincolnville Center Insert 55 VI. FISCAL CAPACITY 56 Inventory & Analysis 56 Goals & Implementation Strategies 64 Capital Improvement Plan 65 VII. LOCAL ECONOMY 69 Inventory & Analysis 69 Goals & Implementation Strategies 79 VIII. TRANSPORTATION 81 Inventory & Analysis 81 Goals & Implementation Strategies 88 Road Pavement Program 91 Map: Lincolnville Transportation Network 94 TABLE OF CONTENTS LINCOLNVILLE COMPREHENSIVE PLAN PAGE 2 IX. RECREATIONAL RESOURCES 95 Inventory & Analysis 95 Goals & Implementation Strategies 102 X. WATER RESOURCES 106 Inventory & Analysis 106 Goals & Implementation Strategies 118 Map: Water Resources 122 XI. CRITICAL NATURAL RESOURCES 123 Inventory & Analysis 123 Goals & Implementation Strategies 132 Map: Critical Habitats 135 Map: Hydric Soils 136 Map: Scenic Views 137 XII. AGRICULTURAL & FOREST RESOURCES 138 Inventory & Analysis 138 Goals & Implementation Strategies 146 Map: Prime Farmland 148 XIII. MARINE RESOURCES 149 Inventory & Analysis 149 Goals & Implementation Strategies 155 XIV. EXISTING LAND USE 159 Inventory & Analysis 159 Map: Land Cover 172 Map: Topography 173 Map: Floodzones 174 Map: Official Land Use 175 XV. PROPOSED LAND USE 176 Map: Proposed Land Use 192 XVI. CONCLUSION 192 XVII. APPENDIX: 194 LINCOLNVILLE COMPREHENSIVE PLAN SURVEY I EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 194 COMPREHENSIVE PLAN REVIEW COMMITTEE RESULTS OF NEIGHBORHOOD MEETINGS 197 TABLE OF CONTENTS LINCOLNVILLE COMPREHENSIVE PLAN PAGE 3 INTRODUCTION The Comprehensive Plan Review Committee was formed in January 2000 by action of the Selectmen for the purpose of reviewing and updating Lincolnville’s 1993 Comprehensive Plan. The goals of this Committee include: promoting awareness of the Comprehensive Plan and enlisting the participation of Town officials, boards and committees, organizations, and the people of Lincolnville in creating the plan; fostering better communication among Town boards and committees; and, having the Comprehensive Plan declared “consistent” with the State Growth Management Act (GMA). This is important since the town’s ordinances may not withstand court challenges unless the plan has been found consistent; and, in addition, the Town is eligible to receive State and Federal grants as a result of having a Comprehensive Plan process approved by the Town and found consistent by the State. The Comprehensive Plan contains three components: 1. Inventory: description of the town for the past, present and future that includes population, economy, public facilities, public services and natural resources, etc., 2. Policies or Goals: statements about where the town wants to be in the future; and 3. Strategies: how the town may achieve these goals. What a Comprehensive Plan is and isn’t: • A comprehensive plan is the collective thoughts of the community as expressed in town wide surveys and meetings with residents and business owners. The plan describes the community and is an expression of the town’s vision for its future. • A comprehensive plan is an official public document, accepted by the state and adopted by municipal government (voters) as a guide for the future development of the town. • The comprehensive plan is not an ordinance. The plan does not enact any regulations or restrictions. The plan is the legal basis or foundation for all local ordinances. All proposed ordinances have to be voted on by townspeople at future town meetings before they can be adopted. INTRODUCTION LINCOLNVILLE COMPREHENSIVE PLAN PAGE 4 Why should we have a Comprehensive Plan? • To identify and protect those aspects of the community that are important to its citizens and to encourage development that benefits and employs our residents. • To minimize fiscal and capital improvement costs to the town: Efficiencies in fiscal management through planning and capital cost expenditures can be coordinated to reduce tax burdens. • To minimize future development costs to the town: Planned development is less costly than unplanned development. • To access grant money: Without a comprehensive plan that has been deemed consistent with the GMA by the State Planning Office and adopted locally, the town is not eligible to apply for Community Development Block Grants. • To remain competitive with neighboring communities: Most other towns, including our neighbors, have comprehensive plans and so benefit from legal protections of their ordinances, and have grant opportunities. Why should we not have these same benefits and protections? • To protect existing ordinances from private legal challenge and from state intrusion: The plan provides the legal foundation for ordinances that the town develops and that voters approve: These ordinances can apply to state projects as well as private development. Source: Mid-Coast Regional Planning Commission Lincolnville has changed in many ways in the twelve years since the last Plan was adopted and continues to change as we create this plan, just as it has changed in every decade throughout its history. It is intended that this Plan be reviewed and updated periodically to ensure that it continues to reflect the conditions and desires of our community. INTRODUCTION LINCOLNVILLE COMPREHENSIVE PLAN PAGE 5 The Comprehensive Plan Review Committee wishes to thank the following groups and individuals for their invaluable input and support during this process: Capital Needs Committee Patti Clark Skip Day, Former Town Administrator Scott Dickerson and the Coastal Mountains Land Trust Jim Dunham and the Tanglewood 4-H Camp & Learning Center Jean English Mike Eugley, Fire Chief The Harbor Committee, and Michael Hutchings, Harbormaster The Harbor Study Committee Edmund Hartt David Kinney, Town Administrator The Lakes and Ponds Committee Lincolnville Board of Selectmen Lincolnville Business Group Margaret Miller Gary Neville and the Lincolnville Recreation Committee Tom Nolan, Liaison, Board of Selectmen and former Committee member Diane O’Brien and the Lincolnville Historical Society Whitney Opporsdorf and the Coleman Pond Association Chris Osgood and the Route One Advisory Committee Tom Russell, former Police Chief Bob Sewall Doris Weed, Town Clerk Jana Wood, CEO Bernard Young Vern Ziegler, Assessor’s Agent Comprehensive Plan Review Committee Jeffrey Leighton, Co-Chair Jay Foster Mary Lou Gallup Joy Glock Jeanne Hollingsworth Lois Lyman, Co-Chair Betty Johnson Roger Knight Tom Nolan Bob Williams Kimberly Vogel, Researcher and Writer INTRODUCTION LINCOLNVILLE COMPREHENSIVE PLAN PAGE 6 Map: Town of Lincolnville INTRODUCTION LINCOLNVILLE COMPREHENSIVE PLAN PAGE 7 HISTORY & ARCHAEOLOGY Inventory & Analysis INTRODUCTION The history of a town helps a community define its sense of “place.” Historic patterns of development, to a large measure, dictate where a community will grow in the future. History also gives us a window from which to view the lives of our forbears and a mirror to reflect their images in our own endeavors. The first Native Americans arrived in Maine approximately 12,000 years ago. All our knowledge of these early Americans has come about through archaeological study, the scientific review of the life and culture of earlier people through the excavation of specific sites. Lincolnville’s recorded history begins in 1770 with the first permanent European settlement. This inventory will begin with a discussion of the pre-European history of Lincolnville, outline Lincolnville’s history since the arrival of the Europeans and conclude with an inventory of significant historic and archaeological resources within Lincolnville. It should be noted that additional references to Lincolnville’s history are also contained in the following sections of this Inventory: Marine Resources, Forest and Agricultural Resources, and Critical Natural Resources. PRE-EUROPEAN HISTORY OF LINCOLNVILLE The retreat of the most recent ice age, approximately 13,000 years ago, left the Maine landscape treeless and bleak. As grasses gained a foothold in the soil, large bison and other mammals moved into the area. Evidence suggests that the first homo sapiens, the Paleo- Indians, arrived in Maine approximately 10,000 to 12,000 years ago in pursuit of new hunting grounds. Although no archaeological evidence has been presented to show they inhabited Lincolnville, there is certainly a possibility these early Americans hunted in this area. During the Archaic Period, extending from 8,500 to 4,000 years ago, there was a gradual warming of the earth that resulted in the reforestation of Maine. Artifacts from this period suggest that the Native Americans inhabiting this area developed complex tools. A unique group of Native Americans appeared approximately 4,000 years ago, commonly referred to as the “Red Paint People.” This name is derived from their custom of decorating the dead with red ochre as part of their burial ceremony. Artifacts indicate that these people lived in the Lincolnville area and