NORWAY – Questions over the status of a proposed office technology park overlooking Norway Lake dominated Thursday’s public hearing on an updated comprehensive plan.

Seasonal lake resident Bob Blaire expressed concern that the plan’s map did not spell out the need to preserve from development the steep-sloped part of the park nearest the shore.

Blaire said the park’s developer, Western Maine Development, has had “a standing offer” for more than two years from a private party to buy about 80 acres nearest the lake to create a conservation easement to protect the land from development.

“I would not like to see that commercially developed. It is the most beautiful entrance to Norway from any section” of town, he said.

Fergus Lea, a planner with the Androscoggin Valley Council of Governments, said in working with the Comprehensive Planning Committee “we made the assumption that they would develop it the way they said” as outlined in a site plan approved by the Planning Board.

Western Maine Development, the real estate arm of the Growth Council of Oxford Hills, has applied for a $2 million federal grant to pay the lion’s share of creating the park’s infrastructure.

That site plan, designed to be environmentally-friendly, includes detailed restrictions on phosphorus releases and requires building a retention pond.

Blaire said that if the plan should not be implemented and the land sold, “It seems to me we’re leaving it open to have the growth council sell that property and develop it commercially.”

Lea said the map could be revised to create a special resource protection district on the sloped portion of the tech park land.

On Friday, council Chief Executive Officer Brett Doney said the council’s board of directors decided it couldn’t do anything legally binding with regard to a conservation easement until funding is in place.

“It’s a long process to fund a project, especially when the country is at war,” Doney said. “There’s limited federal money because of other priorities,” he said, and the growth council doesn’t want to ask for any more local money than it has to.

The project is still very much on board, however, he said.

“We were hoping it would go quicker, but we should be hearing by September” on the EDA grant application, Doney said. “We’re confident if we get the EDA grant funding, the rest will fall into place,” including conservation easements. “We certainly will want to sell those conservation easements to help fund the project.”

As the meeting began, Comprehensive Planning Committee Chairwoman Irene Millett said the two top concerns expressed by residents when the planning process began more than two years ago were “keeping our Main Street historic” and developing recreation, especially at Pennesseewassee Park.

She emphasized that the plan is not set in stone and should be considered as a set of recommendations to guide future development decisions.

Town Manager David Holt agreed. “They didn’t want the plan to trample over the townspeople,” he said of the panel. “They wanted the plan to reflect their views.”

Townspeople will vote on the plan at the June 14 town meeting, which will begin at 7 p.m. in the Forum at Oxford Hills Comprehensive High School.