NORWAY – A clear view of Streaked Mountain rose in the distance and the sounds of peepers echoed between the crunch of footsteps as the Norway Planning Board walked a proposed subdivision site Thursday.
For as many as 100 years, said board Chairman Dennis Gray, the 251-acre site of this former C.B. Cummings & Sons mill family property off Sodom Road remained untouched. Now that land has been sold and 11 house lots are planned.
Gray said 204 acres are to stay undeveloped, but that could change someday under new ownership. Increasing development is fast becoming a part of everyday life in Oxford Hills.
Peter Roy of Eastern Slope Properties in Paris was on the walk Thursday as a partner in the subdivision project. He said he has been working in areas from Gray to Windham over the years. “It’s growing,” he said of the entire region.
Gray agreed.
So does the Androscoggin Valley Council of Governments, which will be paying special attention to subdivision regulations as part of an annual spring workshop series that begins next week.
On April 27, the first of four sessions on subdivision law, design standards, environmental protections and review processes will be held at the Mountain Valley Middle School in Mexico.
It’s difficult to be prepared for growth and development, said Planning Division Director Fergus Lea, but that’s what the council is trying to help towns do. The workshops will highlight ways to “improve what you are demanding for information and the quality of development,” which can in turn help communities protect the environment and preserve their quality of life.
Planning board members, code enforcement officers, other municipal officials and others involved with land development are invited to attend. There is a $20 fee for a single session or $40 fee for all four sessions for council members. More information may be obtained on the Internet at www.avcog.org.
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