BYRON – Townspeople took steps earlier this year to assure preservation of Coos Canyon by purchasing the property surrounding the popular swimming, gold panning, and recreational site.
Now the Planning Board wants a moratorium on expansions of campgrounds or new campgrounds for at least 180 days until rules and regulations can be worked out to guide their development.
A special town meeting to consider the moratorium has been called for 7 p.m. Thursday, June 15, at the town office.
Dave Duguay, chairman of the Planning Board – the board that’s also rewriting a dated comprehensive plan – said a moratorium worked well for the town on subdivisions a couple of years ago.
“The subdivision moratorium gave us time to get input from citizens,” he said.
A subdivision ordinance was written and now the town is ready with rules and regulations for subdivisions.
“The current comprehensive plan doesn’t meet the needs of Byron for campgrounds,” he said Friday night.
The two-page proposed moratorium would automatically terminate in 180 days unless selectmen decide after a public hearing to extend it for 180 additional days. The purpose of the campground ordinance is to “foster orderly campground development.”
“Without local regulations to address campground development there exists the potential for serious public harm if such are developed,” according to the proposed moratorium. Serious public harm would include, but not be limited to, traffic and influx of significant populations in this town of approximately 121 year-round residents, it states.
Furthermore, the proposed moratorium states the effective date would be retroactive to April 20.
Duguay said he is also concerned about setbacks from the Swift River.
However, Judy Boucher, co-owner of Coos Canyon Campground with her husband, Roger, a former selectman, said Friday that she has a state Department of Health and Human Services license for 30 tent and recreational vehicle sites, and plans for nine more sites at the campground.
“The Planning Board has told us we were a subdivision and we’re not,” she said.
She said the DHHS plans to visit the campground after the June 15 vote as part of the license for nine additional sites.
The Bouchers have purchased 96 additional acres across state Route 17 for a campground expansion.
They changed the former wilderness campsite into a campground for recreational vehicles about five years ago when they purchased the property.
Duguay said the proposed moratorium was developed with the input of the Maine Municipal Association and Androscoggin Valley Council of Governments.
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