LEWISTON — Last year, Bates College professor Francis Eanes suddenly found himself in the middle of a heated debate in Auburn regarding the future of the city’s large agricultural zone.

At the time, proposed rules intended to modernize the zone had the potential to usher in tremendous change to a rural area that had been largely untouched for decades.

As officials on multiple city boards and committees began weeding through the ordinance changes, Eanes picked up on the conversation and began research that sought the opinions of residents living in the zone.

Now that the dust has settled, and as Auburn rolls out a new agricultural zone ordinance that many officials have deemed a compromise, Eanes will speak this week at a Great Falls Forum at the Lewiston Public Library.

The forum, at noon Thursday, Feb. 20, will give Eanes an opportunity to lay out his research, the basis of which was a survey that received 315 responses from landowners. His talk is titled “Conflict, Consensus, and Community in the Future of Auburn’s Ag Zone.”

During his initial presentation to the City Council in October — a presentation that almost didn’t happen — Eanes told the council that his survey was meant to “take a step back” from the issues the council has been debating and ask its residents what they value in making land-use decisions.

He told officials that the results showed more consensus among landowners than was previously thought.

In one section, 63% said “preventing housing development on family farm/forest land” was either important or very important, while 27% said it was only slightly important or not important at all.

A similar question that asked whether selling land for residential development was desirable, 69% said it was undesirable.

The ordinance, which was passed by the council in December, lowers the current requirement of gaining 50% of household income from farming to 30%, while still requiring 10-acre parcels to build a home. Another section of the ordinance will allow the Planning Board to grant special exceptions for landowners with at least 6.1 acres to build a home, as long as they meet the income requirement and further criteria.

A news release regarding the forum states that Eanes’ talk will explore challenges to farming that have been occurring all over the country.

“Productive, working landscapes that support farm and forest livelihoods have been steadily lost for decades throughout the United States, especially in New England,” it states. “Although the driving forces behind this trend — globalization, urban sprawl, and demographic shifts — are talked about in distant and abstract terms, their effects are profoundly acute and personal, and impact how individuals and communities see themselves and imagine a more durable future.”

Eanes, a visiting assistant professor of Environmental Studies at Bates College, originally comes from western Pennsylvania, but has lived in Idaho, Wisconsin, Indiana and, now, Lewiston.

According to the news release, his research and teaching interests revolve around urban and rural land use planning.

“He is especially interested in the social, cultural, and livelihood connections that people develop with land, and how these can help to form healthy and more equitable communities,” the release states. “He and his students have worked with community partners in Lewiston-Auburn on local research projects, including some related to the future of Auburn’s Ag Zone.”

Before coming to Bates, Eanes earned his doctorate in environmental studies from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and was a postdoctoral researcher in natural resource social science at Purdue University.

The Great Falls Forum is a monthly speaker series featuring statewide and regional leaders in public policy, business, academia and the arts. The programs are free, open to all and no reservations are required. Coffee, tea and bottled water are provided for a donation. Attendees are welcome to bring their lunch. 

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