LEWISTON — City councilors will suggest changes to the Legacy Lewiston Comprehensive Plan in writing, leading up to a May hearing on the document.
“We have a little more work to do on this document before we are ready for a public hearing,” City Administrator Ed Barrett said.
Councilors reviewed a list of 50 suggested changes to the plan made by the Lewiston Planning Board over the course of the past year.
The plan itself is a result of the 2013 Planapalooza, a series of community events that brought residents together to discuss their vision for the future of Lewiston.
State law requires cities to draw up long-term plans to help shape zoning and development decisions and Lewiston’s plan is out of date. Councilors decided in 2012 to create a more magazine-like report, featuring graphics, photographs and informational breakouts throughout the document.
The plan is broken into two sections, “Today” and “Tomorrow.”
The first details the city’s history and current conditions: populations, streets, buildings and public infrastructure.
The second talks about visions for where Lewiston could go and recommends policy to get there.
The Planning Board began its review of the proposed Legacy Lewiston plan last year and wrapped up its work in February. The group has made a range of edits to the plan, mostly grammatical and cosmetic changes.
The latest draft of the plan, with the Planning Board’s edits, is available for download at the city’s website, www.lewistonmaine.gov/comprehensiveplan. A summary of Planning Board changes is also available on the website.
City Councilor Mike Lachance said he appreciated the Planning Board’s work, which included adding some language that had been left out of the original. For example, the Planning Board added a paragraph about Lewiston residents in their 50s and 60s, “Accomplished Boomers.” That description did not exist in the original.
“One of the concerns I had early on — and I think the Planning Board has addressed it as well as they could — is to make sure this appeals to every segment of Lewiston,” Lachance said. “We don’t want to kick anyone to the curb. And I think the original language kind of leaned in that direction in several different ways.”
Barrett suggested that councilors send staff a list of concerns they want to discuss.
“And then at the end of the public hearing, here is a list of items we’d like the council to review, rather than go through the very detailed work the Planning Board did,” Barrett said. “They looked at every single work in this document twice. At least twice.”
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