LITCHFIELD — Residents will get to weigh in on proposed updates to the town’s 2000 Comprehensive Plan that have been under study for about two years.

A public hearing on the updates will be held at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday at the Town Office.

A steering committee, headed by co-chairmen Beth Ashcroft and Patrick Sirois, worked with a number of town committees to revise the document, which serves to guide the future of the town of 3,624 residents.

“It’s not a law of any kind by itself but sort of road map for use in making decisions in the future,” Ashcroft said.

The 120-page draft document looks at the next 10 to 20 years of the town and current trends in a number of areas, and it makes recommendations and suggests strategies.

One recommendation is that the town take a closer look at housing for its older residents. Ashcroft said Litchfield “continues to have a larger and larger component of elderly” and should look at having adequate, quality, affordable, energy-efficient housing.

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The plan also makes recommendations for setting up a road committee that would help prioritize roads that need maintenance and repaving and putting them on some type of regular schedule for work.

Ashcroft thanked Chris Huck, planning director of Kennebec Valley Council of Governments, for his assistance in updating the plan.

Litchfield selectmen will be asked at their regular meeting today to consider recommending “ought to pass” for the Comprehensive Plan updates. Selectmen have been briefed on the plan’s contents, and the state also is reviewing them.

If everything goes as Ashcroft hopes, residents will get to vote on the updated plan’s adoption at the annual Town Meeting, which begins at 10 a.m. June 15 at the Litchfield Sportsmen’s Club.

Ashcroft encouraged people to attend Wednesday’s public hearing or to send comments to the committee via the town’s website, www.litchfieldmaine.org. The comments should be sent before the meeting, she said.

Ashcroft suggested that those without the time to review the entire document concentrate on Chapter 16, which contains the implementation plan.

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Here are some of the 80 recommendations for the town in that chapter:

• provide funding to preserve Litchfield Academy, Old Town House;

• continue to fund eradication of invasive water plants;

• expand the role of recreation committee and director to all recreational facilities and activities in town;

• get 2014 Town Meeting authorization to reassess land values;

• expand transfer station hours; and

• examine the issue of new development and possibly tie road improvements to building permit requirements.

Betty Adams — 621-5631
badams@centralmaine.com


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