WINSLOW — The Town Council this week tabled an effort to rezone land along China Road after earlier hearing concerns from residents that any change could end up harming the water quality of nearby Pattee Pond.
The council voted unanimously Monday to keep land on the south side of China Road, just east of Pattee Pond Road, zoned as a conservation area and not change it to a rural designation.
But the council opted to alter the language for the kind of development that’s allowed in a conservation zone, a move that gives permission for a proposed commercial development to move forward.
Town regulations previously said one storefront per parcel of land was allowed in the conservation district. But now multiple storefronts may be built.
The change means developers can move forward with a multi-storefront facility housing a roofing company as well as a couple units for warehousing or office space.
“That allows all of those properties to stay in the conservation district, which still afford all of the extra protections that go with that district, which means there’s a higher standard for providing mitigation, for proving that you’ve met all of the requirements of the DEP, phosphorus emissions, things like that, that don’t exist as stringently in the rural zone,” Town Manager Erica LaCroix said Monday.
The town’s initial plan to rezone the conservation land had some Pattee Pond residents worried about runoff from commercial developments damaging the pond’s water.
“If the property has gravel around the buildings instead of pavement, it’s going to lead to a lot of runoff,” Pattee Pond resident Bradford Whitaker said at a public hearing in June. “It could have a lot of phosphorus from the dirt … there’s a steep grade from the property down to Bellows Stream, you could carry a lot of sediment, and sediment is what causes the pond to have algae blooms.”
Town officials said the Maine Department of Environmental Protection reviewed the plans for the multi-storefront facility and signed off on the project. LaCroix said it will not involve any deep excavation that would worsen any runoff.
Another concern of residents was the precedent the town might be setting in rezoning conservation land, which they said could lead to future developments encroaching into the Pattee Pond watershed.
“I know that there’s a concern that this is a slippery slope, that once we start we will continue on down the path of continuing to delve further into the conservation district. That would not be consistent with the comprehensive plan,” LaCroix said. “The comprehensive plan is still very strong on maintaining the conservation area as conservation, with the stipulation that China Road can be developed.”
The town, LaCroix said, is updating a comprehensive plan that will map out the future of commercial development in town, and that China Road is one of a few designated “growth zones.”
She has described China Road as “a major corridor through town.”
Editor’s note: This story was updated Thursday, July 13, to reflect that the Winslow Town Council tabled a proposal to rezone land along China Road. An earlier version of this story incorrectly reported that the council voted down the rezoning effort.
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