NEW GLOUCESTER – Taking advantage of a new drinking-water distribution network being installed throughout the Upper Village of New Gloucester, efforts are under way to re-envision the commercial center of the mostly rural town.
In a three-hour master-planning workshop at the New Gloucester Memorial School gym on Saturday morning, the vast majority of the two dozen participants approved of a draft plan for the Upper Village that would place a new village green and gazebo at the intersection of Peacock Hill Road, Upper Village Street and Route 100, and convert the Public Works property into a business district.
The draft site plan, composed at no cost by New Gloucester-based landscape architect Terrence DeWan, would realign the southern end of Peacock Hill Road, which would veer west onto Route 100 at a right angle. The northern end of Upper Village Street would fork into three roads, with one road heading west into property owned by the Parsons family, another turning east into the McCann Fabrication entrance, and a third running parallel to Route 100 for a few hundred feet, before intersecting the road at a more northern point.
Nineteen workshop participants voted in favor of the DeWan plan, three were undecided, and one voted for a plan developed by the New Gloucester Planning Department and Land Management Planning Committee, which would have placed a stoplight at the current intersection, instead of fundamentally rearranging it.
Town Planner Paul First, who said that DeWan’s draft site plan was preferable, characterized the workshop as a step forward.
“I think one of the challenges is we’ve never gotten down to the brass tacks of coming up with a site plan, so that’s what were doing,” said First. “There has been a lot of talk, there have been planning workshops in the past, but again, we’ve never gotten to the point of having a site plan that we appear to have some agreement on.”
Both plans call for a new parking lot on the southeastern portion of the Parsons property, which was occupied by Natalie Parsons until her death in late July. In an interview, First said he had not recently spoken with the Parsons family about a potential sale of the 4.48-acre property.
At the meeting, Planning Board member Wanda Brissette expressed interest in extending future commercial development deep into the Parsons property, and Steve Chandler, a partner at the land-management company, Chandler Brothers, suggested that the town should be willing to use eminent domain to seize the land, if necessary.
No one from the Parsons family could be reached for comment.
First said that he approaches private property matters from a “willing buyer, willing seller perspective,” and emphasized that the town does not intend to “displace” any currently occupied residences or businesses.
The DeWan proposal would also affect the Link’s Variety and Mario’s Italian Restaurant properties. First said that he met with both property owners prior to the Saturday workshop.
According to First, it’s too early to say whether the DeWan site plan would include a new traffic light on Route 100, which is classified as a “mobility arterial” by the Maine Department of Transportation and carries an average of nearly 10,000 trips per day. The posted speed limit on the road is 40 mph, but vehicles, including many tractor-trailer rigs, frequently attain speeds of 50 to 60 miles as they pass through the intersection, he said.
First said that he has spoken with state transportation officials about the draft site plan, and that they are opposed to a new traffic light.
“They don’t want to see us slowing traffic down,” First said at the workshop. “They’re not a willing partner. I’ll say that upfront.”
It would cost about $1.87 million to move the public works garage, according to preliminary cost estimates. If the town takes on other investments, such as pedestrian improvements and a community septic system, the cost could run much higher.
At a previous Upper Village master planning workshop, participants voted on several “look and feel” images detailing what the intersection may look like in the future. Participants voted 19-1 against a picture of a strip mall, and 20-9 against a rendering reminiscent of the French Quarter in New Orleans. The participants, however, voted 16-10 in favor of a picture of downtown Camden, and 22-7 in favor of “Parkville, Missouri, Main Street, 1934,” a Gale Stockwell painting.
“It implies that they like the small shops,” First said. “They like the rural character. They like the historical aspect. They like the building architecture.”
In July 2014, the New Gloucester Water District will turn on a new, $2.4 million water system for the Upper Village area, which is funded by $1 million in town appropriations, as well as grants from the U.S. Department of Agriculture Rural Development program, the Maine Department of Environmental Protection, and the Cumberland County Community Development Block Grant program.
The ground in the Upper Village area is contaminated with benzene and salt, and property owners in the area use filtration systems as a safeguard.
“The idea is that we’re finally addressing groundwater contamination in the Upper Village,” First said. “The lack of clean groundwater in the Upper Village has served as a disincentive for investment, and we’ve finally addressed this, so now it’s time for us to develop a plan so we get the type of development that is appropriate for our community.”
The next Upper Village Master Planning workshop will be held on Feb. 11 at 6:30 p.m., at the AmVets Lunn Hunnewell Post No. 6 in New Gloucester.
New Gloucester’s Town Planner Paul First, left, and Town Manager Sumner Field III tour the Upper Village where major improvements and changes have recently been discussed. Part of the plan requires relocating the public works garage to allow for the site to be redeveloped.
From left, New Gloucester officials Josh McHenry, Jean Couturier and Wanda Brissette pour over various plans to re-envision the Upper Village of New Gloucester at a public workshop last Saturday.
Paul First, New Gloucester’s town planner, points to a tax map of the Upper Village of New Gloucester during a public planning workshop last Saturday.
Residents were asked to rank in order of preference several visions for redeveloping downtown New Gloucester. Examples ranged from images of Camden, which scored well, to the French Quarter in New Orleans, which didn’t fare too well.
Employees from Gendron & Gendron are already at work laying pipe and making improvements to the water supply infrastructure for the New Gloucester Water District.
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