CARIBOU, Maine — If mining at Bald Mountain becomes a reality, communities such as Portage Lake, Ashland and others may need planning services, which are available from the Northern Maine Development Commission (NMDC).Jay Kamm is a senior planner at NMDC. He said the commission can help with developing land use ordinances, review procedures and even hold training workshops for planning boards and boards of appeals.
“For many years we have provided land use planning technical assistance to towns and that includes everything to the development of ordinances, subdivision ordinances, site review, solid waste or transportation planning and more,” said Kamm.
Most of the services are contracted for a fee, but Kamm said it doesn’t cost anything to contact him, or anyone else in the planning department, to go over what is available. He said it is not uncommon for an NMDC staff person to go talk to planning boards, selectmen or town councils to discuss what can be done to meet a community’s planning needs. He added NMDC also has model ordinances which can be provided free of charge.
“It just requires someone to pick up the phone and call,” he said.
Kamm said a community may not need a complete comprehensive plan, but changes, like the potential for hundreds of mining jobs, more trucks on the road and other issues, which may not be known yet, most likely will require additional planning.
“Part of our work at the NMDC Planning Division is to look at proposed development and come to an understanding of how the activities will impact communities and the region as a whole,” said NMDC Director of Regional Planning Mike Eisensmith. “The fundamental challenge is to facilitate sustainable development while preserving and enhancing our quality of life here in northern Maine. Balancing the real and positive aspects of new jobs and regional economic growth with responsible utilization of our natural resources is a discussion we can help communities with.”
“I like to think that before economic development professionals go in a planner has been around for a year or more laying the groundwork,” said Kamm. “It is developing plans for the future — what does a town need, where does it want to go and help them develop the blueprint.”
For more information on planning services provided by NMDC, call 498-8736 or contact Kamm by e-mail at jkamm@nmdc.org.
