By Dawn De Busk

Staff Writer

CASCO — The elected officials decided to deny a request to send to annual town meeting the removal of the Resource Protection Zone (RPZ) classification in two different areas.

Those areas are: Point Sebago Road/Martha’s Way and a section of Watkins Shore Road near Thomas Pond. 

On Tuesday, the Casco Board of Selectmen drew a line in the sand, and refused to turn the zone change request into a warrant for June’s town meeting.

“We want to protect Casco’s unique nature and preserve it. These properties were put in resource protection and we want to keep them there,” Chairman Robert “Bob” MacDonald said. “We have a couple of options tonight: We can do nothing or we can take a motion and then I’ll vote ‘no.’ ”

Essentially, the board members voted yes because the motion was: Don’t send it to town meeting.

Any zone change must be approved by the citizens of the town.

The first RPZ to be discussed and voted upon was the Point Sebago Road/Martha’s Way area. The argument was that the land did not meet the nine criteria required to be in resource protection. Additionally, the argument was that the voting residents should have a say-so and the board’s job was to send the issue to the voters, according to Michael Skolnick, the attorney for the people who purchased the land.

“The proposed amendment won’t change the area. There are more properties abutting this one that all have existing dwellings. There is only one property without a home. Any proposed dwelling will be outside the 100 foot barrier,” Skolnick said.

“We are not asking you to make the decision to take it out of RP. Put it on warrant. The members of the public will make the decision, the voters of this town,” he said.

Both RPZ requests have had the required public hearings before the Casco Planning Board and the selectmen.

Two weeks ago, the selectmen tabled it. The consensus was more information was needed as well as some advice from legal counsel.

In fact, Tuesday night, prior to the meeting, the board met in executive session with Town Attorney Natalie Burns, with the law firm Jensen Baird Gardner & Henry.

Later, she explained that zone changes are a legislative decision, meaning the selectmen can decide whether or not the zone change will go forward.

“People can ask for rezoning for whatever reason they want to. All rezoning is a legislative issue,” Burns said.

Consultant Mike Morse, who also works for Archipelago, was representing landowner Dan Grotto, regarding the other rezoning matter on Watkins Shore Road.

“We are here to rezone some property that was incorrectly zoned in the past, to place it on the warrant. This doesn’t open the floodgates to remove all Resource Protection Zones from the Town of Casco. This corrects an error,” Morse said.

He addressed verbal concerns that the removal of RPZ would set a precedence.

“There is concern about this opening the doors so there’s a floodgate of RPZ’s to be rezoned. If this should go forward, you may find that others have land that is improperly zoned,” he said.

“There is no clear answer why this happened,” he said, addressing something many people were wondering.

Why was the land designated as RPZ in the first place? 

“What do we base today’s decision on? What an ordinance would state? Any other placement of Resource Protection Zoning on this land would be considered arbitrary and capricious,” Morse said.

Unlike the Point Sebago Road property, there were a resident who knew the history of the Watkins Shores Road area. 

“I was on planning board when it was put in resource protection. It is a big bog on the highland. We did it to protect the lake,” Ray Grant said. 

His son Adam Grant spoke. 

“My family put this in resource protection in the 70’s. Fifty years later, it is at the point to be developed. I think our dream was to preserve this together,” Adam Grant said.

“I own numerous properties on the Crooked River. Maybe, I should come here and get them taken out of resource protection,” he said sarcastically.

Casco resident Misty Murphy spoke.

“This is a fragile piece of land. There is a reason it was put in resource protection years ago. I don’t know why it is not meeting the criteria at this point,” Murphy said. “Let us continue Casco’s tradition of caring for our environment.”

Another audience member commented.

“If this went to town meeting, how would residents of Casco prepare in researching for this? If people come to town meeting, not being involved here, how will they make an informed decision?”

The board voted, 5-0, not to make a warrant article out of the zone change for the Watkins Shore Road parcel.

“This will also not go to town meeting,” Chairman MacDonald said.

During the discussion, Selectman Scott Avery said it was best to not undo what was most likely done to protect the land and the water quality.

“There is a reason the property is on list. There is a reason, whether it was 10 years ago or 20 years ago, that our forefathers put this land in resource protection,” Avery said.