SWEDEN — The Town of Sweden Planning Board is making recommendations to update the town’s Zoning and Land Use Ordinance and Subdivision Regulations.

The public can learn all about these proposed changes at the upcoming hearing that the Sweden Planning Board will be holding on Tuesday, Feb. 6, at 6 p.m. at the Sweden Town Meeting House (located at 147 Bridgton Road in Sweden).

The Planning Board plans to follow up the public hearing with a request to town officials to hold a special town meeting in March to vote on the updated Zoning Ordinance. As for the Subdivision Regulations, revisions are approved directly by the Planning Board so do not require a vote by the town.

Sweden Planning Board Chair Bill Graham recently explained why the board worked to update the regulations: “The last set of updates to the town’s Zoning Ordinance and Subdivision Regulations were completed in 2009, nearly 15 years ago. In the intervening years, changes have been made to state law and we need our local regulations to reflect that. Additionally, new types of land use have arisen, such as ‘tiny homes’ and the growing use of commercial storage containers on residential properties. Finally, the Planning Board wanted to clarify the intent of some parts of the regulations that had caused confusion in the past.”

Asked how the Planning Board approached the update process, Chair Graham stated, “This board is by-the-book and each member takes their job seriously. We took our time to do this right. The Board held literally dozens of public workshops over the past few years to discuss different areas of the regulations and consulted with subject matter experts to seek advice on what changes to make. It was critical that our recommendations were not only legally sound, but that they also aligned with the vision that the townspeople of Sweden outlined in the town’s Comprehensive Plan.”

At the upcoming hearing on Feb. 6, attendees can expect to hear about proposed updates on topics such as shoreland zoning, timber harvesting, and permitting for tiny houses, storage containers, and docks. The public is welcome to attend the hearing and ask questions.

To preview the proposed changes, the public can see and download the Zoning Ordinance and Subdivision Regulations documents (clean and redline copies) on the Sweden town website at www.swedenmaine.org.

Paper copies of both documents are also available at the Sweden town office; note that the office has limited public hours which are currently Tuesdays from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.; Thursdays from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.; and Saturdays (first four each month) from 9 a.m. to noon.

Written comments and questions can be sent ahead of the public hearing via e-mail to pbsecretary@swedenmaine.orgor by sending a letter by mail to: Planning Board Chair, Town of Sweden, 147 Bridgton Rd., Sweden, ME 04040.