LEWISTON — The City Council on Tuesday officially adopted its “Legacy Lewiston” comprehensive plan, ending the nearly four-year process toward the new, user-friendly planning document.
The 257-page plan is designed to represent the city’s development and planning vision for the next 12 years, and has been described by city officials as more accessible to the average person.
Instead of pages of plain text, the plan includes color photos, graphs, maps and concept designs.
Planning Board Chairman Bruce Damon called the new plan a “first-class document.”
“I’m proud of what we’ve produced,” he said Tuesday. “Implementation is going to be a challenge, but I think we’re up to it.”
The council unanimously approved the plan.
Despite the approval, the council made a last-minute edit to the document, removing a paragraph on Page 8 in the introduction that describes the Lewiston community.
Councilor Michael Lachance and others said the paragraph could have been construed as pitting new residents against those born in the city.
A friendly amendment was made to strike the paragraph and approve the document.
City Councilor Jim Lysen thanked the “thousands of residents” for their input during the process.
“It really reflects where Lewiston needs to go,” he said of the plan. “It has taken a while, but sometimes good things take a while.”
The document is the culmination of years of public input and workshops held by the Planning Board, beginning with “Planapalooza” in 2013, which included three formal public meetings with nearly 40 hours of impromptu private meetings at Lisbon Street storefronts.
According to City Planner David Hediger, the level of public interest and feedback surprised many city officials, leading to important questions and the longer time frame toward approval.
The plan also includes up-to-date demographics on the city: statistics on population, race, age, income and other information. The second half of the document lays out goals and concepts for potential developments.
The introduction to the document says the plan “will serve as the foundation for determining effective public policy and making land-use decisions for the future, and will provide an ongoing framework for informed and directed public investment and private development.”
The plan was immediately put to the test Tuesday during discussion of a proposed senior housing project, with councilors highlighting how the document’s various sections can be interpreted.
“The comp plan has many voices,” Councilor Joline Beam said.
Lewiston garners ‘clean’ rating in 2015-16 audit
The city received an unmodified opinion, or “clean,” rating Tuesday during a fiscal year 2015-16 audit presentation from RHR Smith & Co.
RHR Smith representative Greg Chabot told the council, “That’s the kind of opinion you want.”
He also reported that the city has no significant deficiencies or material weaknesses in its internal financial controls.
The fiscal year 2015-16 budget was $111 million, and revenue exceeded estimates by $2.2 million. Expenditures were also $3.1 million under budget, adding to an increased fund balance from the prior year.
The City Council will vote to accept the audit results at its next regular meeting.
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