Comprehensive Plan Update Committee approves wording edits, adds flood sites and schedules public hearing

The Comprehensive Plan Update Committee voted unanimously to approve a package of edits to the town's draft comprehensive plan and to advance steps needed for a public hearing. Committee members eliminated specific year references, removed language referencing "higher density," added identified flood-prone areas to the mitigation list, and authorized staff to make typographical and formatting corrections to the document.

Committee Chair (identified in the transcript as Speaker 2) opened the meeting and said the agenda would include discussion and votes on possible plan changes. Speaker 3 told members he had compiled notes from the joint workshop with the Board of Selectmen capturing areas of consensus, and the committee used those notes as the basis for the revisions.

Members agreed to remove the year "2022" from adoption language so the plan reads that the comprehensive plan update "will be presented to the citizens of Wells for adoption at town meeting," and to remove a separate date reference (2032) from the vision statement so the vision is not tied to a specific year. Speaker 3 explained that the effective date of the plan would be the day voters approve it. The committee approved the revised sentences and the deletion of the dates.

Committee members also approved striking a sentence that included the phrase "higher density," concluding the concept was already addressed elsewhere in the plan and the wording created redundancy. The committee authorized staff to make typographical, graphical and grammatical corrections without separate votes.

On substance, the committee added several items to the flood mitigation list after the Public Works representative identified recurring problem areas, including adding Drake's Island Road and Island Beach. The committee removed a previously proposed "land bridge" concept for wildlife crossing along the Manchur Pike after members said the proposal had repeatedly been removed in prior drafts.

Implementation-status edits were also approved: items previously marked "done" or "proposed" (including community-college/student housing coordination items) were reclassified as "ongoing" so they remain active implementation tasks. The committee moved a short statement that "the town of Wells maintains its right to home rule per state statute" into the plan's "Purpose and use" section.

On the vision statement, members debated whether the language reads as a present mission or a forward-looking vision; the committee voted to keep the current wording but remove dated year references so the statement is not anchored to a single revision year.

The committee discussed public-hearing procedures under state rules, noting that the revised plan must be made available in hard copy and posted for public review at least 30 days before a hearing. Staff reported they could have hard copies available by May 24; the committee voted to schedule a meeting on the 27th to advance the schedule, while asking staff to confirm the month (the transcript includes references both to a 27th earlier in the sequence and to a June 27 reference later in the discussion). Speaker 3 said the committee could hold a joint public hearing with the Board of Selectmen but cautioned that separate subsequent procedures would still be required for putting the plan on a ballot.

Decisions taken at the meeting were procedural and editorial rather than substantive policy shifts: the committee directed staff to incorporate the approved wording changes, renumber and correct formatting, add the flood sites identified by Public Works, and prepare the revised materials for public distribution and hearing. The committee adjourned after setting the next scheduling steps.

Votes at a glance:
- Delete specific year references in adoption and vision language (motion passed; mover: Speaker 2; second: Speaker 3; outcome: approved).
- Remove the phrase "higher density" from plan text (motion passed; mover: Speaker 6; outcome: approved).
- Authorize staff to make typographical, graphical and grammatical corrections (motion passed; mover: Speaker 1; second: Speaker 4; outcome: approved).
- Change selected implementation items to "ongoing" (motion passed; mover: Speaker 1; outcome: approved).
- Add Drake's Island Road to flood-mitigation list (motion passed; mover: Speaker 1; second: Speaker 2; outcome: approved).
- Remove the "land bridge" proposal (motion passed; mover: Speaker 2; outcome: approved).
- Accept vision statement as written with date references removed (motion passed; mover: Speaker 1; second: Speaker 4; outcome: approved).
- Vote to hold a meeting on the 27th to advance public-hearing scheduling; staff to confirm exact hearing date and publication timing (motion passed; mover: Speaker 1; outcome: approved).

What happens next: staff were directed to prepare a revised bound plan and make hard copies available in public viewing locations at least 30 days before the public hearing; the committee expects to confirm the hearing date and coordinate with the Board of Selectmen on whether a joint hearing is appropriate.