January 5, 2024
Quarterly Newsletters · 6 pages · 2,510 words · all documents · the town's PDF →
Town
Town of of Durham,
Durham, Maine Maine January 5, 2024
Second Edition Quarterly Newsletter
Durham News Draft Land Use Ordinance Amendments 2024 Part 1 - Draft Amendments to the Land Use Ordinance to implement comprehensive plan recommendations for housing diversity and density.
Upcoming Meetings The Comprehensive Plan adopted at the 2019 Town Meeting calls for the Town’s land use
policies to protect Durham’s rural character. It also recommends allowing additional
housing units to be placed on individual lots to address housing needs.
Conservation Commission Meetings Current zoning allows one accessory apartment to be added to any single-family dwelling
January 24th, February 21st & March 20th that can be no larger than half the floor area of the main dwelling unit. Duplexes with two
6:30 pm full-sized dwelling units are allowed, but the lot size must be increased from 2 acres to 2.5
acres.
Historic District Commission Meetings
To meet the increased housing needs of residents and workers, the Comprehensive Plan
January 11th, February 8th & March 14th recommends allowance of up to 3 housing units on individual lots (up from the current limit
6:00 pm of 2) with design controls to help reduce potential impacts on the Town’s rural character.
The proposed amendments will allow a second accessory apartment if both accessory
apartments are designed to fit into the character of the single-family home site.
Planning Board Meetings
February 7th, March 6th & April 3rd In April of 2022, the Maine Legislature passed a law requiring all Maine communities to
6:30 pm move in this direction to address the State’s housing crisis, but with less sensitivity to design
issues. That law requires allowance of up to three, full-sized dwelling units on any lot
Select Board Meetings where single-family homes are permitted and there is an existing residence. The State law
does not address the size or configuration of the required housing units. The proposed Land
January 9th & 23rd/ February 13th Use Ordinance revisions in Part 1 will meet State requirements while going beyond them to
& 27th/ March 12th & 26th follow recommendations of Durham’s Comprehensive Plan.
6:30 pm The Planning Board conducted extensive public outreach on the proposed housing policy
changes, which included public meetings and an online survey. The survey responses were
Primary Election evenly split between those who favor being less restrictive to provide more housing
March 5th, Amvets Post #13 opportunities and those who want the Town to be more restrictive to lessen the impacts of
8 am to 8 pm growth.Municipal Election The Planning Board did not see compelling evidence in the survey results or public meeting input to support moving in any particular policy direction and voted to recommend April 5th, 2024 following the adopted Comprehensive Plan recommendations for accessory apartments and Eureka Community Center to require larger lot sizes when multiple, full-sized dwelling units are built on the same lot.
8 am to 8 pm Part 1 - Housing Diversity & Density Annual Town Meeting
Explanation & Illustration of Planning Board Housing Diversity & Density Proposal April 6th, 2024 Durham Community School Answers to Questions on Housing Diversity & Density Policy 9 am Public Information Meeting - November 15, 2023
Draft Amendments (Continued on page 2)
Second Edition Quarterly Newsletter 1
Town
Town of of Durham,
Durham, Maine Maine January 5, 2024
Draft Land Use Ordinance Amendments 2024 (continued) Nomination Papers
Available at the
Part 2 - Draft Amendments to the Land Use Ordinance to enact standards for Solar Energy Town Office
Systems.
or Online
The Conservation Commission has been working with the Planning Board and Town Planner to draft a
solar ordinance to be voted on during the April 2024 Town Meeting, and if approved, the solar
standards will be included in Durham’s land ordinance. The purpose of this initial draft solar ordinance
is to provide standards for solar project applicants. The Conservation Commission will be looking into Nomination
making future updates to the solar ordinance to address suitability of location of solar projects in papers are for
respect to habitat and high value agricultural lands. the following:
The process of development of the draft ordinance involved an approximately six-month research
phase during which time the Conservation Commission and Town Planner reviewed other solar • Select Board Member
ordinances from towns in Maine and Virginia, as well as available guidance and solar best practices (One 3-Year Term)
from the Maine Audubon. The Conservation Commission hosted a town information meeting on
• RSU5 School Board
December 7th, 2023, to solicit feedback from town residents on the draft solar ordinance.
Member (One 3-Year Term)
During the December 20th Conservation Commission meeting, the Commission and Town Planner • Budget Committee
discussed the town resident comments and based on these comments, made the following updates to Member (Three 3-Year
the draft ordinance: rooftop solar projects are exempt from the standards, and the medium scale solar
project size range was updated to 8,000-20,000 square feet. Terms)
Part 2 - Solar Energy Systems Signed nomination papers
Summary of Comments Taken at Public Information Meeting on Draft Amendments with a minimum of 25
signatures are due February
Public Information Meeting - December 7, 2023 5, 2024.
Draft Amendments
e 2024 Municipal Election will be
held at:
PART 3 – DRAFT AMENDMENTS TO THE LAND USE ORDINANCE TO CODIFY
CERTAIN FEES FOR INCLUSION IN THE FEE SCHEDULE
Eureka Community Center
In 2022, voters approved moving specific fees from the text of the Land Use Ordinance to a fee 606 Hallowell Road
schedule that can be updated by the Select Board on a regular basis and kept current with service costs. Friday, April 5, 2024
The Land Use Ordinance does not refer to required fees in all articles, and the Town Attorney has 8 am to 8 pm
advised that all fees on the fee schedule should be referenced in the Land Use Ordinance. For all fees
authorized by the Land Use Ordinance at Town Meeting, the Select Board will have the authority to set
the fee amounts with the fee schedule. Nomination Papers (click here)
Part 3 - Codification of New Permit Fees
Draft Amendments
Afternoon Chat With the Town Manager Dog Registration Deadline
Question & Answer The registration deadline for the
2024 Calendar Year is
Session with Jerry January 31, 2024.
A $25 late fee per
On the last Wednesday of every month from 2 to 3 pm the Town dog will be added
Manager invites you to join him for an hour of conversation. This is after this date. Please
a good opportunity for you to share your thoughts and ideas, or to remember a current
ask questions about any concerns you may have. To sign up please proof of rabies
reach out to the Town Clerk if you are interested in discussing a vaccination is
topic. The next opportunity will be January 31st. required.
Email Town Clerk or Online Registration
call: 207-353-2561 ext. 111
Second Edition Quarterly Newsletter 2
ThTown
Town of of Durham,
Durham, Maine Maine January 5, 2024
Staff Highlight
Wood Shelf
Je y Jar Cabinet
Ron Dubé Public Works Foreman
When did you begin working for the Public Works Department: April 21, 2014 Pouting Sto Favorite thing about your job: I like working with the ol public, helping the residents with their needs.
What do you like to do when you are not working at the Public Works? I love woodworking and enjoy spending Winter Sand Pile time with my grandchildren. I’ve been happily married for 41 years to my wonderful wife, Grace Patricia. And every year, my wife and I vacation in the Caribbean to celebrate her 15 Years of being Cancer Free.
Fun Fact: I have been sober for seven years and I continue to sponsor people in recovery.
Sand is available to all residents. Two (2) 5- gallon pails per storm, per resident. Please remember to bring a shovel. The sand pile Joseph Greely Grace and Beckett is located at 1101 Hallowell Road.
Second Edition Quarterly Newsletter 3 ll
Town
Town of of Durham,
Durham, Maine Maine January 5, 2024
As the new year begins, we would like to take a moment to thank our members for their hard work this last year and our community for their continued support. We ran a record number of calls in 2023 and we expect to surpass that in 2024! As always, if you
need us, we'll be here!
Congratulations Ken Scribner On Your Retirement! Ken Scribner has of cially retired from the Durham Fire Department. He has held almost all positions and ranks over the years. This would include deputy re chief, and senior engineer. He leaves us with decades of dedicated service. We wish him well in retirement. Ken remains an active member of the re department corporation.
Sudoku
The rules for sudoku are simple. A 9×9 square must be
lled in with numbers from 1-9 with no repeated numbers
in each line, horizontally or vertically.
Congratulations Roxie Dobson On
Your Retirement!
6 5 4 2 Pictured here is Roxie Dobson in command of all
her re ghters. Roxie has recently retired from
3 2 6 Durham Fire, with countless years of dedicated
service. We wish her well in her retirement!
9 7 4 5
2 5 3 Durham Fire & Rescue is
always looking for more
9 1 5 members to join our ranks of
re ghters, EMTs, engineers,
3 2 8 and support members. No
experience necessary; we will
9 4 2 5 train you! Reach out to us by
5 9 8 phone or email; we need you!6 4 7 3 Phone: 207-353-2473 Email: chief@durhammaine.gov Answer on page 5
Second Edition Quarterly Newsletter 4 fi fi fi fi fi fi fi
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Town
Town of of Durham,
Durham, Maine Maine January 5, 2024
From the Codes O cer PERMIT REQUIRED IF YOU DO ANY OF THE FOLLOWING:
• Building new structures over 200 square feet.
• New plumbing work.
• Added plumbing xtures, or work on water shutoffs or any drain portion past the trap line.
• All electrical work.
• Driveway, entrance, or approach within the limits of the Right-of-Way for any Town of Durham public road or private road requires a permit issued by the Town of Durham from the Durham ROAD COMMISSIONER.
• All work related to a septic system other than periodic pumping of the tank or cleaning of the tank lters. Union Church Committee Members Present Report to t he Select Board No permit required:
The Union Church Committee presented their • Painting, papering, tiling, carpeting, cabinets,
report to the Select Board on December 12, countertops, and similar nish work.
2023. Thank you to all the committee members
for a job well done! To view the report, click • Replacement windows, not requiring reframing.
the link below: • The replacement of plumbing xtures and faucets.
Union Church Committee Report • One-story detached accessory structures that are used
as tool and storage sheds, playhouses and similar uses,
provided the oor area does not exceed 200 square
Want to make a di erence in your local feet.
government . . .
• Fences not over six feet high.
Our town boards
• Retaining walls that are not over 4 feet in height
and committees
measured from the bottom of the footing to the top of
meet often to make
recommendations the wall.
for our community. The • Swings and other playground equipment.
Town Calendar lists the dates and times for each
meeting and they are open to the public. If • Decks that do not exceed 200 square feet in area, that
interested in becoming a member, please ll out are not more than 30 inches above grade at any point
an appointment within 36 inches of the deck, are not attached to the
3 9 7 4 5 1 2 6 8
application today! dwelling and do not serve as the exit door to the
6 1 5 8 7 2 4 3 9
structure as de ned in Section R507 of the IRC Codes.
8 4 2 6 9 3 1 5 7
Town Calendar • Replacing asphalt, metal roo ng, or like roo ng repair.
9 8 1 2 4 6 3 5 7
Appointment 2 5 6 3 1 7 8 4 9
• Replacing vinyl siding, clapboards, or other like siding.
Application 4 7 3 9 8 5 6 1 2
5 3 4 7 6 8 1 9 2
For more information, visit the Code Enforcement
1 6 8 5 2 9 7 4 3
7 2 9 1 3 4 5 8 6 Of cer Page.
Sudoku Answer KeySecond Edition Quarterly Newsletter 5
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Town
Town of of Durham,
Durham, Maine Maine January 5, 2024
History of Durham Did you know . . . Durham had many one-room school houses back in the day. In fact, they had over 13. This does not include Shiloh's ve private school houses. Bliss, Brickyard, Cedar Pond, Crossman Corner, Methodist Corner, Osgood, Parker, Plummer Mill, Rice, River, Soper, South Durham, and South West Bend, were the names of the schoolhouses located throughout Durham. They would house children from grades 1 through 8. Most of the schools only had 1 teacher to teach all grades that attended. Prior to there being any Methodist Corner Schoolhouse school houses in Durham, children were taught at the Bagley House, now known as the Bagley Bliss Inn.
In the fall of 1849, Charles C. Cobb opened Durham's rst High School, ”Little Red Schoolhouse" also known as the River School House. It was the only building available Little Red Schoolhouse at the time, and was severely dilapidated. The students didn't let the conditions stray them from their dedication to education. They were taught higher mathematics, Greek, and Latin to prepare them for College. In August of 1903, the 54th anniversary of the rst graduating class was held at the Friends Meeting House.
Education in Durham has come a long way. Back in 1937, the Town was educating 184 elementary students in eight of the still standing one-room school houses. Students would travel to school either on foot, horse-drawn wagons, and even milk trucks. The average teacher was paid $14 a week or $462 per year. Parker Schoolhouse
In the early 1960's, Durham residents found themselves touring the newest and proudest addition to their school system, a four-classroom complex (no-longer standing). The new facility was a far cry from the old one-room school houses that the town had closed and abandoned over the years. Many residents of the town remember attending these old school houses. Today, several of the old Durham Community School
buildings have become private residents. The South West Bend, West Durham Elementary School Methodist and Cedar Pond Schools
are some of the old school houses that have been converted into homes. Today, students attend the much larger, Durham Community School, which opened in August 2010.
Photos courtesy of the Durham Historical Society
Second Edition Quarterly Newsletter 6
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Source: tod_second_edition_quarterly_newsletter_-_winter_2024.pdf on durhammaine.gov. Text extracted with pdftotext; no wording has been corrected.