Public Hearing: Proposed Land Use Ordinance Changes ~ May 20, 2026

2026-05-20 · Public Hearing · 32:59 · watch on YouTube →

This was the Planning Board's state-required public hearing ahead of the June town meeting on proposed changes to Durham's land use ordinance. The chair took the meeting through the three parts of the package - minor policy changes, administrative changes, and codification - and said the select board had already approved the updates and the article format, so no changes could be made at this hearing. George (?) explained that the planning board's conditional use submission requirements had to be written into the ordinance itself to be enforceable. One resident, Carolyn Mortar (?), spoke, mainly about cluster subdivisions on a large parcel next to land she owns; the chair told her specific subdivisions were outside the scope of this hearing and that the amendment materials were on the town website. Public comment was closed and the hearing ended with no vote taken.

No written minutes could be matched to this meeting. The transcript records that the speaker changed but never who was speaking, so any name attached to a statement below is inferred from context and is marked (?).

What was discussed

1. 6:43
   Opening and scope of the hearing

   The chair opened the May 20, 2026 Planning Board hearing on the land use ordinance package and listed three prior meetings on October 22, November 12 and March 18. He said the hearing met the state notice requirement of no more than 30 days and no fewer than 7 days before town meeting. Because the select board had approved the proposed updates and the format of the articles, no changes could be made at this meeting.

2. 6:43
   Part one: proposed minor policy changes

   The chair read through seven items: back lots and private ways, expansion of non-conforming structures, subdivision road buffers, fire protection water supply, cannabis cultivation facilities, manufactured housing and accessory apartments, and how road frontage is measured on curved and corner lots and on a turnaround. He said the board had met with the fire chief on the water supply item, which drops water storage systems as an option and allows fire ponds, existing water sources or residential sprinklers. No comments were raised on part one.

3. 11:45
   Part two: proposed administrative changes

   Ten items were read, including subdivision road standards, driveway standards adopting MaineDOT sight distance standards, giving the planning board rather than the board of appeals authority to interpret zoning boundaries, a readiness-to-serve letter for solid waste collection in subdivisions, longer submission deadlines with fewer printed copies, delegating non-substantive ordinance text corrections to the select board, proof of payment of taxes with applications, conditional use submission requirements, and tree clearing before final subdivision approval. George (?) said the town attorney advised that the planning board's conditional use submission list is only enforceable if it sits in the ordinance rather than in a separate document the board voted on.

4. 17:18
   Campground reviews and state permitting

   George (?) clarified that the campground change is not something the state is imposing, unlike manufactured housing. It is intended to remove duplication, leaving sanitation, licensing and occupancy monitoring to the state while the planning board looks at zoning, impacts on neighbours and buffers.

5. 17:18
   Part three: codification of the land use ordinance

   The chair described more than 100 editorial and grammatical changes and corrected cross-references, giving the change from "board of selectmen" to "select board" as an example. He said the material is available on the town website and at the town office.

6. 17:18
   Public comment from a resident

   Carolyn Mortar (?) said her questions were about how many units and what size units would be built on a large parcel next to land she owns, referring to what she understood to be 19 units. The chair said the hearing was for the ordinance amendments and not for the specific subdivisions currently before the board.

7. 22:48
   Availability of the amendment documents

   The chair said the full document runs around 300 pages, has been on the town website since January, and that a hard copy can be produced at the per-page copying fee applied to all town documents. Summary sheets from this hearing and from the March hearing were also available.

8. 27:51
   Close of public comment and end of hearing

   Carolyn Mortar (?) finished her remarks about wanting to stay involved in the process. The chair closed the public comment portion, the board had no further questions, and the meeting ended without an adjournment vote.

Worth knowing

• 6:43
  The hearing had to fall no more than 30 days and no fewer than 7 days before the June town meeting. Because the select board had already approved the articles, the chair said no changes could be made at this point.
• 6:43
  Under the back lot change, the required driveway width for a single back lot would drop from 20 feet to 16 feet.
• 22:48
  The chair's answers on the three cluster subdivisions conflict: he first said public comment had been held on two of them with one still to come, then said there were no subdivisions left without public comment.
• 22:48
  The full ordinance document runs around 300 pages. It has been on the town website since January, and a paper copy is only available at the town's per-page copying fee.

Motion language found in the transcript

Located by pattern matching, with no model involved: "I move that", "I'll second", "all those in favour". This is an independent check on the summary above: 1 passage of motion language, against 0 decisions summarised.

Elsewhere

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