The town respects this rural areas. (Refer to the Future Land tradition and will seek to Use Plan) limit property rights only for clear and compelling reasons. Harvesting timber has Maintain the aesthetic Establish a buffer zone between town Planning Board affected the aesthetic quality of road corridors roads and timber harvest areas. beauty of several roads. during timber harvesting Short: 1-2 years operations. Current and future That new residential Develop ordinance provisions that Planning Board/ residential development development is served by assess the impacts of new residential on below standard roads public roads suited for such development that will be accessed by Mid/Long: 3-10 years may lead to the town development. below standard public roads. being responsible for improving /maintaining That new residential Require upgrading when it is more roads. subdivisions will not require determined that such roads are not the town to upgrade roads or adequate for the proposed level of use. maintain roads that are not currently maintained by the town. Many people prefer to Allow a range of lot sizes or Explore the concept of Planning Board “Conservation live on larger parcels of densities based on current land use” ordinances. land, in more secluded development patterns and Mid/Long: 3-10 areas of town. the desire to maintain rural Review and amend the subdivision years qualities. regulations to reflect current standards There have been 12 relating to conservation of natural subdivisions developed in resources. Sumner over the past 10 years. Amend the subdivision regulations to consider lots greater than 40 acres as lots for the purpose of subdivision review. There is an expressed Encourage conservation of Implement and Planning Board “Right-to-farm” desire to preserve tracts of forestry and agricultural forest” provisions to protect agricultural and forested resources by using traditional rural uses from nuisance Mid 3-5 years land as a greenbelt for innovative residential suits. farming, natural beauty development planning. and recreational purposes.
The town respects this tradition and will seek to limit property rights only for clear and compelling reasons. rural areas. (Refer to the Future Land Use Plan) Harvesting timber has affected the aesthetic beauty of several roads. Maintain the aesthetic quality of road corridors during timber harvesting operations. Establish a buffer zone between town roads and timber harvest areas. Planning Board Short: 1-2 years Current and future residential development on below standard roads may lead to the town being responsible for improving /maintaining more roads. That new residential development is served by public roads suited for such development. That new residential subdivisions will not require the town to upgrade roads or maintain roads that are not currently maintained by the town. Develop ordinance provisions that assess the impacts of new residential development that will be accessed by below standard public roads. Require upgrading when it is determined that such roads are not adequate for the proposed level of use. Planning Board/ Mid/Long: 3-10 years Many people prefer to live on larger parcels of land, in more secluded areas of town. There have been 12 subdivisions developed in Sumner over the past 10 years. Allow a range of lot sizes or densities based on current development patterns and the desire to maintain rural qualities. Explore the concept of “Conservation land use” ordinances. Review and amend the subdivision regulations to reflect current standards relating to conservation of natural resources. Amend the subdivision regulations to consider lots greater than 40 acres as lots for the purpose of subdivision review. Planning Board Mid/Long: 3-10 years There is an expressed desire to preserve tracts of agricultural and forested land as a greenbelt for farming, natural beauty and recreational purposes. Encourage conservation of forestry and agricultural resources by using innovative residential development planning. Implement “Right-to-farm” and forest” provisions to protect traditional rural uses from nuisance suits. Planning Board Mid 3-5 years
Comprehensive-Plan-Update.docx