The Portland Buy Local campaign works to keep Portland's downtown vibrant.
Supporting Local Businesses
Remember the days when most of your shopping was done at local stores owned by people in the community? Remember when downtown was the center of activity because of the local stores? Remember when running errands meant staying in your own community or area, seeing friends and neighbors and having a chance to “catch-up”? Maybe life is still this way for you. For many people, however, shopping and running errands means frequenting large retail chains, in distant retail centers, in the company of strangers from many different communities. Shopping is not quite so local and neighborly anymore. But this is beginning to change. “Buy local” is the new slogan. People are recognizing the value of local businesses and the contribution they make to communities. As a result, a growing number of communities are adopting policies and strategies to strengthen and rebuild their hometown businesses. If your community would like to do more to support local businesses, there are strategies and resources available.
Ledgewood Court,
Damariscotta, Maine
Building 'Smart': Environmentally Sensitive
Design.
Maine's
natural environment is a proud part of our heritage. It
will also be a proud part of our legacy, if we pay attention.
Growth pressures are increasingly competing with
Maine
's natural environment -
one of the qualities that make
Maine
the special
place we call home. And while most of us recognize that growth
in our communities is inevitable and often desirable, it is up
to us to determine whether growth has an overall positive or
negative effect on our communities and the environment. By
encouraging environmentally sensitive design we can accommodate
growth in our communities and also ensure that
Maine
's natural
environment continues to be an asset for us and future
generations.
From The Great American Neighborhood - A Guide to Livable Design
(Bruce Towl, artist)
Great American Neighborhoods
The
traditional neighborhood - a place where people of all ages
can live, meet their daily needs, and spend their leisure
time, all within walking distance; a place where kids can
walk or bike to school and play with friends in the
neighborhood; a place where people are brought together in
their day-to-day lives, creating a sense of shared
community. Maybe you remember a neighborhood like this. Or
maybe you live in one like it today. But in many places this
kind of neighborhood is hard to find. In an age of low
density suburbs, with local zoning ordinances that often
prohibit this kind of neighborhood from being built, a
"Great American Neighborhood" (GAN) is the exception, and is
most often associated with times past.
Protecting Maine's Working
Farmland
People
relocating to the countryside seek affordable, accessible
land with ample sun and clean air. These are the same
qualities that farmers need to grow good crops. Housing
construction may bring new jobs while building is underway,
but once house lots replace farmland, there is no going
back. The challenge is how to provide for and protect
agricultural land use while also accommodating growth.
Planning for agriculture helps to ensure that farming will
have a place as your community grows.
What Is Sprawl?
Maine's population is on the move - leapfrogging from
traditional cities, towns and villages out to once rural
territory. Rural towns are becoming suburban
communities. Urban areas and downtown centers are
losing their vitality. Farmland, fields and forestland
are turning into residential and commercial developments.
Throughout Maine, land use is spreading out. This
pattern is called sprawl.
Growth Caps: The Cure for Maine's Growing Pains?
Maine's migrating population has increased land consumption
and the demand for housing. Municipal budgets, natural
resources and community character are all under pressure.
In response, many suburbanizing towns have implemented
residential growth caps to inhibit the rate of growth and
reduce the burdens on their communities. However,
without careful planning, growth caps can have unintended
consequences.
The Maximum Solution: Maximum Lot Size and Densities in
Rural Zoning Districts
Throughout Maine communities are trying to preserve rural
character. Under existing, large-lot zoning they are
unlikely to succeed. But through a simple, innovative
zoning technique - maximum lot size along with minimum
densities - towns can take a new and different approach.
Parks and Open Space: Making In-town Living Attractive
Over the last 30 years Maine has seen increasing urban
out-migration and suburbanization. People have been
leaving our cities for homes amidst farms and forests, with
easy access to green space and nature. But with proper
planning, urban dwellers can enjoy parks and open space
right in town.
The Creeping Cost of Sprawl
Do you live in a rural town within a 30 to 40 minute drive
of a job center? Is your population growing? If
you answered yes to these questions, your days as a rural
town are numbered. You are on your way to becoming a
low-density suburb, and may be about to experience the
creeping costs of sprawl.
Planning for Downtown Development IS Smart Growth
Downtown has traditionally been the heart of a community.
A healthy downtown has usually meant a healthy community.
But things have been changing. In recent decades
downtowns have suffered from the proliferation of enclosed
malls, strip malls, big box retail outlets and office parks.
As our downtowns have closed up shop, our sense of community
has been diminished and our communities have lost their
economic vitality. But it doesn't have to be that way.
Planning for downtown development can help.
Sprawl &
Wildlife Habitat
Wildlife and wildlife habitat are part of Maine's way of
life. Maine is know for its natural areas. The
natural environment is part of Maine's heritage.
Increasingly, the pattern of development called sprawl is
threatening this resource.
Accessory
Apartments: An Affordable Housing Strategy
Towns are struggling with ways to provide affordable
housing options without converting farms and forestland,
or creating apartment complexes that might not fit in with
surrounding development. Communities struggle under
the burden of building infrastructure for new
developments. And often, Maine's aging population
wants to stay in their homes, but taxes and maintenance
costs make it difficult. Allowing accessory
apartments can provide a solution to all of these issues.
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