State revives Grafton Notch Scenic Byway Committee

A planned revival this week of the Grafton Notch Scenic Byways Committee could serve “as a hook around which to do regional economic development,” according to State Scenic Byway Coordinator Fred Michaud.

The committee, comprised of residents of area towns, is expected to update a 2000 Corridor Management Plan for Route 26 through Newry, Grafton and Upton.

An earlier committee, also made up of local residents and advised by the state, produced that plan.

Background

The 2000 plan noted that even the formation of the original committee, and the decision to go ahead with the plan, was at first the subject of debate among its members. But in the end most felt that planning “for the inevitable growth of traffic along the corridor was worthwhile.”

They then set out a vision to preserve the natural beauty of the byway, while supporting all types of users and travel. The vision called for supporting traditional livelihoods, respecting property rights and discouraging “inappropriate” tourism.

The vision also drew on the Newry Comprehensive Plan, which included references to preserving scenic vistas and encouraging tourism-related business.

The committee compiled specific recommendations: establish a Corridor Management Entity; extend the length of the byway (to reach from Route 2 to the state line); press for road and safety improvements; establish gateways near both ends; make essential improvements to Grafton Notch State Park; provide interpretive signs at special sites; assist landowners; and seek modest improvements to Newry’s and Upton’s ordinances to support scenic preservation by providing adequate buffers and setbacks from construction.

Current status

Efforts to implement the plan have had mixed results.

With funding provided as part of the plan project, improvements including new signage were made at the park. Local town officials said recently they were not aware of signage placed elsewhere as a result of the committee work.

In addition to signs at the park, funding was also provided to replace guardrails at Mother Walker Falls with granite posts and wooden rails, and expand a parking lot near the Appalachian Trail, according to Brooks Morton, a member of the 2000 committee.

“The committee at the time wanted all of the improvements done in the park, as it would not infringe on private landowners,” he said Monday.

Where the byway begins and ends is still the subject of discussion. Its original designation, in 1974, had the stretch beginning about five miles north of Route 2 and reaching about a mile north of the Grafton/Upton line. The plan called for submitting an application to the state to extend it, but Michaud said last week that apparently did not happen.

Regarding corridor management, the original committee continued to function for a time as a CME, according to Morton, but did not meet on a regular basis. It became dormant in 2003, he said, after the committee turned down a proposal to use grant funds to buy what was known as “the Eddy property” for access to the Bear River and a trail.

The rejection, said Morton, stemmed from concerns that Newry could be burdened with maintenance of a parking lot and toilet facility; the site was located in a floodplain; and the grant had been applied for without the knowledge of all committee members.

As for ordinance changes referenced in the plan, Morton, who is now the chairman of the Newry Planning Board, said changes have been made.

But they included extending the General Development District, which allows commercial development, into areas along Route 26 that had earlier been designated Rural Development, with large blocks of forest and land.

He said, however, that the Uniform Development Review Ordinance (which guides subdivision and large commercial development) restrictions on buffers would likely be adequate if planners interpret them with the byway in mind.

The UDRO does not govern individual residential lots.

Morton also noted that in 2009 the board had proposed hillside development standards, along with buffering for scenic preservation, but the section addressing scenic preservation was rejected by town voters.

The Byways plan also called for working with landowners to encourage more to enroll in the state’s Tree Growth program, and crafting agreements with willing, large landowners to retain scenic quality.

Morton said as far as he knows, “landowners who have put lands in conservation easements have done so without any influence from the CME.”

Next steps

The revival of the Byways committee was put in motion in 2008 at the suggestion of Michaud’s predecessor, Bob LaRoche, according to Dina Jackson of AVCOG, who will facilitate the upcoming meetings.

In 2011 AVCOG received $40,000 in federal grant funding to revive the Route 26 committee, as well as a similar one for Route 27, she said. The update work has a June deadline.

According to Michaud, the purpose is not to just make byways “pretty places, and places to put up signs, and those types of things,” but rather “to create organizational structures that complement the tourist-development effort in Maine’s non-coastal areas particularly,” by collaborating with various groups who may have an interest.

“We’re one of the few programs where money comes to the table to organize people to have them collectively think of their own selves and their own vision, and what they want to do,” he said. “Nobody else has that kind of funding to be able to create that, and then create a process to go forward, whether it’s signs, or marketing, or whatever you want to make that.”

Michaud said Byways can be used as “a point of focus for a much larger conversation” about regional economic development and tourism. Promoting the Route 26 byway, he said, “could entice people to come to the region and discover the whole region.”

Jackson said that among its activities the new committee will likely review the existing plan, establish new goals, create a capital investment and sustainability plan, and determine a marketing strategy.

Local concerns

At a discussion with Newry selectmen at their regular meeting last week, Morton, noting his experience on the earlier byways committee, expressed concern about the power of local residents to affect new decisions related to the byway.

“What it boils down to,” he said, “is ‘will people in Newry have any say?’”

Regarding the role of local residents, Jackson said Friday the committee work and use of funds “will go as far as the committee wants to take it. I’m not here to force anyone to do anything. We’ll have to figure out how to make it work for everyone.”

The first committee meeting is Friday, Feb. 3 at the Newry Town Office, from 10 a.m. to noon. It is open to the public. Michaud is expected to attend.

The new committee members are Morton, David Stearns, Deborah Judkins, Kate Williams, Audrey Brooke, Owen Wight, Doug Webster, Dennis Doyon, Loretta Powers, Michele Bouchard, Robert Pepler, Charlotte Dominique, Robin Zinchuk, Scott Cole and Sylvia Gray.