Residents’ input needed in South Portland

On Thursday, Nov. 17, the South Portland Comprehensive Plan Committee will be holding their second Community Forum to discuss future land use and possible zoning changes in a number of areas in South Portland. The forum will be at the South Portland Community Center starting at 6 p.m.

The discussion will focus on the following areas, among others: Knightville/Mill Creek; East End Waterfront; Broadway/Cottage Corridors; Main Street Corridor; Established single-family neighborhoods; and the Maine Mall Area.

All members of the public are invited and encouraged to attend. The committee needs your input. Light dinner fare and entertainment will be provided.

If you have questions or comments prior to the forum, please contact Tex Haeuser, director of Planning and Development, chaeuser@southportland.org.

Hope to see you there!

Lisa Kubiak

South Portland ?Comprehensive Plan ?Committee member

Help shape city’s future

Next week, on Nov. 17, the residents and businesses of South Portland will have an important opportunity to help shape the city’s future. The Community Land Use Forum will be held in South Portland’s Community Center (6-9 p.m.) to collect and explore public input for the city’s new comprehensive plan.

The comprehensive plan will guide the city’s development for the next 15 to 20 years, presenting a vision of what the community wants and helping to define the steps needed to achieve that vision. How should South Portland balance the needs of automobile drivers with those of pedestrians and bicyclists? What implications does projected growth have for our public facilities, including schools? What zoning changes are needed to promote and facilitate preferred patterns of growth and development? These are but a few of the questions the city must grapple with in drafting the comprehensive plan.

South Portland has been transforming itself into a livable destination city. Mill Creek Park used to be the city dump. The now beautiful Bug Light Park used to be the site of a byproduct processing plant that compelled people across the city to keep their windows closed. Committed individuals have banded together repeatedly to imagine the future and make a difference here.

Now it’s your turn. If you live or work in South Portland, come to the Community Land Use Forum on Nov. 17. The Comprehensive Plan Committee is considering future land use issues and opportunities across all areas of the city, and it is critical that your voice is heard.

More information is available at www.southportland.org.

Dawn Roberts

South Portland