Camden panel backs commercial use of tannery site

CAMDEN – A town committee investigating uses of the former Apollo tannery property is recommending a commercial use of the land while retaining public access to the waterfront portion.

The town seized the 3.5-acre property in early 2003 when its owner failed to pay property taxes. The property, along the Megunticook River, has hosted industrial uses since the 19th century.

The Select Board appointed the committee in late summer to investigate uses of the property. The town paid a contractor to remove the three-story tannery and several outbuildings. That work was completed during the late summer.

Soils on the property remain contaminated from years of industrial activities, but state regulators have said extensive remediation can be avoided if limited excavation is planned.

In its report, delivered to the town office on Friday, the committee recommends the town complete the environmental cleanup with a “brownfield” grant, available through the Department of Environmental Protection, or with town funding, “weighing the relative economic considerations and development opportunities.”

The committee also agreed that “commercial use of the property is in keeping with the history of the site. Clean, nonpolluting industry or manufacturing with good paying jobs would be of benefit to the town.”

The committee wants uses that “emphasize and encourage entrepreneurship and the creative economy,” the report states. In addition, using “environmentally conscious” or possibly water power from the nearby river is also encouraged.

A mixed use was favored by the group, as was keeping the present zoning on the site.

The committee also recommended that a public access “riverwalk” be built.

“The town deserves to have access along the river for public use as a positive outcome, after having paid to demolish the buildings,” the report states.