November 23, 2024
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Plum Creek may alter Moosehead area plans

GREENVILLE – Representatives of Plum Creek Timber Co. said Wednesday they are considering relocating one resort and clustering more house lots near Greenville in response to concerns raised about their development plans for the Moosehead Lake region.

Plum Creek is in the process of revising its proposal to develop about 9,000 acres of land around Moosehead.

Those plans include nearly 1,000 house lots, several campgrounds, two resorts and other projects scattered around 426,000 acres the company is seeking to rezone.

During a meeting with Greenville’s Board of Selectmen on Wednesday, two local officials with the Seattle-based timber company said they heard several themes during public scoping sessions held earlier this year.

“We’ve gone back to the drawing board and are taking a fresh look at how to submit basically a new plan,” said Jim Lehner, Plum Creek’s northeast region general manager.

Lehner and Luke Muzzy, senior land asset manager with Plum Creek, said the revisions will not be complete until February or March. But among the changes being considered are:

. Congregating more of the individual house lots closer to Greenville and other developed areas;

. Identifying a more permanent way to ensure that roughly 400,000 acres remains forested in response to citizen concerns about what will happen to the land after a 30-year conservation easement expires;

. Moving the resort planned for Rockwood closer to Greenville and scaling back the size of a resort planned for Lily Bay.

“We have made some compromises to our plan that I think people will see as real compromises on our part,” Muzzy said.

Plum Creek’s proposal has stirred up enormous interest among Moosehead Lake area residents, environmental organizations and recreational sports organizations whose members depend on public access to private lands.

Plum Creek’s offices and the homes of its employees and associates, meanwhile, have been the targets of vandals several times.

Greenville’s board invited the company to address the group after indicating they wanted to hear more of the details of the revision and the development’s potential impact, both positive and negative, on the town and its economy.

Board members also scheduled another public hearing for January 11 to give Greenville residents a chance to air their thoughts and concerns. The board will then draft a list of recommended changes to the plan.

Board member Dan McLaughlin urged Lehner and Muzzy to release to the public as many details of the proposed revisions as possible to avoid more “pushback” from the community.

The Plum Creek officials replied that they have met with dozens of groups already but are anxious to complete the revisions and begin the Land Use Regulation Commission review process, which involves public hearings.

Greenville town manager John Simko as well as board chairwoman Bonnie DuBien said they were pleased with the dialogue and hope it will continue.

“They seem interested in getting input from the town of Greenville,” Simko said.


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