2008 Woodie Awards
Orono Town council comes to UMaine
Council conducts open dialogue to discuss concerns of students and faculty
Chelsea Cameron
Issue date: 12/3/07 Section: News
The Orono Town Council met with students, faculty and staff in a public meeting Thursday for an open dialogue. Issues included school consolidation, downtown development and alcohol problems in apartments.
The meeting was led by Geoff Gordon, chair of the council. About 10 people from the University of Maine and six town council members attended. The meeting opened with a discussion to add more student housing in Orono. A developer has put forth a proposal, but it would require re-zoning, Gordon said.
It would be similar to the Orchard Trails apartments, but has not gone further than the conceptual point, according to Town Manager Cathy Conlow.
"It's an opportunity to create a style of housing which is safer," Conlow said.
The project would have direct access to Park Street, making it easily accessible to campus.
The council also addressed the recent changes to ordinances about family size.
"The scope of the ordinance change dealt with simply the medium density residential or single family unit," Conlow said. "It wasn't talking about already approved commercial units."
The restrictions are not on all the rental units, as there are several exceptions, the definition of family size has been debated recently.
"This is something that I have been working with, wrestling with, for five years," Gordon said. "I'd like to think within the next year, we'll actually enact something. People with children are not moving into Orono."
Most of the rental properties are being rented to college students, so families are not moving into the area, which is an issue the council wants to address. The Orchard Trails apartment complex was also discussed. It is generating a significant amount of tax revenue, according to Conlow.
Dean Dana brought up the closure of Ushuaia. The council did not feel that it was a safe place for people to go, due to several incidents and one fatality.
"Ultimately, we voted to recommend to the state that the state not give them [Ushuaia] a liquor license," Gordon said. "With the new management of it, I'm hoping that they learned something from that."
The meeting was led by Geoff Gordon, chair of the council. About 10 people from the University of Maine and six town council members attended. The meeting opened with a discussion to add more student housing in Orono. A developer has put forth a proposal, but it would require re-zoning, Gordon said.
It would be similar to the Orchard Trails apartments, but has not gone further than the conceptual point, according to Town Manager Cathy Conlow.
"It's an opportunity to create a style of housing which is safer," Conlow said.
The project would have direct access to Park Street, making it easily accessible to campus.
The council also addressed the recent changes to ordinances about family size.
"The scope of the ordinance change dealt with simply the medium density residential or single family unit," Conlow said. "It wasn't talking about already approved commercial units."
The restrictions are not on all the rental units, as there are several exceptions, the definition of family size has been debated recently.
"This is something that I have been working with, wrestling with, for five years," Gordon said. "I'd like to think within the next year, we'll actually enact something. People with children are not moving into Orono."
Most of the rental properties are being rented to college students, so families are not moving into the area, which is an issue the council wants to address. The Orchard Trails apartment complex was also discussed. It is generating a significant amount of tax revenue, according to Conlow.
Dean Dana brought up the closure of Ushuaia. The council did not feel that it was a safe place for people to go, due to several incidents and one fatality.
"Ultimately, we voted to recommend to the state that the state not give them [Ushuaia] a liquor license," Gordon said. "With the new management of it, I'm hoping that they learned something from that."
Viewing Comments 1 - 2 of 2
sylvia schuler
posted 12/09/07 @ 12:10 PM EST
Schuler said that some landlords allow their tenants to party "because they get along with them," and that a resident that has a problem with it does not want to report it for fear of getting kicked out of the building. (Continued…)
trevor
posted 12/09/07 @ 4:21 PM EST
I like how the orono town council does its best to prevent students from participating in votes that directly affect them.
Imagine orono, or even bangor for that matter with no University of Maine @ orono. (Continued…)
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