All was calm on a recent winter's day at the Blaisdell Farm on Southside Road, as seen in this photograph by Tom Blaisdell. Area residents who want to see such family farms survive in the face of modern restrictions and zoning changes are saying they won't stand by quietly anymore and watch the town's rural character disappear, however. A group of about 30 residents met at an informal gathering on Jan. 10 to discuss how neighbors and strangers can work together to achieve shared goals for the town's future.
Courtesy photo
YORK - Imagine a future version of York where there are no family farms, no small commercial businesses and an absence of diverse neighborhoods where homes and yards do not look the same.
Several local residents are afraid that is exactly what the future will hold if neighbors do not pay close attention to what is happening in town and work together to protect what remains of York's rural character.
Kenny Churchill, a local resident and owner of Lightning C Ranch on Bog Road, decided to organize a citizen's meeting after speaking to fellow commercial farmers, small business owners and others who share his sense that the town's laws are working in favor of large-scale developers and not local residents.
About 30 people attended the meeting at Mainiax Café on Jan. 10 to discuss how zoning and other town decisions are impacting them, and what could be done to protect York's history of farming, small local businesses and rural areas.
Churchill said the impact is not only on farmers who are limited in how they can use their land but on small business, many of which could face violations for having "Open" flags outside their establishments, and even homeowners who are not allowed to add porches to their residences as setbacks increase.
He questioned why local residents such as his family must jump through hoops to build something as small as a tack room on their property while large-scale retail establishments and banks are able to build on parcels that many residents argued were too wet to sustain a municipal complex just a few years ago.
"You had outsiders come in and completely fill those in and do whatever they wanted," Churchill said prior to the meeting. "We get absolutely nothing except more setbacks, worse ordinances ... but yet somebody from the outside has a loophole or an excuse."
Churchill explained, for example, that he and his family have been working to clean up their Bog Road property, where many people dumped garbage of all imaginable kinds when the town's dump closed years ago, but could not hold a rodeo on their property because such a use was determined not to be in keeping with a farm.
"One of the hardest jobs in life is to manage a farm. Farms are disappearing a dime a dozen and condos are going up. Those are the people you want to help unless you want a hundred houses there," Churchill said, expanding on a statement he made previously about York: "You want to stay quaint? Get rid of these big companies and banks. Let these people put up little businesses at their farms or their homes."
Churchill said he has had his share of struggles with state and local zoning, and questioned how large-scale establishments can find a way to build in areas with known wetlands while private property owners and farmers must struggle to continue doing what they have done for decades or even centuries.
Both Churchill and Tom Blaisdell, whose family has owned the Blaisdell Farm on Southside Road for more than 200 years, for example, have farms located in the Limited Residential Zone.
"Limited Residential. What does that mean? Limited to nothing," Churchill said.
Blaisdell said that even relatively small zoning changes to allow accessory uses, such as a maple sugar house or year-round farm store, could make a big difference for local farm families attempting to keep working their land as has been the practice for generations.
For example, stables are not allowed on the Blaisdell property, and the interpretation of the ordinances has prevented outdoor recreational activities at both Lightning C Ranch and the Blaisdell Farm. Those types of activities, including an annual corn maze and the start of a barbecue event this past year at Zach's Farm help that longtime farming family generate revenue from their land, and have become favorite events for local residents and visitors alike. Blaisdell said those are positive ways to use the land, explaining that Zach's Farm is in a different zone, which currently allows such uses. As regulations and zoning change, that farm, too, faces its share of struggles.
In some cases, Blaisdell said, the changes might be as simple as clarifying or amending definitions in the zoning to allow uses that will support the efforts of local farmers to keep their land open and undeveloped while not causing a negative impact to the surrounding environment or neighborhoods.
In addition to individual issues with town zoning, many of those in attendance indicated they want to see changes to the way farming practices are addressed and to find ways to both protect the environment while making it possible for York's historic farms and new family farms to exist.
As one resident put it, the time to save York's farms is now, and that can be done while also protecting the town's environment and natural resources if people work together.
Churchill urged his fellow residents to band together and create a citizens group to approach the town's leaders about zoning changes and other issues impacting their way of life.
With taxes climbing just as new laws limit what can be done with property, Churchill and others at the meeting said the time has come to look for balance, come up with innovative ways to generate revenue and approach the town together to get things changed.
Several residents spoke out at the meeting, and while different issues were raised, the vast majority agreed something needs to be done.
As York Harbor resident Jack MacDonald put it, "The squeakiest wheels will get the oil."
MacDonald, who regularly attends Board of Selectmen meetings, commented at the meeting that other residents should do the same and make sure their voices are heard.
Blaisdell said after the meeting that he believes such a group as Churchill is working to form could see positive changes by working together with town officials such as Community Development Director Steve Burns to make the amendments necessary to allow York's farms to survive in modern times.
Many of those who attended signed on to stay in contact and make plans, and Churchill said the next step will be to continue discussions in the future.
