YORK BEACH - What if this seaside village included an indoor water park, year-round music hall, world-class spa, skating arena, pool facility, amusement rides right on the beach and a renovated zoo?

Massachusetts-based developer Oscar Plotkin and acclaimed architect Rick Joy shared just such a vision for the future of York Beach in their "what if" plan, presented to the Planning Board and local residents during two meetings at the end of July.

Both Plotkin and Joy stressed that this plan is simply a proposal of ideas that could work together to make York Beach a year-round destination.

"This is a what-if plan and we have just about everything imaginable in it," Plotkin noted during the first meeting. "There are many considerations that will go into this as we undertake it, the most important of which are the economics. ... We can't build a spa unless the people managing the spa deem that to be a profitable venture... The zoo, thank goodness, is profitable."

The property being considered includes about 200 acres, some of which Plotkin has under option - including the 75-acre York's Wild Kingdom, and some that are in the discussion phase at this time.

Plotkin first came to York three years ago with the idea of building an upscale shopping center on a portion of the York's Wild Kingdom property along Route 1.

"I thought that would be an easy thing to do. ... Everything seemed to make sense," he told residents, local officials and the Planning Board during the July 24 meeting. "What I learned distinctly was that the people of York and the leadership of York had no interest in having a stand-alone, generic shopping center on Route 1."

Plotkin said his concept has grown beyond the original idea.

"When I looked at York I became enamored of the community," he said, explaining this plan is to "take a community that hasn't changed... and recapitalize it; bring it vitality."

Speaking of the approximately 150 acres he has under contract between York Beach and Route 1, and the 50 acres he is discussing with a property owner, Plotkin said, "It's the most important piece of land that remains undeveloped in the town of York. ... We will not do anything that is not in keeping with the hopes and aspirations of this leadership and this community. ... Under no circumstances are we going to do that, and you won't let us anyway."

The conceptual plan, "York Beach, Maine: What if" was presented by Plotkin and Joy with a visual presentation that included Joy's other architectural designs, the current look of York Beach and renderings of a new layout with a Ferris wheel and carousel at Short Sands Beach, a large entertainment venue replacing the current entrance of York's Wild Kingdom, a road connecting Route 1 and York Beach, a swimming pool, ice arena, indoor water park, police station, spa, new hotels, affordable housing options and renovated zoo.

Moving the amusement park rides to the oceanfront would provide "a beautiful iconic image on the beach," Joy said, while the new music venue would be "as poetic and sensitive a mix of old an new as possible" and the zoo would receive "a fresh look that treats the animals with a great deal of dignity."

Other possibilities include a nature center adjacent to the property's wetland areas.

"This is only a ‘what if' plan; it's a start to the process," Joy said at the end of the presentation, and his words were met with resounding applause from many of those attending the July 24 meeting.

However, among those who attended the meetings on both July 24 and 25, the reactions have been mixed.

"Wow. That is a great plan," Dawn Fernald of the Greater York Region Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors said following the Planning Board presentation, adding, "This would create a true renaissance of York Beach. We are very supportive of what we saw tonight."

Former selectman and Planning Board member Torbert Macdonald, Jr., had a different perspective.

"To some degree I'll be the skunk at the lawn party," he said.

Macdonald said that while others may not want to "rain on such an enchanting vision of the new York Beach," the plan as presented would require a major overhaul of zoning that has taken more than two decades to create in an effort to preserve York's character.

"In a sense it's appropriate to anywhere in America," he said of the proposal, but, "in a sense it's completely inappropriate to how Maine has gone forward regulating planning and development."

Macdonald and other residents who attended one or both meetings have pointed to such concerns as drainage and flooding in York Beach and the loss of the area's historic character as a "working-class playground."

Plotkin's plan, Macdonald said, "is not for the average person. This is not for the humble working family."

Community Development Director Steve Burns, meanwhile, applauded the overall vision.

"This is the first time in 20 some-odd years as a community planning official to see something like this presented," he said.

Selectmen Chairman Mike Estes also asked residents and town officials to give the idea a chance.

Planning Board member David Woods questioned outright "what the throw-aways are and what the throw-aways aren't" in terms of the components of the project, stating that as a businessman himself, he knows Plotkin will not build those portions of the plan that are not economically viable.

"We, as Americans, are facing the most difficult economic conditions that we've faced since the Great Depression... This is the worst I've ever seen," Plotkin said, adding, "Nothing is going to happen unless it is profitable and economically viable."

According to Planning Board Vice Chairman Lew Stowe, there will be about 60 or 70 abutters who will receive notice should the plan move forward to formal review, due to size of the property.

Planning Board member Barrie Munro noted that the presentation is not considered a substantive review, which means the applicant has no vested rights by the submittal or review of a sketch or "what if" plan.

When asked about the next step for the plan, Plotkin said he and his team will be gathering more public input and looking in more detail at the economics of the proposal.

The community forum with Plotkin and Joy that followed the Planning Board presentation will be aired on Channel 3 at 7 p.m. on Aug. 12 and 15. Local residents are asked to contact Town Hall, the York Planning Board or the Board of Selectmen with feedback on the proposal in the weeks ahead, and all contact information is available at www.yorkmaine.org.