'Enough is enough': Why Wells wants a moratorium to curb large housing projects

WELLS, Maine — Members of the Wells Select Board voted unanimously on March 19 to have the town attorney draft a retroactive moratorium that would halt large-scale residential developments in the community for 180 days.

The board’s collective “aye” was louder than usual in this case due to an unusual reason: members of the public in the audience also chimed in with supportive and enthusiastic “ayes” of their own.

Perhaps resident Dan Brassard summed up that little bit of public participation when earlier he spoke against the rise of large-scale housing developments that have been popping up in Wells for years now and have been impacting people’s sense of their hometown as a small, rural community.

“Enough is enough,” Brassard said.

Later, after more public comments, each Select Board member shared their agreement that the town needs to hit the pause button, examine its zoning and land use ordinances, and fine-tune its management of growth.

“We need to put a halt to what’s going on, and we need to take a good, solid look at our ordinances,” Select Board member Robert Foley said. “We need a moratorium to do that.”

In addition to directing the town attorney to draft a moratorium, the Select Board also scheduled a public hearing on the matter for Tuesday, April 16, at the Wells Town Hall at 6 p.m.

Ultimately, voters would need to approve a moratorium during a town meeting. Voters are not likely to find the proposal on their ballots during the annual town meeting in June, as the board said time would be needed to craft the moratorium and get it right. A special town meeting on the issue could happen later, according to the board.

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Why does Wells want to halt new development?

At the meeting on Tuesday, several members of the public expressed their concerns about the impact of so many new large-scale neighborhoods on the town’s services, schools, traffic, environment, infrastructure, health care, and overall quality of life.

“We’ve gone through unprecedented growth,” resident James Savage said. “I think it’s time we take stock of where we are as a community.”

Wells' population in 2010 was 9,589 and in 2022 it was 11,731, according to the US Census Bureau, just over 18 percent growth in that time period.

Another resident, Rhonda Cole, a former nurse, noted the stressed local health care system, with its shortages of physicians and specialists and its long wait periods for patients who seek doctor appointments.

“You’re going to bring in hundreds and hundreds of people who are not going to be able to get the medical care that they need,” Cole said.

Cole also commented on her belief that liquor licenses and the use of alcohol and drugs are on the rise in the community.

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Resident Betsy Anderson, who moved to Wells from Oregon 21 years ago, said she was concerned about the impact of development on the local air quality and noise levels. She said she lives on the “ocean side” of Route 1 and recently started hearing the traffic from Route 95 as a result of “all the trees coming down.”

“This is affecting everybody,” she said. “I really feel like we need to prioritize the quality of life here.”

Residents repeatedly referred to one proposed large-scale residential development in particular – that of the scores of townhouses that a Massachusetts developer would like to build on the currently wooded land behind the antique shop owned by Richard Jorgensen at 502 Post Road.

The developer, Arnie J. Martel, of AJM Construction, wants to build 159 single-family townhouses on 120 acres, according to town documents. Specifically, Martel has said he would like to construct three buildings with six townhouses each, with the remaining 147 townhouses as standalone structures. The lone townhouses will be approximately 1,600 square feet, he said during a recent interview.

Select Board member Scott DeFelice said he favored a moratorium, but he also cautioned the town needs to respect the rights of property owners who have hopes or plans regarding their own land.

“This isn’t something that should be treated lightly,” DeFelice said. “It’s not an easy thing to take away somebody’s rights from them.”

Foley, of the Select Board, read from the part of the town’s ordinance related to the local rural district. He noted that the ordinance states land uses related to forestry and agriculture “should be encouraged,” while large-scale residential uses should be “discouraged.”

Select Board Chair John MacLeod III reminded residents that a moratorium, once approved, could only be in place for 180 days.

“It’s putting a brake on things,” MacLeod said. “It’s not the end-all, be-all.”

During an interview on March 20, MacLeod said the town has heard the residents' concerns and is taking them seriously.

"We're going to move as expediently as possible on this ... to address this growing issue in a proactive fashion," he said.

This article originally appeared on Portsmouth Herald: Wells eyes development moratorium on large housing projects