The Town of Skowhegan is, and has been, one of Central Maine’s leaders in town wide planning. Beginning with the formation of the first Planning Board in March of 1954, and following with a comprehensive land use plan in 1960, the Town was as much as twenty years ahead of most communities in the State.

In 1974 a Planning Department was created and staff was hired, first on a part time basis, but then shortly there after as a full-time position. Since the department was formed there have been three people who have held the planners position giving evidence to the dedication of the planning staff to long-term involvement with the development of the community.

Today the department consists of a Director of Planning and a Secretary. They are ably assisted by the Town’s Code Enforcement Officer who fills in for the Planner during any absences. The staff supports a seven member Planning Board and administers four land use ordinances; the Shoreland Zoning Ordinance, the Floodplain Zoning Ordinance, the Site Plan Review Ordinance and the Subdivision Ordinance. All of these ordinances support the most recent version of the Comprehensive Plan, which was adopted by the voters in 1995. That plan had a ten-year schedule of activities, many of which have been accomplished, and is now being updated by the Planning Board and various citizen committees.

The current Planning Board views its role as one of working with developers and individuals to promote positive environmentally friendly growth throughout the community. Because of the efforts of the Board, Skowhegan has not suffered from the “sprawl” that has negatively affected many New England cities. Instead the Towns’ annual growth has been roughly one-half of one percent for the last twenty years. Through the current ordinances the Board has been able to champion infill development in the urban parts of the community. The 2000 census had over 60% of the population living in urban areas. There has been very little change to this pattern in the last five years.

Skowhegan is also fortunate to have two other committees that provide input to the Comprehensive Planning process and to the decisions made be the Planning Board. They are the Conservation Commission and the Heritage Council. The Conservation Commission is considered to be the environmental steward of the Town and helps the Board deal with projects that have complex environmental issues. The second group, the Heritage Council, is a committee, which we feel is unique to this part of the State. They are a group that furthers awareness of Skowhegan’s rich and diverse past; works to integrate that heritage into the future development of the community; and provides recommendations on Heritage issues to both the Planning Board and the Board of Selectmen. They also promote stewardship of the communities’ heritage by cultural, educational and social organizations. The Council was created by a Town meeting vote in 1999. Since their creation they have developed a heritage park on the banks of the Kennebec River, a cultural inventory and a heritage profile of the Town and a new museum.

Finally the Planning Department, in league with the Economic and Community Development Department, manages the Town’s Geographic Information System (GIS). Just as the Town was a leader in land-use planning it was a leader in the development of GIS and has one of the most comprehensive mapping systems in Maine. All Town departments use the GIS for asset management and planning. Developers and contractors have free access to the information to help them design projects that are compatible with the community and conform to the comprehensive plan.