Building moratoriums are adopted in Falmouth, Kittery, Freeport and Yarmouth, while other towns consider similar moves. The blood pressure of commuters on Route 302 rises as traffic halts. Opponents of Question 2 on the November ballot air television ads linking that forest practices referendum to irrevocable loss of open space. This is a grassroots issue that suddenly and pervasively is influencing local, state and federal policy discussions. That's good, because the land use decisions we make now will control how Maine will look in the 21st century and beyond.
Maine is ahead of the game, compared to much of the nation.
Although we have made our share of land use mistakes, Maine's low population density and slow growth have left a legacy of compact community centers surrounded by rural beauty in much of the state. But slow growth also has meant a relatively poor economy. Now that greater prosperity is coming to many areas, we face the challenge of ensuring that the next wave of land use development is better planned, and that we preserve what we treasure. Sprawl can happen in urban, suburban or rural settings. It is the haphazard, low-density growth occurring outside our town centers that separates where we live from where we work, where we shop from where our children go to school, where we play from where we worship.