Comprehensive Plan

The Town is working on a new Comprehensive Plan - you can help shape Harpswell's future. 

Please be a part - see how here.

What is a Comprehensive Plan and why do we need it anyway?

Did you know that the 2005 Comprehensive Plan is the 5th one that Harpswell has created?  It serves many functions. It is an expression of the community's vision of its future.  It is a guide to making the many public and private decisions that will determine the Town’s future.  It is a source of basic information about the Town's natural resources and its human environments.  The Comprehensive Plan is not a zoning ordinance, nor is it a law.  It is an advisory document setting out the community's goals for the future and the policies and programs necessary to move the Town in the direction of its goals. It is a foundation on which to build the Town's land use controls and a road map that can be used by the Town's elected and appointed officials to steer the Town on an agreed-upon course.

The State of Maine mandates, through its Growth Management Program (Title 30-A §4312), that all communities update their comprehensive plan every ten years.  Through the establishment of this law, the State effectively overrides a town’s “home rule” authority and establishes the way in which communities engage in land use planning and regulation. 

The Comprehensive Plan is an effort to balance anticipated growth with the community’s natural and cultural values. It is an expression of the residents’ values, as communicated to the Harpswell Comprehensive Plan Committee (CPC). 

Click the links below to review the 2005 Comprehensive Plan.

The Plan was adopted at the March 13, 2005 Town Meeting.

Constraints Map

Existing Land Use Map
Future Land Use Map

Part II