Columbia Falls might extend by another six months a temporary ban on major developments, including a potential 1,400-foot tower that would double as a gigantic flagpole.
Voters in the small Washington County town adopted a six-month moratorium in March to give the town time to adopt development ordinances that would apply to the enormous structure that would fly an American flag larger than a football field.
The tower would anchor a sprawling veterans’ memorial park spread out over 2,500 acres that the Worcester family has said it wants to build in Columbia Falls.
Aga Dixon, an attorney hired by the town to help it prepare for a possible formal application to build the park, said Monday that selectmen can decide on their own to extend the voter-approved moratorium for another six months. The board will hold a public hearing on the possible extension at 6:30 p.m. Monday, Aug. 28, then vote on whether to extend the temporary ban through Feb. 28, 2024.
The temporary development ban applies to any proposed project that exceeds 100 feet in height or disturbs more than three acres.
The preliminary development concept for the sprawling park, which has not formally been submitted to the town for approval, also includes nine miles of remembrance walls displaying the names of veterans, six history museums, and a development with a hotel, restaurants, shops and a 4,000-seat event venue.
The idea has been criticized by many area residents who say it would be out of scale for the area, which is sparsely populated and heavily forested. The Worcester family — which founded and run Wreaths Across America — and supporters say the park would pay homage to American military veterans and draw much-needed economic development to eastern coastal Maine.
Dixon said the town needs more time to beef up its development ordinances, but that Columbia Falls officials expect to have voters consider new potential land use rules in November. The new rules would give the town better control over large-scale development projects, she said.
Last year, the Legislature passed a law that would allow Columbia Falls to annex an adjacent 10,400 acres from unincorporated townships that lie within the Worcesters’ development plans. Dixon said Columbia Falls voters would decide whether to annex the additional land after the Worcesters’ submit a formal development application to the town — which they would not be able to do until the moratorium expires at the end of February.