Town of Ogunquit Comprehensive Plan 2024

To the Ogunquit Community

Welcome to the Ogunquit Comprehensive Plan. This document is the culmination of more than two years work by a group of Ogunquit volunteers, together with Town employees, boards, commissions, and committees (abbreviated as “Boards” throughout the Plan) and many individuals. Having first met on February 1, 2022, the Comprehensive Plan Committee (CPC) has held meetings twice monthly, created and released two surveys, held a Vision Day, a public input meeting entitled “What’s Next,” and two public hearings. Subcommittees worked tirelessly to draft, edit, and format each chapter in accordance with residents’ opinions and Maine statutes. The Committee has striven to create the best possible plan for Ogunquit. We hope you will approve of the final result.

A comprehensive plan is not a body of ordinances. It is, rather, an inventory of the Town as it exists today, with a vision for the future, and goals, policies, and strategies to reach that vision. A. good comprehensive plan provides legal protection for Town ordinances, helps qualify Ogunquit for some State grants, and helps form a basis for sound municipal management. Each strategy provides guidelines for Ogunquit to examine opportunities to improve over the next five to ten years, naming specific individuals, departments, or boards as responsible parties for each strategy. Strategies are prioritized based on input from stakeholders, residents, and the Committee, as well as State priorities. Therefore, strategies are the most important output of this Plan.

The structure follows Maine guidelines for a municipal comprehensive plan, beginning with a Vision Statement. Next is a description of the methods used by the Committee to gather public input. Then comes the Plan Implementation, followed by the inventory, a chapter-by-chapter description of where Ogunquit stands today, with descriptions of how we got here. The Committee chose to include an Ogunquit specific inventory chapter entitled “Climate Change and Sea Level Rise,” to highlight risks to the beach, Marginal Way, Perkins Cove, and beach parking lots posed by rising sea levels. At the end of each chapter, you will find broad Goals, general Policies, and detailed Strategies. Embedded in chapters are links to pertinent background information After the main body of the Plan are Appendices, which include selected documents used in the creation of or referenced in the Plan.

Please read this Plan. It calls for an aggressive approach to addressing the priorities and concerns that have emerged. Very little can be implemented without your involvement, support, and vote. We are asking for your vote to approve this plan. We are asking the Select Board to appoint an Implementation Committee to help Town government work through the details of this Plan and make this a living document.

Many people participated in this process. Thanks to Southern Maine Planning and Development Commission (SMPDC) for their guidance and professional support. We’d like to thank Town Boards for their cooperation and valuable contributions throughout this long and detailed process. Thanks also to the Town employees and departments, who shared their vast experience and expertise. Many thanks to Matt Buttrick and Mandy Cummings for their leadership and patience as we worked through each step. The technical contributions of Ben LaFlamme were crucial from beginning to end. And special thanks to Ilene Kanoff, who worked tirelessly to help create a Plan that would make Ogunquit proud. Thanks to the many individuals who supported the Committee from the beginning, attending meetings and public hearings, reading early drafts and providing valuable insights, and sharing photographs and stories that helped enrich the final product.

Sincerely,

The Ogunquit Comprehensive Plan Committee 

Chair – Mark MacLeod

Vice Chair Robin Millward

George Cundiff

Sheldon Drucker 

Weston Elliott

Javier Marin

(Jeremy) David Millward

Christopher Nobile

Leslie Olear

Alice Pearce

Pamela Sawyer

Steve Wilkos

Thanks, also, to past members.