CAMDEN — Reacting to the possibility of a portion of the Knox Mill on Mechanic Street converting to residential housing, Camden Select Board member Leonard Lookner floated the idea of changing the parcel’s zoning retroactively, which would prohibit such conversion.

The Knox Mill is under contract, per owner Matt Orne, but he said no plans have been filed and furthermore, nobody has approached Orne about concerns with the building’s future.

"I am Incredulous that they would have that conversation, and have a lineup of people, to discuss the future of my property without anybody ever calling to ask me about it, or to invite me to the meeting," said Orne.

In addition to confirming that his property is under contract, he said the unnamed buyer has been having conversations with town officials since "at least October or November."

"There has been more than $100,000 spent on engineering and architectural work done to date, both the buyer and seller have other properties under contract as part of this particular transaction, and for whoever, for this process to begin at this point on a project that does not require any zoning changes, that's a permitted use under current zoning and that doesn't require any TIFF, town, state or federal money to move forward is shocking to me," said Orne.

The zoning issue was brought forward at the April 21 regular meeting as a non-agenda item by chairman Martin Cates, who said that there had been discussion and "chatter" over several days and weeks about the potential sale of part of the Knox Mill.

"As most know, the projection is that it might entail transitioning from office use on the top floors to residential use," said Cates. "So, in light of that, how do we react that that, I think, is an important question."

Cates said he had since learned of some things the town and the select board might want to do, or not, and he proposed that they talk about asking the town attorney to look at language to change the zone, ordinance, etc.

"I agree completely," said Lookner. "I also think that we should include a retroactive date so something doesn't get rushed to judgement."

Lookner said the possible conversion of office space to residential space was "significant" because creating and maintaining "small incubation office space" has been something the town has wanted for a long time.

"We don't want to lose the environment for young people to have office space downtown," said Lookner. "And conversion from commercial to residential is not favorable to a vital, year-round downtown that we all aspire to. It worries me and I have great concerns about this."

Select Board member John French said that by inserting retroactive language, they would be making it a moratorium, which he is against.

"It's a legal use of that space," said French. "We didn't have this outcry when two floors of the Knox Mill on Washington Street were turned into residential."

"Well we should have," said Lookner.

French said that it seems possible that the economics are not there to support what needs to be done to older, large buildings, and that residential uses, or a combination of them, is what will support that kind of work.

"It's an allowed use, and we changed it to an allowed use, to allow flexibility to these buildings," said French. "Somebody bought these buildings knowing what they could do with them. I'm against a moratorium because you are taking the rights away from the person who bought the property."

Lookner then said that the issue was what's best for the individual or best for the community.

Select Board member Jim Heard said that the most important thing to do is to get the community to discuss it.

"We seem to run from crisis to crisis and it's not a good way to govern," said Heard.

Select Board member Don White said he agreed with French, and that he is not in favor of a moratorium, or of proposed language given to the board "late this afternoon".

White was referring to an email from one of the town's attorneys, Kristin Collins, who responded to a phone call from Town Manager Patricia Finnigan about a possible moratorium/zoning ordinance revision.

In the email, Collins said that she has reservations about adopting a moratorium "to limit new residential development in the Transitional River Business District."

According to state law, a moratorium must be necessary to "prevent a shortage or overburden of public facilities that would otherwise occur during the effective period of the moratorium or that is reasonably foreseeable as a result of any proposed or anticipated development; or because the application of existing comprehensive plans, land use ordinances or regulations or other applicable laws, if any, is inadequate to prevent serious public harm from residential, commercial or industrial development in the affected geographic area."

"I think it would be difficult, though perhaps not impossible, to draft a purpose statement for the moratorium that would demonstrate how the town would be harmed in such a way that justifies putting any development on hold," said Collins in the email. "Further, it would take a while to get the moratorium drafted and to the voters, and it seems that time might be better spent in putting forward the actual amendment to the zoning ordinance."

Selectman White then said, "What I look at with the Knox Mill, everything is conjecture. We have no idea what the new owner has in store. I think there is room for discussion in the future; I just don't see changing the zone so this deal can't go through. Two businesses are discussing changing ownership and we haven't seen any paperwork, and the zoning stipulates commercial use on the first floor and I don't want to see anybody leave town."

"I am all in favor of doing business as business within the present regulation of our current zoning," said White. "I don't think it is right for the town to say we don't like what you are proposing, and so we are going to change it."

White then suggested the item be put on their next agenda, for formal discussion and entertaining of possible motions, which was how it was left Tuesday night.

Lookner and the other board members did ask the town manager Tuesday night to request that "language" be crafted for them to review, but Finnigan said Wednesday that wasn't exactly how it ended.

Instead, she said that Collins will come to the meeting April 28 to hear what types of amendments the select board would be interested in considering. And based on that discussion, if the board votes in favor, they can decide to give her some direction about what they would like to see in a draft ordinance amendment.

Finnigan also said part of the reason for the discussion at Tuesday night's meeting was to let the community know that the select board may want to amend the zone.

"That lets interested citizens know that it would be discussed and it gives people a chance to think about this and give their opinions to the select board," said Finnigan Wednesday.

While the floor was still open for non-agenda items Tuesday night, Camden Planning Board chairman Lowrie Sargent spoke about the Knox Mill and the B-TR zone, and said that while what the select board was discussing happening with the Knox Mill was an allowed use, the planning board would see a conversion of the parcel's commercial use to residential use a "significant loss."

He said that during the fall of 2005 and summer of 2006, the planning board held a number of lengthy subdivision and site planning review meetings when a developer proposed converting the upper floors of the Knox Mill Washington Street building to residential use. Included in the discussions was whether or not that was appropriate, Sargent said.

Sargent said that a major portion of those discussions concerned whether converting an existing commercial use to residential use was in disagreement with the comprehensive plan.

"At the conclusion of all the hearings, it was determined that even though the comp plan called for the residential uses and commercial uses in the B-TR be kept in balance, that with this one building worth of proposed change, it would not be considered in conflict with the comp plan. And both the subdivision and site plan were ultimately approved," he said.

Since then, the Mechanic Street portion of the Knox Mill has been renovated for commercial uses, with more than 20 users representing many jobs, said Sargent. He described them as year-round businesses, "that provide goods and services to permanent Camden residents as opposed to tourists." He said those uses speak to the "healthy reinvestment in Camden's downtown that has created a vibrancy that has been missing for many years."

"We have now learned that there is significant interest in converting the upper floors of the Mechanic Street Knox Mill property into residential use," said Sargent. "The planning board believes that this commercial to residential conversion would be a very unfortunate loss of active commercial space and may result in some of these displaced businesses leaving town since there is really no other similar place for them in Camden."

He said that the planning board plans to now begin a series of discussions and hearings to try to "better understand these issues and learn what we may be able to do to mitigate this proposed conversion, and any other further reduction of important downtown commercial space" and that the planning board encourages the select board to join them in the deliberations.

"It's important for the long-term economic and demographic health of Camden that we have rental properties for small, year-round businesses to establish themselves in town and be allowed to grow as their success allows," said Sargent. "In discussions about the future of Camden, we have often heard the comments that we do not want to become another Bar Harbor or Boothbay, where a high percentage of business is tourism based. I fear that this potential conversion of the Knox Mill commercial space will move us one step closer to becoming a primarily tourist town. "

Planning Board member John Scholz also spoke, saying that while it "may appear we are stepping on an individual's toes," that the town needs to look at the community benefit for the longer term.

"I have my own views on where the mill should go, and I was on the board when the original plan came up to change a portion of the Mill to residential, but I do think we need to support business downtown," said Scholz. "I think we need to look, in big context, how we can bring a strong overview to the picture of downtown."

Scholz also said that it's important to look at individual rights, but that the town has not done a great job staying on pace with changes happening up and down the coast.

"We have to try and settle down, starting with our two boards as an example, and take a hard look," said Scholz.

Also at Tuesday night's meeting was Planning Board member Richard Bernhard, who said that one night driving through town, he had occasion to drive past the Knox Mill and he noted the lights on in the windows of the Mechanic Street side, and how totally black the residential Washington Street side was.

He said that few of the condos appear to be lived in, that they appear to seasonal residences, and then said that the Mechanic Street side "has a heart in it."

Young people with families who are buying real estate and coming into town to go to French and Brawn or to take somebody to lunch, those are the people, the ones who want to work, that he hears, as a planning board member, is what the town wants to attract.

"I have heard rumors at one time the possibility that the Knox Mill Mechanic Street was being looked at to be some senior housing and I'm continually becoming aware that I qualify for that, but I'm wondering whether the vision of our downtown would want to be one with Quarry Hill, and Merryspring [sic], and another place on John Street, as a place for retirement living as opposed to something that is much more attractive to the youth.