Addition OK’d for Central Hall

By Stuart Hedstrom 
Staff Writer

    DOVER-FOXCROFT — Another step has been taken in the process to renovate Central Hall as the Dover-Foxcroft Planning Board approved a site plan for an addition to the west side of the building during an Oct. 3. meeting. The approval was granted pending an agreement between those involved with the Central Hall project and the neighboring Dover-Foxcroft United Methodist Church on parking for events taking place at the two East Main Street facilities.

    The 12-foot wide addition to the western side of Central Hall, running the length of most of the building, will provide space for an upper-level kitchen, fire escape and elevator. These new components — much of the work for the entire building project is being paid for via grants and various fund-raising efforts — will help restore the late 1800s-era building for the 21st century.
    Plans are for the first floor of Central Hall to become The Commons at Central Hall, a proposed senior and multigenerational community center. The Commons at Central Hall is intended to serve all ages as a location for community agencies, programs and services. Some of the possibilities for this space include multigenerational mentoring and health promotion.
    The Commons at Central Hall will include a meeting space, as well as a full kitchen. Under the current timeline the first floor will open in 2015, and the year after will be the start of an adult day services center.
    The upper building floor is deemed the sustainability component of the renovation project, as once again the space will be able to be used for a number of events, such as weddings, receptions and more.
    This part of Central Hall will have its own kitchen and a working stage, where once again the public can view various performances from both floor seating and from the balconies looking down. The foundation under the stage has been repaired and the building now has a new roof. The second floor is expected to reopen in 2015, as will the new addition.
    In other business, the planning board approved a recommendation that an amendment to the Shoreland Zoning Ordinance, rezoning properties placed in a resource protection district as required by the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) back into limited residential zone designation, be included on the November referendum ballot. A decision to include the ballot question is up to the board of selectmen, who will use a planning board recommendation for their vote.
    “In 2008 the DEP said we are going to rezone all properties that were considered significant habitat, and we went ahead and did that,” Code Enforcement Officer Connie Sands said. “Now the DEP is saying you can make them limited residential.” She said the change back to the pre-2008 zoning designation will enable property owners to have less restrictions on what they are able to do with their parcels.
    A couple of comments from the audience favored the zoning change, as one property owner said he would be able to harvest wood and another said his home could be expanded.