Staff Writer

 Biddeford’s Policy Committee will spend the next three months listening to residents before it makes a recommendation to the city council on the fate of the Coastal Area Committee.

The Coastal Area Committee was formed by city ordinance in 1998 in reaction to mismanagement of the Biddeford Codes Department and Biddeford Pool residents’ attempted secession from Biddeford.

The committee, comprised of seven members from five coastal neighborhoods, reviews all building permits and planning board requests for the coastal area before recommending whether proposals should be approved or denied.

The City Council on June 7 tabled a motion to disband the Coastal Area Committee to allow the Policy Committee time to look at the issue. The Policy Committee is expected to make its recommendation to the council by Sept. 20.

The issue of the Coastal Area Committee first came to light last month when the city council considered an order from the Policy Committee to add a $200 application fee plus the cost of postage for mailings to abutters of proposed projects. The order was tabled back to the Policy Committee for further review.

Since then, residents have spoken publicly both for and against keeping the coastal committee in place. Supporters say the committee provides a valuable service to the community, while others maintain it is unnecessary and has outlived its usefulness.

Richard Rhames, a Policy Committee member, said he was naïve to bring forward what he thought was a “relatively modest” proposal to implement fees. He said he didn’t know that proposal would be used as “a springboard to abolish the committee.”

“The committee has served the city well,” he said. “This city needs this committee.”

City Councilors Jim Emerson and Patricia Boston raised concerns about the coastal committee in a position paper that supports reviewing the committee with the goal of redefining its role and scope.

Emerson and Boston say the committee’s review process creates an undue delay and increased cost to residents in one area of the city. They also wrote that applicants have expressed concern “that the committee at times votes on a recommendation based on what they would like the city ordinance and state and federal laws to be versus what those ordinances and laws presently are.”

Emerson and Boston said they have concerns that the committee spends time on issues that are not relevant to applications and its existence “continues to reinforce and emphasize the ‘two Biddefords’ mindset by having a process for the coastal area that differs from the process for the rest of the city.”

While the committee was originally formed because of mismanagement in the codes enforcement department “today codes is a well-managed, competent and professional organization,” Emerson and Boston wrote. They said having laypersons advising codes officers on compliance with ordinances and laws “no longer seems justified.”

Coastal Area Committee Chairman Ken Buechs on Monday told the Policy Committee he would like the city to keep his committee in place because of its important role in the community. He said the ordinance that created the committee requires it to review all applications for building projects, from decks to new homes.

Buechs said the committee typically reviews four applications each month and forwards recommendations to the codes office. He said the committee’s lack of authority can be frustrating because a lot of time is spent on the recommendations that are not always followed.

Buechs said committee members have been told it is not possible to meet more than once per month and it cannot call emergency meetings. He said the committee has faced some issues getting its minutes posted on the city website.

During his presentation to the Policy Committee, Buechs said his committee has given him the power to grant waivers for “very simple projects,” which is a violation of the ordinance that established the committee. Several people who spoke later in the meeting said he should not be granting waivers because he does not have the authority.

Buechs said the committee would like clarification on whether members are trespassing if they go on someone’s property without their permission whilereviewing a project.

Ron Peaker, a Ward 1 resident and former city councilor, said the time has come to make changes to or get rid of the committee.

“As it is configured, I think the CAC has outlived its usefulness,” he said.

Peaker said people don’t like to go before a committee that is advisory. It can cost people money to pay a builder or architect for appearing before the committee, he said. He also took issue with Buechs’ admission he grants waivers.

“Ken doesn’t have the right to give a waiver. He’s not an elected official, he’s not an appointed official. He should not be giving out waivers but he is,” Peaker said.

Coastal resident Susan Amons said the committee saves the city money in potential court cases by ensuring projects comply with shoreland zoning ordinances. She said the committee has been helpful to her when she applied for a building permit and in keeping her notified of neighbors’ plans.

Jim Hoover, an at-large committee member, said the most important function of the Coastal Area Committee is that it creates “a venue or forum for neighborly discourse.”

Paul Brady, a builder who lives in the coastal area, said he thinks the committee should have more transparency. He said committee members also could benefit from more education about how to read builders’ plans and communicate with language used in the building industry.

“The only requirement (to be on the committee) is geography. It doesn’t require knowledge of the industry,” he said. “It does make it difficult when you’re told ‘I don’t read plans.’”

Peter McPheeters, owner of OceanView Properties in Biddeford Pool, said it is hard to understand why people in one area of the city have to go through “an extra hoop” when the committee is only advisory.

“It does seem sometimes like a bit of a waste of people’s time,” he said.

Bob Mills, chairman of the Policy Committee, said public comment about the Coastal Area Committee will be heard at July and August Policy Committee meetings. Public comment on any recommended changes also will be heard at the September meeting.

Staff Writer Gillian Graham can be reached at 282-4337, ext. 213.