Frye Island

There are clearly defined limits of development on Frye Island. The 1974 Court Order (between Portland Water District and Leisure Living Inc., the original developer of Frye Island) placed a maximum limit of subsurface waste disposal systems to 750. In a subsequent action, the 1990 Court Order (between Portland Water District and Frye Island Municipal Services Corporation & Frye Island Incorporated) reconfirmed the 750 septic system limit and placed an additional limit on the amount of phosphorus export allowed from lots developed after May 5, 1988. The phosphorus export limit was initially set at 15.900 kg/year, but would be increased to 27.700 kg/year if Frye Island would install a run off control device to create a retention pond in the area of Leisure Lane, Birch Road, Harbor Lane and Harbor Road. The retention pond was implemented and continues to be operational, so the phosphorus export limit is 27.700 kg/year.

One of the requirements of the 1990 Court Order was for a living record to be established to track the Frye Island development to make sure that the court ordered limits are followed. The Town of Frye Island has established a tracking system, in cooperation with the Town Planning Board. The following table highlights the conclusions reached as of April 1, 2007 Grand List (see note below):

Septic Systems	Phosphorus Export	Description
318	*	Existing Condition as of May 5, 1988
166	12.605	Development from May 5, 1988 to April 1, 2005
484	12.605	Sub-total
271	12.951	Potential Development Identified **
755	25.556	Total (maximum limits of 750 & 27.700)
* The Phosphorus Export limit only applies to lots that are developed after the May 5, 1988, in accord with the Normandeau Report referenced in the 1990 Court Order.
** Assumes that none of the Frye Island Incorporated owned lots and none of the Town of Frye Island owned lots the will be sold as buildable lots.

The annual growth in new buildings in the Town of Frye Island averages under 15 units per year. The potential development shown above would take approximately 20 years to accomplish. By way of the tax lien process, the Town of Frye Island has been taking over undeveloped lots due to nonpayment of taxes at the rate of 1-6 per year. Since the above Table indicates that the Total septic system maximum would be exceeded in the long term, the Town of Frye Island will remove the acquired property from the Potential Development category by making those lots permanent green space (i.e., never to be developed). It is expected that in just a few years the Total septic system figure will be reduced to 750 or less.

Complete details of the April 1, 2007 Property Usage Analysis (see note below) is online for anyone to review. Details on the prior year Property Usage Analysis is also available online: 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007v1. All files are in PDF format.

Note: The 2007 analysis was revised after the Town of Frye Island and Portland Water District databases were reconciled on June 25, 2008.

To view in files in PDF format, use Adobe Acrobat Reader; it can be download for free from Adobe.