The Comprehensive Plan was published in June 2007 with data from 2003.
Below is the introduction to the plan and also a link to the plan document.
Introduction
Appleton is a small community of about 1,306 residents in northernmost Knox County, Maine, about 15 miles inland from Penobscot Bay and the coastal towns of Camden and Rockland, about 30 miles east of the state capital of Augusta, and 60 miles southwest of Bangor.
This Comprehensive Plan seeks to protect home rule powers, promote the types of development that Appleton residents want, preserve the resources that the residents value, support the local economy, and suggest cost savings for municipal facilities and services.
Recommendations made in this plan are based on the existing inventory of town resources and the trends in local and regional development. This plan was drafted through the efforts of Appleton residents. Town residents approved the previous Comprehensive Plan in 1992.
Both formal surveys and numerous informal conversations with town residents indicate that a large majority of people would like to preserve Appleton's rural character. Such rural character includes the presence of pastoral and wild landscapes, and broad vistas over spectacular scenery. The concept of rural character also includes the existence of working farms and forests, the opportunity to make a living close to home, and freedom
from excessive outside regulation. A strong sense of community is important to residents as well. The committee carefully considered such ideas and many more during the preparation of the plan.
The writers of this plan have attempted to strike a balance between individual rights and the public interest in developing guidelines for Appleton's growth over the next ten years.
