KENNEBUNK - For the fourth and final meeting of the Lower Village Visioning Process, attendees got to see what their four months of input, ideas and suggestions led to: an action plan for Lower Village and a call for people to get involved.

At eight pages, the plan had some people concerned that it would serve as a blueprint for too much change.

"This isn't Boston," said resident Pat Foley.

Kennebunk Economic Development Director Mat Eddy said the plan from the beginning was clear: the gathered information would be used to create a strategic plan for Lower Village. The process was based on the Main Street 4 Point Approach, he said, which has been successfully used in other communities in Maine.

"Six areas came out of the process," said Lower Village Committee Chairman Jeff Bonney.

Those included:

1) Refining and expanding the role of the Lower Village Committee. This will include creating three sub-committees: promotion, design and communication/training that will tackle such tasks as working with the town on cleanup of certain properties, improving communication with residents and businesses and developing better relationships between residents and businesses, and businesses and businesses.

2) The built environment. The report reads: "The community would like to protect the present integrity and sense of place of the built environment in the Lower Village while maintaining a diverse mixture of sustainable uses."

Steps in this portion of the plan include developing a proactive program for developer and business owner attraction consistent with the interests of Lower Village, identifying and protecting historic properties, and developing design standards.

3) The natural environment, which includes maintaining or improving water quality, examining zoning ordinances, site plan review and subdivision standards to maintain or improve the environment and improving access to the river.

4) Marketing, which includes working with the town and the Kennebunk-Kennebunkport-Arundel Chamber of Commerce to address marketing issues in Lower Village. This includes changing the name to Harbor Village, identifying things to do in Lower Village and linking to Kennebunkport activities, and developing a business mentoring program.

5) Pedestrian circulation, which includes improving connectivity across both public and private properties. This will include infrastructure improvements to the west side of Cooper's Corner, establishing a wayfinding sign program and looking into bike racks, benches, picnic tables, a better-located public restroom and overlooks with access to harbor views.

6) Parking and traffic circulation, to improve vehicle circulation. This will include parking coordination, building a new public parking area and analyzing traffic movement.

Eddy emphasized that people would need to get involved - volunteer for the Lower Village Committee or sub-committees, attend meetings - for the plan to work.

One resident suggested that to accomplish anything, a plan would have to incorporate both businesses and residents, and that each has their own agenda.

"I can't imagine how you bridge those two groups," he said.

Calling it the "classic conflict," Eddy said he was aware of the challenge.

He said he was still baffled that in a recent survey, Kennebunk residents ranked the Lower Village last (fourth out of four) with regards to where they are most likely to shop, below Route 1, downtown and West Kennebunk.

Foley, who owned Chase Hill Bakery, said that didn't surprise her. She stayed open year 'round twice, with no success.

"Locals promised they'd come every day, but they didn't come," she said. "All my hard-earned summer money went to paying bills. People mean well, but they don't come and then you close."

"This is a ghost town eight months of the year and a madhouse four months," one resident said. "Soon, you're not going to have a village - a living, breathing village."

The next Lower Village Committee meeting will be held at 8 a.m. May 4 in the upstairs room at Washington Hose.