MAINE MONITOR • February 11, 2023
Pembroke voters approved a six-month moratorium on new, non-residential development amid concerns about a resident who purchased 12 properties, and launched a farm store and other businesses in the Washington County town over the past several years. The moratorium — like others enacted in towns across the state — is meant to give Pembroke time to write and adopt planning ordinances to regulate new development the state is experiencing. It was approved over the objections of Severine von Tscharner Fleming, who has purchased hundreds of acres of land through several LLCs and affiliated organizations since 2017. The daughter of two prominent urban planners, Fleming is a farming advocate, documentary filmmaker and community organizer. She is the director of a grassroots young farmers organization called Greenhorns.