PORTLAND — An affordable-housing project on Peaks Island cleared its final hurdle Tuesday night as it received subdivision approval from the Portland Planning Board.
Developers say the three-lot subdivision on Luther Street will be designed to provide energy-efficient, affordable homes for people who work in such professions as firefighting, police work or teaching.
Each home will cost an average of $600 to $650 a year to heat.
Earlier this year, Homestart Affordable Housing won approval from the City Council for a contract zone. The zoning was needed for the undersized lots, said William Walsh III, an engineer who presented the project to the Planning Board on behalf of Homestart.
Walsh said the contract zone also requires that the homes remain affordable, even if there is a change in ownership.
One home will be rented, the second will be rented with an opportunity to own, and the third will be sold.
Two of the homes will be manufactured on the mainland and transported by barge to Peaks Island. The third will be a reconstructed home that’s already on the site, according to Homestart’s proposal.
Some opposition to the project was expressed earlier this year by Peaks Island residents, but no one spoke at Tuesday’s public hearing.
“Thanks for all your work on a great project,” said Planning Board Chairman Bill Hall after the board’s unanimous vote.
Also Tuesday, the board recommended a change to the land use code to allow community gardens within the city to operate temporary farmstands. The City Council must approve the change for it to take effect.
The zoning amendment would let community gardens sell flowers, vegetables, herbs or fruit from stands as large as 100 square feet.
Board members voted to allow the garden stands to operate from May 25 through Oct. 30, and sell produce from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Cultivating Community, which is based in Portland and manages a community garden on Boyd Street, provided the impetus for the zoning change.
Staff Writer Dennis Hoey can be contacted at 791-6365 or at: dhoey@pressherald.com
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