The Saco City Council on Tuesday tabled a vote on a contract zone that would allow The Ecology School to build a school campus on a farm in a rural part of the city.

The council decided to postpone the vote and seek clarification from the Planning Board about its intent for restrictions on the size of two dormitory buildings the school wants to build. The council is now scheduled to vote on the contract zone on Feb. 1.

The Ecology School, a nonprofit focused on sustainability-based education, is under contract to buy the River Bend Farm on Simpson Road, which is listed for sale for $1.3 million. Since 1998, the school has offered weeklong residential camps at Ferry Beach for middle school and upper elementary students. Executive Director Drew Dumsch says a move from the beach to the farm will allow the school to expand its educational programming and offer students a unique opportunity to stay at a working farm.

But the road to the new school campus has been a bit bumpy. The majority of the 105-acre farm is under a conservation easement held by the Saco Valley Land Trust that prohibits new buildings. The school’s plans to build two dormitories and a dining hall on a section of the farm not under easement has drawn opposition from the land trust and neighbors. Opponents say the plan is not in keeping with the conservation easement.

The Ecology School requested a contract zone because schools are not an allowed use in that zone. During a Jan. 14 workshop, the City Council added to the contract a restriction of 150 participants for residential and day programs. City Administrator Kevin Sutherland said the councilors requested clarification from the Planning Board on size restrictions it had requested for the two dormitory buildings. The sticking point, he said, was whether the Planning Board intended to restrict the buildings to a 9,000-square-foot footprint or a total square footage of 9,000 square feet. Even if the City Council approves the contract zone on Feb. 1 and the sale is finalized, the school’s move to the farm won’t be immediate. The school has a lease with the Ferry Beach Association through 2018, but would likely start to use the River Bend property for farming and some field trips as soon as this year, according to Dumsch. The school would move to the farm campus by 2019.

The school also would have to go through the planning process to seek approval for its dormitories and dining hall.


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