BIDDEFORD — The Biddeford City Council gave final approval to a revised shoreland zoning ordinance in a unanimous vote Tuesday.

The amended ordinance, which was initially approved by the council on Aug. 2, will take effect Sept. 1, 2017.

Tuesday’s passage marks the end of a lengthy process between the city and shoreline residents, who for months have been embroiled in public debate about changes to zoning regulations.

New shoreland zoning guidelines pertaining to non-conforming structures and non-vegetated surfaces were released by the Maine Department of Environmental Protection in January 2015, but the DEP never set a date by which municipalities would be required to adopt them.

City Planner Greg Tansley said this morning the local adoption of the ordinance will go into effect following MDEP commissioner approval, which could take up to 45 days.

The Sept. 1 effective date only applies to changes related to non-conforming structures, Tansley said; the remainder of the ordinance will take effect upon commissioner approval.

That means if people want to expand or renovate their homes in the shoreland zone, if they’re non-conforming, they will have to use the old zoning laws until Sept. 1.

Structures located within the resource protection district and within 100 feet of the normal high-water line of 7.4 feet above sea level cannot expand beyond a footprint of 1,500 square feet or 30 percent of the existing footprint, whichever is greater. Those structures also may not be taller than 25 feet or the height of the existing structure, whichever is greater.

Some residents in the shoreland zone have previously said they believe the amendments are unfair, and that the city did a poor job communicating with them about meetings regarding the changes.

Councilor Michael Swanton denied this on Tuesday, saying the city reached out numerous times and met with people to reach a mutual understanding.

“We had many meetings, public meetings, (meetings) on peoples’ porches … I think everybody should be aware of it by now, and even the curmudgeons, after reading it and it was explained to them, are in favor of it,” Swanton said.

Other notable changes to the zoning laws pertain to non-vegetated surfaces and buildable land.

Property owners in the shoreland zone are not allowed to have more than 20 percent of their properties consist of non-vegetated surfaces – including surfaces from which vegetation has been removed – such as driveways and patio areas.

Naturally-occurring ledge and rock outcroppings are exempt from the 20 percent rule as long as the lot was established by March 24, 1990, and has been in continuous existence since that date. Lots established after that date must count natural ledges in their lot cover.

In addition, lots will be regulated based on the area of land not covered by existing natural ledge.

Ken Buechs, vice chair of the city’s conservation commission, said Tuesday he isn’t pleased about the exemption, saying it will create increased waste runoff and work against the city’s conservation efforts.

“We still think that it flies into the face of the Thatcher Brook effort, for which we’re about to get state funding,” Buechs said. “It lowers our bar of protection for the environment.”

Thatcher Brook is a polluted 7.7-mile-long stream that flows in and out of Biddeford and Arundel, for which the two communities and the conservation commission have received about $140,000 in funding from the MDEP to bolster remediation efforts.

The stream became polluted, Buechs said, due to increased runoff from impervious services such as driveways and parking lots. He said allowing ledges to not count as lot cover would only add to increased runoff and further pollution.

“We just can’t understand, why all of a sudden, rocks are vegetation,” Buechs said. “The cute expression is that rock is ‘green.’”

“We’ll have to see how that will play out in the community,” said Susan Amons, a member of the conservation commission. “It seems very complicated.”

Bennett praised City Planner Greg Tansley and Director of Code Enforcement Roby Fecteau for their public outreach efforts. The two hosted a public information session regarding the amended ordinance in late August, which overloaded the council chambers.

“You would not see that kind of effort in other communities,” Bennett said.

Tansley and Fecteau also hosted another informational session in Biddeford Pool, and met with people by appointment to discuss the amendments.

“I think that was unusual,” Amons said. “I thought that was generous of them to do that and offer any information that they had.”

— Staff Writer Alan Bennett can be contacted at 282-1535, ext. 329 or [email protected].