The developer of a proposed 18-unit condominium complex near Fort Williams in Cape Elizabeth has revised the project plan to reduce the impact on wetlands and provide more open space.
Andrew Carr, a Cape Elizabeth real estate agent who wants to build Carr Woods on 14.23 acres off Deep Brook Road, discussed the revisions with the Cape Elizabeth Planning Board at a workshop Jan. 4.
The original design required over 13,000 square feet of wetlands to be altered while the new option impacts roughly 7,000 square feet.
The developers are also proposing a small increase in open space, with the original design having 45.14% and the new one providing 46.37%.
The Deep Brook Road entrance off Shore Road will also be changed. It will be slightly farther from another nearby intersection, giving over 300 feet of sight distance.
In May, the planning board deemed requests for a subdivision review and resource protection permit from Carr and Northeast Civil Solutions to be incomplete.
The newly proposed design followed a peer-review, at the request of the board, which was performed by Longview Partners.
“They were considering a major redesign,” Town Planner Maureen O’Meara said about the Tuesday workshop. “In order to have them most efficiently invest their redesign dollars, it seemed to make sense for them to get some feedback from the board.”
Open space zoning standards have specific requirements, she said, including that any multiplex development must consist of 45% open space, with an emphasis on preserving wetlands.
Board member Alton Palmer suggested that the driveway of an adjacent lot on Shore Road could be connected to the newly designed Deep Brook Road.
“From a safety standpoint, I think that will be an improvement, versus having it in such close proximity to the new intersection,” he said.
Board member Dan Bodenski agreed.
“I think that’s a good observation,” he said. “I would vote to have you guys study that – connecting that driveway to the new Deep Brook Road.”
Another change is to unit configuration. The original design consisted of three one-unit and seven two-unit condominiums, and the new design consists of one single unit, six two-units and one four-unit.
Both options have a standalone home at the entrance of Deep Brook Road in addition to the 17 condos.
While Carr Woods is on a private road, and no cars will be able to park along it, people will be able to access the Loveitt Woods trail network via foot and cycling down the sidewalk.
Crosswalks likely will be installed in the future, O’Meara said.
“The town is starting preliminary design of a major rehabilitation of Shore Road from the main entrance of Fort Williams all the way to the South Portland line,” she said, noting that there has been “a cascading number of requests” for crosswalks in that area.
“A lot of them are in places where there isn’t adequate sight distance to put a crosswalk so you can safely get pedestrians back and forth.”
There will be a new meeting on the Carr Woods development, likely in mid-February, once the developers officially submit the new designs.
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