SACO — A proposal that would have, if approved, placed a temporary moratorium on residential developments of greater than eight units in Saco appears to be dead.
The Saco City Council debated the proposal authored by Councilor Philip Hatch on Sept. 26, under new business. The council seemed divided, and so Mayor William Doyle said the city would obtain a legal opinion on the matter to determine next steps.
“(City solicitor Tim Murphy) has opined that the item does not move forward because it lacked a majority of councilors wishing to move it to an action item on the agenda,” said Saco City Administrator Bryan Kaenrath in an email late last week.
Hatch, in a memo outlining his quest for a temporary moratorium, said he believes the current zoning ordinance was fractured when approved and contains some unclear and contradictory language, and that some council requested updates remain unfinished.
Hatch said he believes a comparison of the zoning ordinance and the new Comprehensive Plan has not taken place, and that affordable housing concerns continue to plague the community. He said a concerted effort to establish achievable goals and plans for public-private affordable housing initiatives is needed and should also include Saco-specific municipal workforce housing. He said until a new school construction project is compete, the physical constraints of Saco school buildings would likely limit the absorption of student population growth that he believes would result from increased housing units. He noted Saco Police has vacancies and the fire department has expressed concern about emergency call response times being unattainable in some areas of the city. Traffic safety is an issue, he said.
The proposed 180-day moratorium would have been retroactive to Sept. 1.
Members of the public who spoke at the Sept. 26 meeting were split on the proposal, as was the City Council.
Mayor William Doyle said he was against a moratorium. He said if there are problems with the new zoning ordinance, it can be amended.
The company chosen to assist the school board with the construction process has said Saco has had declining school enrollments for the past 10 years, he said.
“If you limit the amount of housing, then the price is going to go up,” said Doyle.
Councilor Nathan Johnston said he was conflicted, but believed the proposal ought to be debated further. Councilor Marshall Archer concurred.
Other councilors felt differently.
Members of the public — about a dozen in all — who spoke at the meeting were also divided.
Former Mayor Don Pilon, a real estate broker, said a moratorium “just sends the wrong message.”
“We should be building houses … and the people in starter homes would upgrade and that starter home they had would allow young families (to purchase a home),” he said.
“I’m in favor of moratorium,” said resident Mary-Elizabeth Carolan. “Saco is growing very rapidly. Yes I understand we need housing, but I just feel like if we don’t take care of the infrastructure before we add or continue the development, we’ll just be running around putting out fires.”
Comments are not available on this story.
Send questions/comments to the editors.
