Scarborough Town Council held a second reading on the proposed amendments to the Growth Management Ordinance (GMO) at its June 21 meeting. The council unanimously approved the amendments, some amendments came as a result of the June 7 workshop on the subject.

“One of the items, and probably the biggest one that we know we heard from the public, was they wanted a slower pace of growth,” said Council Chair Jon Anderson. “So this recommendation does essentially provide a predictable pace of growth that is slower than the current GMO.”

Anderson also explained that the public wanted predictability with the GMO, for it to stop being changed. As a result, they eliminated some of the exemptions as well as getting rid of the council exemption process.

The priorities for the council in the GMO included slowing the pace of growth, increased predictability, to “protect character” of existing neighborhoods, protect rural areas, conserve green space, and plan for service expansion, in particular for the school system’s ability to absorb growth.

There was some discussion around the school’s ability to absorb growth. If the unified school project  for a new school for grades K-8 is approved, the town will be able to absorb more families. If the school project is not approved, councilors said a much different “Plan B” may need to be discussed.

The council also focused on the GMO being able to address traffic concerns, provide developer flexibility, provide clear expectations for developers, remove politics from the process, improve simplicity, give a better defined exemption process, and have an easier administration process for the town.

The Growth Management Ordinance was created in 2001 to manage residential growth in Scarborough by limiting the number of construction permits awarded per year.  In September, Councilors Jon Anderson and Nick McGee were asked by the council to work on amendments to the ordinance.  The town garnered feedback from town boards, committees, and staff, as well as from developers and the public. The recent reading is the result of months of meetings and discussions on the topic.

A first reading was done on the proposed amendments on May 17. The council decided to hold an extended process so the public could understand and interact with the recommendations. A workshop was held on June 7.

According to the town, the purpose of the ordinance amendments are “to protect the health, safety, and general welfare of the residents of Scarborough through placing reasonable and appropriate limitations on residential development in accordance with the Comprehensive Plan.”

The proposed ordinance would create three areas for allocation of permits. The divisions are based on zoning and Comprehensive Plan designation. Area 1 has a designated number of growth permits given annually, and Areas 2 and 3 have a designated number for every three years. Area 1 is allotted 25 growth permits per year. Area 2 is allocated 210 permits over a 3-year period with a 35 percent maximum for three or more-bedroom units. Area 3 is allocated 400 permits over a 3-year period with a 35 percent maximum for three or more-bedroom units.

“We’ve set three different areas targeted for growth,” said Council Chair Jon Anderson in the public hearing on May 17. “Area one, which is essentially our rural area, is limited to 25 units per year. And really the intent there is to preserve our rural and residential areas of Scarborough which represents the majority of our landmass.”

“Area 2 is really our high growth areas in both Dunstan and Oak Hill outside of the CDP (census-designated place). That is really intended to be another high growth area where we’ve added a greater pace of that growth to be directed into those areas. Area 3 is the CDP zone which is a specific zone that in our comp plan we have designated as a key growth area and where we’ve also aligned an even greater rate of growth per year for that area. So again, the intent was to try and direct growth to our high growth areas as outlined in our Comprehensive Plan and make sure we are preserving as much of the green space outside of our targeted high growth areas.”

Exemptions according to the town include “accessory dwelling units as defined in the Zoning Ordinance; repair, replacement, reconstruction or alteration of an existing dwelling unit; family gift lots; dwelling unit(s) that are part of a contract zone; the code enforcement officer may issue up to five (5) building permits each calendar year for detached single family dwellings located on lots that are not part of a subdivision.”

The further amendments since the June 7 workshop included removing the exemption for manufactured housing, changing the cap on 3-bedrooms from 20 percent to 35 percent in Areas 2 and 3,  area 3 can also access pool for affordable housing, areas will renew automatically after their periods end unless there is council action, and having a 50 percent cap on common scheme development in Areas 1 and 2.

Additionally, the GMO proposal includes 100 Affordable and Workforce Housing growth permits in the 3-year period.

Every year the town council will review the ordinance again. Any changes in the three-year period would require a supermajority vote by the council for amendments.

The process of amending the GMO “really was designed to try to be as inclusive as we can,” said Anderson. “And sometimes when you’re trying to be inclusive it’s hard to find that right solution. What I think this is, is really trying to balance every perspective that we can. Ultimately with trying to slow the growth rate but really trying to target it and balance it in the right areas that are going to hopefully meet our policy objectives, our comprehensive plan, and really make sure that we have something that is hopefully easier for future councils to manage.”

“I think what came out of (the process) was probably a reasonable product based on all of the varying interests we have to deal with as a council and as a community,” said McGee. “So, I’m forever grateful for all of the hard work and the hours of deep conversations about some really really minute details. I’m very appreciative.”

The ordinance went into effect on July 1.

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