Council tables comprehensive plan discussion to workshop,
future meeting
The Town Council will hold a workshop on
Monday, Sept. 17, dedicated largely to the town's revised comprehensive plan.
After a public hearing Sept. 10, the council tabled discussion of the proposed
plan to its Oct. 10 meeting, and to the Sept. 17 workshop.
The draft comprehensive plan was presented to the council last month by the
Comprehensive Plan Committee, a group of citizens who have spent the last
two years working on revisions and updates to the 14-year-old document.
The state mandates each community have a comprehensive plan to guide growth
and development, and that it be updated every 10-12 years.
The committee held three public forums during the course of its deliberations,
but the Sept. 10 meeting was the first formal hearing before the Town Council.
Most speakers agreed that the preservation of the town's natural landscape,
rural character and farmland are highest priorities for Cape residents, as
outlined in a 2005 telephone survey of residents, but that the draft plan
doesn't go far enough to protect those values.
"Unfortunately the recommended implementation steps to affirm these goals
lack the financial teeth needed to assure their success," said Ted Darling,
vice president of the Cape Elizabeth Land Trust.
Many speakers at the hearing agreed with Land Trust suggestions, which have
been published on the Land
Trust's website, to establish proactive funding sources such as land
bonds or budget "set-asides" for strategic land purchases when opportunities
arise.
The Land Trust also recommended the town conduct an analysis of the true
cost of residential and commercial development in town, compared to the cost
of land preservation.
Nine residents spoke at the hearing, but many more sent emails to the council,
and packed the chamber the night of Sept. 10.
One of them, Hannaford Cove resident Tom Egan, suggested the town provide
property-tax incentives to residents who purchase open space and donate it
for preservation.
Another, Penny Jordan, of Jordan's Farm on Wells Road, spoke about maintaining
not only the land, but the profitability, of local farms.
"Each year it becomes more and more difficult," Jordan said. She suggested
that farmers and citizens meet to develop a construct that will allow farms
to diversify. "Farmers and citizens need to come together and say, 'this
is how we want farming to be done within our town.'"
"If we don't do this fairly soon, we're going to lose the farms because we're
not making money," she said. "You may end up with more farmland, with no
farmers working it."
[In a related matter, the council later that evening expressed interest in
receiving a report from such a volunteer committee, with Councilor Jim Rowe
acting as a town liaison].
The draft comprehensive plan includes a list of 88 recommendations for achieving
short- and long-term goals through 2020. Using town building-permit data,
the plan assumes a growth of 330 housing units in the next 20 years.
Some speakers however argued that the recommendations for greater housing
densities, achieved through setback reductions, smaller minimum lot sizes
and more multiplex housing units, was the wrong way to preserve open space.
"To me that means it's an open handbook for development," said Killdeer Road
resident Greg Altznauer.
Misty Lane resident Dave Clay said an increase in the open-space requirement
for development in the RB district, from 40 percent to 45 percent, would
only preserve an additional 26 acres of land, while density recommendations
would allow up to 350 additional homes to be built. "This is clearly
not a reasonable or a balanced trade off," he said.
And, Valley Road resident Richard Fontana said he did not think allowing
development in one area would reduce development in another. "Any space that
comes up for sale is going to be developed," he said.
"I think the town plan lacks any planning for what the people of Cape Elizabeth
want," Fontana said.
Councilors thanked all involved - the Comprehensive Plan Committee, staff,
and citizens who spoke and sent emails over the course of the plan revision.
"There has been a lot of great discussion," said Town Councilor Mary Ann
Lynch. "It may take us a couple of months to work through all these issues."
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