04/10/2013

Five appointed to serve on Town Center Plan Committee

Five Cape Elizabeth residents were appointed by the Town Council this week to serve on the new Town Center Plan Committee. They join representatives from the council, Planning Board and School Board to help refresh the now 20-year-old plan for the Town Center of Cape Elizabeth.

Appointed to the committee on April 8, 2013 were: Stephanie Carver, 40 Stonybrook Road; Diane Hessler, 17 Canterbury Way; Skip Murray, 20 Grover Road; Stephen Parkhurst, 21 Oakhurst Road; and, Lee Rutty, 1 Birchwood Road.

The committee's charge calls for at least one member be a Town Center business owner, and one a resident of either the Town Center or an adjacent neighborhood.

The committee will have the rest of the calendar year to articulate a vision for the Town Center, assessing current conditions and using the current Town Center Plan as a resource.

The purpose of the Town Center zoning district, according to the Town's zoning ordinance, is to "encourage an identifiable Town Center that includes a village feeling, mixed retail and residential uses to serve residents, an environment inviting to pedestrians, a common meeting place, visual cohesiveness and enrichment and linkages to the Town's open space and nearby school campus."

Part of the committee's charge is to determine if that purpose is still valid.

The committee will hold a public forum, and develop a public-information plan focused on Town Center business owners.

Other committee members are David Sherman and Jamie Wagner, representing the Town Council; Peter Curry from the Planning Board, and Mary Townsend, representing the School Board.

A new Town Center Plan is listed as a top Town Council goal for 2013, second only to planning for the future of the Thomas Memorial Library. The Town Center Plan Committee and Library Planning Committee are charged to work with each other in developing their respective plans.