09/09/2014

Public hearing on 2014 Town Center Plan update set for Oct. 6

The Town Council will hold a public hearing on the proposed 2014 Town Center Plan update at 7 p.m. Monday, Oct. 6, 2014 in the Town Hall chamber.

At the same time, the council will hold a hearing on a draft application to create a tax-increment financing district for the town center. The TIF district would direct added tax revenue from town-center properties into a fund for infrastructure improvements within the town center.

Missing from the latest draft of the town-center plan, which the council set to public hearing at its meeting Sept. 8, is a proposal to allow alteration of wetlands in the town-center district if the overall development includes a public benefit, such as a village green.

Instead, the draft plan suggests that if a village green is created in the town center, the Planning Board should have flexibility in applying the 25-to-35-foot required front setback so that a building could frame a village green.

Adoption of the town-center plan is required before the town can hold a hearing on the TIF district application, said Town Planner Maureen O'Meara in a memo to the Town Council. Councilors reviewed the draft TIF application and town-center plan at a workshop Sept. 3, 2014.

Besides the revised recommendation surrounding a village green, the draft includes several additions to appendices recommended by officials at the Maine Department of Transportation and the Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry. The draft, received by the Town Council in July, was submitted to these state agencies for preliminary review in preparation for the application for a TIF district, O'Meara said.

The added information enhances the appendices and does not alter the seven recommendations of the 2014 Town Center Plan. These recommendations are:

Pedestrian and vehicular circulation. Promote safe pedestrian, bicycle and vehicular circulation in the town center, with an emphasis on completing the sidewalk network throughout the Town Center and connecting to nearby neighborhoods.

1. Improve and expand pedestrian and bicycle safety and connectivity of sidewalks and paths within the Town Center and to nearby neighborhoods.
2. Recast Route 77 in the Town Center as Cape Elizabeth’s “main street.”

Primary Commercial Area. Support the Town Center as the primary location for new commercial development in Cape Elizabeth and encourage a modest amount of small-scale, mixed use development.

3. Update the Town Center Stormwater Management Study and plan for construction of needed stormwater improvements.
   

Gathering Places. Create a town green and encourage small commercial establishments (such as coffee shops or restaurants) that provide opportunities for community members to come together.

4. Consider creating a town green or common open space within the town center.

Visual Appeal. Improve the appearance and identity of the Town Center through continued application of the Town Center design standards to new development and formalizing the design standards for infrastructure improvements.

5. Maintain the current design standards that promote a pedestrian-friendly town center and quality design that contributes to a sense of place.
6. Formalize design standards for town center infrastructure, including but not limited to sidewalk width and surface materials, street trees, lighting fixtures, and seasonal promotional materials.

Infrastructure Financing. Further investigate, and if appropriate, implement alternative financing tools to fund town center infrastructure improvements in a manner that moderates fiscal impacts on other town priorities.

7. Develop funding strategies, including but not limited to a Tax Increment Financing (TIF) District for the Town Center, to fund infrastructure improvements.