Town Council Meeting Report

At the January 8, 2024 Town Council meeting, the council voted on the agenda items listed below.    Councilors Caitlin Jordan Harriman and Susan Gillis were absent.


1.  Approval of Draft Minutes for December 11, 2023; 5-0 vote.


2.  Consent Calendar on Item #33-2024 - Item #35-2024; Item #34-2024 was removed at the request of Councilor Penny Jordan.  
Item #33-2024 and Item #35-2024; 5-0 vote.
Item #33-2024 Recommendation for the Fort Williams Park Committee - South Portland / Cape Elizabeth Rotary Fireworks at Fort Williams Park on March 2, 2024.  Item #34-2024 - Consider Referral to the Ordinance Committee Relating to Information Governance Goals.  Item #35-2024 - Proposed Conservation Ordinance Events Amendments.

Councilor Penny Jordan requested to remove Item #34-2024 from the Consent Calendar.

3.  Item #34-2024 Consider Referral to the Ordinance Committee Relating to Information Governance Goals: Motion to Send to Workshop; 5-0 vote.
Councilor Jordan made a motion to move this item to a workshop for further discussion.  Jordan pointed out that while these items were included in the council's 2023 goals, "I think that we need to take a step back and send these to workshop and have a conversation about the direction we want to head with these.  Directionally, what we always try to do is give the ordinance committee some sort of direction of where we're headed."  Councilor Stephanie Anderson seconded the motion.

4.  Motion to Take Off the Table from December 11, 2023 - Public Hearing and Item #28-2024 Proposed Amendments to Chapter 19 Zoning Ordinance Relating to Home Business Amendments; 5-0 vote.
Due to the late hour at the December 11, 2023 meeting, the Town Council voted unanimously to table the public hearing to January 8, 2024.

5.  Public Hearing on Proposed Amendments to Chapter 19 Zoning Ordinance Relating to Home Business Amendments.
One person from the public provided comment in favor of the amendments.  Stefan Reck, who originally requested that the ordinance be reviewed, said,  "This seems like an update to current rules that can help move the town in a more positive direction while respecting existing values. I think that a lot of people are already working from home in various capacities and it seems like this will just help bring that into the light."

6.  Approval of Item # 28-2024 Proposed Amendments to Chapter 19 Zoning Ordinance Relating to Home Business Amendments; 5-0 vote.
Councilor Jordan moved to approve drafted amendments. Councilor Timothy Thompson seconded the motion.

7.  Item #36-2024 Property Tax Assistance Program Report and Motion to Acknowledge Receipt of the Report; 5-0 vote.
Town Assessor Clinton Swett presented a review of the report.  The program has been active for six years.  This year there were 183 applicants who applied. This resulted in the dispersal of $91,380 from the budget -- leaving $3,620 from the $95,000 allocation.  From the total number of applicants, four were denied because their incomes were too high and one other was denied because  they could not meet the ten-year residency requirement.  Swett recommends that the budget be kept at $95,000, "Unless there is an appetite to either increase the benefit or lowering the age limit."  Checks were distributed by the end of December 2023.  

Councilor Jeremy Gabrielson asked if these possible adjustments are at the discretion of the state or local government.  Swett clarified that under Title 36, Chapter 907 A, there are some guidelines from the state which provide municipalities with option to set the minimum qualifying age for the program at 62, noting that Cape Elizabeth ordinance sets the age at 65.  In addition, the state allows for benefits up to $750; the current ordinance sets the maximum at $500.  In response to Councilor Anderson's inquiring if the income cap could be raised, Swett said that he would need to investigate that and the ten-year residency requirement.  "The income cap was set five years ago and I think that is quite low," Anderson said.

Councilor Thompson suggested that a workshop should be held to review all requirements to see if adjustments should be made.  Anderson, Gabrielson, and Jordan agreed.  Jordan would also like to bring in the recent revaluation numbers in relation to reviewing the requirements.  Town Manager Matthew Sturgis suggested that the timing for this discussion was ideal and could be tied into the budget preparation and return to the Town Council with recommendations.  

8.  Item #37-2024 Acknowledge Receipt of the Report from the Ad-Hoc Housing Diversity Study Committee and a motion to Refer the Report to a Workshop on February 5, 2024; 5-0 vote.
Chair of the ad-hoc Housing Diversity Study Committee Kevin Justh thanked his committee members for their efforts in preparing a report that addresses solutions for Cape Elizabeth problems rather than a generic solution.  "I think the report dos that.  We have about 60 recommendations in there and realistically it's an 18-month to two-year process to make everything happen," Justh said.  

Councilor Gabrielson said that in addition to acknowledging the report, "We need to set aside some time to prioritize action here."  Anderson agreed and said, "I would like to see it happen sooner rather than later and I would like to get the Ordinance Committee working on this as soon as possible."  Town Manager Sturgis suggested that February 5 is a possible date to hold a workshop to discuss.  A motion to send the Report to a February 5 Workshop was made by Anderson and seconded by Jordan.

9.  Item #38-2024 Consideration of a Resolution to Join the Community Resilience Partnership; 5-0 vote.
Vince Faherty, a member of the town's Energy Committee, provided context for the resolution saying it is a result of the town's desire to embark on a Climate Action Plan planning process, for which the Energy Committee has been tasked to initiate.  Faherty explained that the committee has engaged, "Greater Portland Council of Governments (GPCOG) to help them navigate Community Resilience Partnership program application process," which would make Cape Elizabeth eligible for grant funding from the Governor's Office to help communities with climate action planing.  The resolution helps this process by, "Unlocking this funding along this journey that we have started," Faherty said, "And another key aspect of that is that we have hosted our first community engagement Town workshop on November 30."   Additionally, through GPCOG the committee has launched a website, "Cape Climate Action," which includes a survey to collect feedback on, "How we can fight climate change here locally," he said.

10.  Item #39-2024 Enter into Executive Session to Begin Discussion of the Town Manager's Annual Evaluation; 5-0 vote.

Cape Elizabeth Town Council enters into executive session pursuant to 1 M.R.S. § 405 6. A. to begin discussions of the Town Manager's annual evaluation. 



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