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05/11/05
Hearings set on amendments to
wetlands buffer in zoning ordinance, stormwater section of conservation
ordinance
The Town Council will hold public hearings on two proposed ordinance amendments
on Monday, June 13, beginning at 7:30 p.m. in the Town Hall chamber.
One proposal reduces the required setback from critical wetlands for sewered
properties in the BA business district. The other revises and updates Cape
Elizabeth's Conservation Ordinance to comply with new state and federal
stormwater regulations.
The wetlands amendment generated the most discussion at the council's May
9 meeting, when councilors set the two proposals to public hearing.
The proposal would amend the Town's zoning ordinance to allow a 100-foot
buffer between RP-1 critical wetlands and buildings in the BA business zone,
as long as the building is on public water and public sewer. In most cases,
the required buffer is 250 feet.
Town Planner Maureen O'Meara explained that the only area in town that would
be affected is the BA district along Bowery Beach Road, beginning with the
Two Lights General Store at 517 Ocean House Road and extending south to Jordan's
Agway.
Mary Page, owner of the Town Lights General Store, had requested the amendment
and spoke to the council May 9.
"What I'm trying to do is clean the property and make it look presentable,"
Page told councilors. Overgrown vegetation and trees need to be removed from
the property, which she purchased three years ago. The 250-foot buffer
prevents her from doing any of the cleanup, she said.
The existence of the critical wetland, revealed through soil analysis, was
discovered when Page sold a part of the property to developer Joel Fitzpatrick.
Before then, Page said, she had no inkling that the wetland was there.
The zoning ordinance sets a 250-foot buffer around critical wetlands. Under
the current ordinance, the buffer can be reduced to 100 feet if:
-
The area is in a sand dune
-
The critical wetland is smaller than 2 acres
-
The area is densely developed, or
-
The site is separated topographically from the wetland, for example by a
ridge or berm.
Fitzpatrick's proposed development qualifies for a reduction in the wetland
buffer because it is in an area that is densely developed. If an arc drawn
on a 250-foot radius around an area encompasses at least six buildings, the
area is considered densely developed.
The proposed wetland amendment would add buildings in the BA district, served
by public water and sewer, to the list of areas eligible for a reduced buffer.
As a "nonconforming" property, existing in the resource-protected area
before 1990, the Two Lights General Store is allowed a limited expansion
(no more than 25 percent of building volume or footprint), under the zoning
ordinance. The amendment as proposed would reduce the wetland buffer and
allow store expansion without wetland restrictions.
Another effect of the amendment, if approved, would be to encourage a more
densely developed BA district, and to provide an incentive for businesses
in the district to connect to public sewer, thereby reducing the risk of
septic system effluent from flowing toward the wetland.
The three-member Town Council ordinance subcommittee had voted 2-1 to bring
the proposal to the full council. Ordinance Committee Chairman Jack Roberts
voted against it, as he did in the 5-1 vote to set the public hearing.
Conservation Commission Chairman John Herrick told councilors that his committee
also opposed the amendment, and had recommended to the Planning Board last
year that it not be approved. "We felt it would be setting a bad precedent,"
Herrick told the council. But he said the commission may change its stance
if more information comes to light at the public hearing.
Town Councilor David Backer, a member of the ordinance subcommittee, recused
himself from voting. Council Chairman Anne Swift-Kayatta filled in for Backer
during subcommittee discussion of the amendment.
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