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09/17/09
Shoreland requirements for zoning ordinance approved
The Town Council on Sept. 14, 2009 unanimously approved amendments to the zoning ordinance governing the state's shoreland zone, and in doing so, reaffirmed Cape Elizabeth's own commitment to resource protection.
The Department of Environmental Protection last updated its statewide shoreland zoning requirements in 1992. This latest update further identifies wetland areas in Maine that have moderate-to-high value for wildlife, and as such, cannot be disturbed within a 250 feet of the wetland edge.
In Cape Elizabeth, the update identifies three new shoreland-zone areas. The areas include portions of Olde Colony Lane, the Cross Hill subdivision and William H. Jordan Farm, and an area near Crescent Beach. Under local ordinance, these areas are already within a 250-foot, resource-protection buffer.
Residents who spoke at a public hearing Sept. 14 however said they believed the buffers are too restrictive. "I am here this evening to ask you to step back and take a good hard look at the town's shoreland and wetlands regulations," said Fowler Road resident Jack Roberts. "According to Michael Morse of the state Department of Environmental Protection," Roberts said, "the town of Cape Elizabeth is much more restrictive in its wetland regulations than required, and the town is well above and beyond the state shoreland requirements." Roberts asked for local studies to support the need for "this excess", adding that wetland restrictions diminish property value and make it harder to obtain mortgages.
Nelson Silva, a resident of Olde Colony Lane, said that when the town's wetland buffers were instituted in 1990, homeowners in his neighborhood were locked out of doing anything with their properties. "Yet, you have all these storm drains going into the wetlands," he said. Beavers dams have shifted the wetland so that legally buildable areas have been reduced by almost 75 feet, he said. Mary Ann Lynch, also a resident of Olde Colony Lane, asked the council to make exceptions to the no-build restrictions for areas with pre-existing homes. "I would ask you to dial it back and seek an exception before you adopt these maps," Lynch said.
Members of the council were sympathetic to the speakers' concerns, and one, Councilor Paul McKenney, called for the town to revisit its wetland regulations. "If we adopt this, we're stuck with it," McKenney said. He said he agreed that wetlands should be protected, but "I think it's right to protect property owners, I just think that's the right thing to do." he said.
Adoption of the shoreland zone is required by the state, but McKenney wanted to add a provision exempting existing structures. However, Councilor David Sherman, who had made the motion to approve the shoreland update, said that town ordinance does allow some development of properties existing in protected buffers.
Bruce Smith, code-enforcement officer, said that owners of property within a shoreland setback can make a one-time addition of 30 percent of the square-footage volume of the home. Residents in the town's resource-protection buffer can add 25 percent, he said.
Sherman said rolling back restrictions on development near wetlands could have the consequence of allowing more development overall. "I think a lot of people who value the 'character' of our community would be quite upset about the result we would see here," Sherman said.
Anne Swift-Kayatta, a councilor who also served on the committee that drafted the 2007 Comprehensive Plan, said that the plan calls for adoption of the latest shoreland zoning requirements, and retention of the town's "stringent" resource protection regulations.
Most people on the committee, she said, wanted to retain the resource-protection which they felt limited overdevelopment. "I'm very concerned with property rights also," Swift-Kayatta said. However, "I don't have concerns that we're adding extra restrictions on their homes."
"I figure for 19 years the wetland restrictions have served the town well," Swift-Kayatta said.
The council's action included adoption of an alternate map delineating the mandatory shoreland setback in the Olde Colony Lane area. The alternate map offered a slightly reduced buffer than was first proposed, because of existing development in the neighborhood.
The approved amendments also retain an existing stipulation that the location of any wetland edge must be field-verified through identification of wetland soils and plant life.
Adoption of the amendments was required by the state July 1. The Planning Board had recommended amendments in April, but repeated its public hearing and recommendation in July because required newspaper notices had not been published in time to comply with state law.
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