The Scarborough Town Council gave initial approval to a zone intended to settle the Great American Neighborhood lawsuit last week, sending the issue to the Planning Board for a public hearing April 25.
During the meeting the council more clearly defined the two bonus provisions included in the zone, called the Dunstan Village Residential District. The bonuses will allow for an additional 48 units if developers Elliott and John Chamberlain make concessions for affordable housing and land preservation in the Dunstan area.
The council specified that 10 of the additional 24 units allowed under the affordable housing bonus must be affordable as defined by the Scarborough Housing Alliance. Initially the bonus called for eight of the 24 units to qualify as affordable.
In addition, the council also defined the wording for the land preservation bonus. Now the developers will have to give money to a land conservation organization to purchase development rights in the Dunstan area. How much money the developers will have to give to this fund in order to use this bonus has not yet been determined.
Town Council Chairman Jeffrey Messer also suggested that Dunstan residents form a small group of eight to 10 people and meet with the Town Council in a workshop format to better understand the specifics of the proposal and to get their feelings on it. He suggested May 12 as a meeting date.
The new zone would change the Chamberlains’ 142-acre parcel from RF zoning, which allows one home on every two acres, to R-2, which allows two homes per developable acre. The parcel in question has an estimated 120 buildable acres. Including the bonuses, the maximum number of units on the 142-acre parcel would be 288.
The new zone was developed by the town in response to a lawsuit by Great American Neighborhood developers John and Elliott Chamberlain, owners of ALC Development. In 2003, the pair had received town approval to construct a 397-unit development in Dunstan, but the decision was overturned by a citizens’ referendum.
Following the referendum the Chamberlains sued the town and in February a judge ruled against the town on one of the counts, agreeing with the Chamberlains that the town’s zoning ordinance is inconsistent with its comprehensive plan. Before issuing a judgment, the court asked that both sides present their arguments to the court before it declares land’s zoning as non-existent.
During Wednesday’s meeting, John Chamberlain reiterated the developers’ argument, saying that the original plan they submitted and was approved by the Town Council was consistent with the comprehensive plan.
John Chamberlain said ALC Development’s interpretation of the judge’s ruling is that if a bilateral agreement between ALC and the town is reached and submitted by June 1 then the lawsuit will be dismissed.
However, if an agreement cannot be reached then, he assumes, the judge will void the zoning in the area. This will allow ALC to move ahead with their initial proposal of 397 units, which has already been fully designed and could be submitted for town review as early as June 2005.
Elliott Chamberlain said the R-2 proposal is low and thinks the area is better suited for R-3 or R-4, which would allow three or four units per acre, respectively. Elliott Chamberlain said the court order states the Dunstan area must be designed to accept a significant amount of the town’s future growth.
The town must submit its response to the court by May 31. In order to do that the town must hold to a strict timeline. The Town Council will hold its public hearing on May 18 and will have its second reading and approval on June 1.
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