In November, Councilor John O’Hara proposed bringing back contract zoning to Westbrook, something the administration has been reluctant to do.
Contract zoning is used when a particular project doesn’t fit into a desired zoning area. The practice allows development of a type not normally allowed in a certain zone so long as it is sufficiently similar to the other development in the area and so long as the developer fulfills certain additional requirements outlined by the city specifically for that project.
Contract zoning gives a city more flexibility in development, particularly for larger projects. No provision for contract zoning was included in the new zoning ordinance in 2004 because the committee that developed the ordinance felt if the zoning were done precisely enough, contract zoning would be unnecessary.
However, since then, there has been a movement to bring back contract zoning. In January, O’Hara said “a lot of communities use contract zoning as a great economic tool.”
The city administration has expressed some concern over a return to the use of contract zoning. “In some communities it becomes a free-for-all and you lose the relationship to the zoning, to the comprehensive plan,” said Erik Carson, director of economic and community development.
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