Following recent state approval of a tax-increment financing district in Cape Elizabeth, town officials will soon begin implementing a long-awaited plan to construct a network of sidewalks and improve storm water infrastructure in and around the town center.

Cape Elizabeth announced March 9 that the Maine Department of Economic and Community Development approved the town’s first TIF district as part of a 20-year-old Town Center Plan, which was updated by a nine-member Town Center Plan Committee last year. The Cape Elizabeth Town Council approved the plan in October 2014.

The new TIF, which will go into effect March 31, will funnel a portion of any increase in property tax revenues from new development in the town center for the next 20 years into a fund that is designated for sidewalk and stormwater drainage improvements. The increase in property values in the town center would be sheltered from inclusion in state municipal revenue sharing, state aid to education and county tax calculations.

The town center stretches along Ocean House Road from the Cape Elizabeth United Methodist Church to the intersection of Old Ocean House Road, as well as the entire school campus. It also includes the section of Scott Dyer Road running from Ocean House Road to the middle school and a short section of Shore Road. The TIF district comprises 27.93 acres near the Scott Dyer and Shore roads intersection.

A table included in the town center plan estimates how a town center TIF would have worked from 2003-2013. In 2003 the town center had a total property valuation of $60,761,400. From 2003-2013, $867,300 in property value was added in the town center. If a TIF had been established in 2003, tax revenues of about $113,600 would have accrued over a 10-year period that would have been available to pay for infrastructure improvements.

According to town planner Maureen O’ Meara, establishing a TIF district in the 144-acre town center zone will help “move the ball forward” in terms of completing goals laid out in the Town Center Plan, including the creation of a pedestrian-friendly sidewalk network.

“Cape Elizabeth has identified a complete sidewalk network as a desirable goal since 1993,” said O’Meara. “We’ve made some progress, but we haven’t completed the sidewalk network primarily due to a lack of funding.”

Another recommendation in the 2014 Town Center Plan was to update the Cape Elizabeth stormwater management plan. In August 2014, the town received a $16,500 grant from the state Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry to update that plan, which is now under way.

As of March, property in the town center has an estimated total value of $11.7 million. O’Meara said the TIF would begin to generate funds at a time when several properties in town are in transition and likely to increase in value.

“On April 1, under state law, the (tax) assessor has to establish (property) values for the next year. Any property in the town center that has increased in value, from last year to March 31 of this year, the taxes generated from that new value will now go into an account called the Town Center TIF account,” said O’Meara. “This is a way to take those changes in private property and use them to advance public goals.”

Any new value from the C-Salt Gourmet Market property and improvements to Cumberland Farms in the town center will be included in the TIF district, said O’Meara. The town estimates that it will collect more than $700,000 in property tax revenues over a 20-year period.

“We’ve had some properties go on the market here in Cape Elizabeth,” she said, “and typically when property changes hands, it tends to also change in terms of improvements. Because of the churn in ownership, the TIF has a much stronger position for us than it might have had 20 years ago.”

The estimated cost for stormwater drainage improvements and sidewalk construction is about $2.6 million. O’Meara said while the TIF funds are expected to fall short of estimated costs of sidewalk construction, the funds can be combined with other funding sources or be used as a cash match to seek grant funding for the improvements.

“That estimate includes not just construction of sidewalks in the town center, but potentially construction of sidewalks that connect neighborhoods to the town center,” said O’Meara.

According to O’Meara, the Town Center Plan, which can be viewed on the Cape Elizabeth website, includes a map that shows where existing sidewalks are and where additional sidewalks could be built.

Mike Concannon, owner of C-Salt Gourmet Market, located in front of the high school, said he was glad to hear the town’s TIF application had been approved.

“I think it’s a great idea that they’re putting that money aside to improve the town center,” Concannon said. “I am all for improving the downtown walking capability. I think it would be needed, especially with all the kids walking around. I think it will go a long way to help future development.”

Cape Elizabeth resident Sara Brame, who lives in the town center zone, agreed. She believes there is a need for more sidewalks in the downtown area to improve safety.

“I sit here and watch kids try to cross the street to go to school since they opened up the (Shore Road) bike path,” said Brame. “I think people want to have access. I think it makes sense, especially for such a small town and concentrated area.”

Goals outlined in the 2014 Town Center Plan continue the direction of the original plan. They include promoting pedestrian safety, recognizing the town center’s status as the central commercial area, creating a village green with Route 77 frontage, and other community gathering places, improving visual appeal and developing infrastructure financing.

“Sidewalks in the town center have been on the town’s to-do list since the first Town Center Plan was adopted in 1993,” said Town Council Chairwoman Kathy Ray. “Sidewalks are often requested by town residents and the Town Council has to balance need with a minimal increase in taxes. The TIF creates a way forward to meet residents’ needs without putting more pressure on property taxes.”

The state Department of Economic and Community Development approved a tax-increment financing district for Cape Elizabeth, which goes into effect March 31. Revenues from the TIF district will be designated to fund sidewalks and stormwater infrastructure improvements in the town center. Staff photo by Kayla J. Collins

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