BIDDEFORD — Next month, some residents of what is now a residential zone close to Biddeford’s urban core will have the opportunity to add apartments to their property, thanks to a land use ordinance amendment that the City Council approved on Tuesday. The measure passed unanimously with no discussion.

The amendment extends the Main Street Revitalization District zone to what is currently a Residential 2 zone between Elm and Alfred streets, north of Union Street to the existing MSRD-2 District, including a small area east of Alfred Street and north of Porter Street.

Extending the MSRD-2 zone allows Biddeford to add to the housing stock near the city center, where housing is at a premium. The housing stock in the downtown has decreased, Chief Operating Officer Brian Phinney said, whiled the cost for housing in the same area has increased.The average rent of a two-bedroom apartment has increased sharply in the past three years, from $835 to $1,305 a month. The reason in part for the increase is greater redevelopment in Biddeford’s urban core, he said.

When the amendment takes affect, which it will 30 days after it was passed, it will allow a change in some permitted and conditional uses along with the increased density that allows more units in the area. In addition, the change “will take in an area already suited to MSRD 2 because of existing density,” City Planner Greg Tansley said.

The increased residential density in certain instances in the city’s urban core will be allowed due to another zoning ordinance amendment the council passed on March 5.

The intent of that change “is to try to increase the availability of affordable housing” in the MSRD 2 zone, Phinney said.

That amendment allows property owners a density bonus of one residential unit for every 650 square feet of living space within an existing structure providing certain criteria are met. For instance, to receive the density bonus, a property that has units of two or more bedrooms must maintain the same number of units with at least two bedrooms, Phinney said. Also, applicants who receive a density bonus must enter into a contract with the city requiring them to complete renovations in accordance with the Maine Housing Quality standard, and those units much be certified as such before an occupancy permit is granted.

If a density bonus is used for a condominium renovation, the sale price for the units must be no more than 125 percent of the York Country median home value, Phinney said. The median home price in Biddeford rose from $179,900 in 2013 to $234,900 in 2017.

While extending the MSRD 2 zone will provide the benefit of increased density, it will not mandate that property owners in the extended area comply with requirements of being in a historic district. Currently, the entire MSRD 2 is in the city’s historic district. But the amendment restricts the Mixed Residential Historic District to the MSRD-2 Zone as depicted on the Official Zoning Map in effect on June 9, 2011.

“A revision of the Historic Preservation Ordinance is expected to be initiated as an outcome of the new Comprehensive Plan,” City Planner Greg Tansley stated in a memo. “This will likely involve a re-delineation of Historic District boundaries based on a new inventory (recommended) of building/structures in the Downtown Area.”

On Tuesday, the council approved another zoning ordinance amendment to change an R-2 District to a B-1 District. The new area extends the existing B-1 District across Maple Street to encompass property at 48 Elm St. located between Maple and Pine streets, and along the common boundary of said property and Pine Street and continuing across Elm Street.

— Associate Editor Dina Mendros can be contacted at 780-9014 or dmendros@journaltribune.com

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