It is a constant challenge to keep the residents of Scarborough up to date on what’s happening in their town government. We post on Facebook, send out a bi-monthly e-newsletter, have a newsfeed on our website, post informational slides and meetings on our local cable access channel, and sometimes contribute to the In the Know section of the Scarborough Leader. This column is another means to share what the Town Council is up to and other information on important topics we think you may find interesting and want to Be Informed.
The Be Informed campaign has three parts: promotion of our e-newsletter, an improved town website, and consistent communication from the Council through this column and the newsletter. When you go to our newly designed website, scarboroughmaine.org, you will find a button titled, “Residents.” Click that button and you will be able to easily sign up for our e-newsletter by clicking on the “Town Newsletter” button. You can now also sign up to receive board and committee agendas delivered via email. Just click on the “Stay Connected” button and choose which boards you want to follow. The website design is still fairly new and has some small bugs to work out and if you find a broken link or error we would appreciate you letting us know.
At times difficult topics will be discussed here with town website directions to drill further into the detail when needed. A topic of concern for many residents is the current rate of residential growth happening in our town. The Town Council has charged the Ordinance Committee to review the existing policies and ordinances related to growth and bring forward any recommended changes. Our original Growth Ordinance manages growth to limit the number of single-family homes to 135 per year. With the housing demand moving toward multi-family and smaller homes this 135 permit number was adjusted to accommodate that demand and homes are referred to as units. A home/unit in context to this article is defined as Single family, Condo, Apartment, Duplex,Townhouse and Manufactured home. In 2017, there were 498 new units, in 2018 there were 243 new units, 2019 saw 182 new unit,s and in 2020 to date there have been 79 new units with many more in the Planning Board review process. Pipeline projects include Multi-Family: Piper Shores phase II 52 senior units, North Village 84 units, Upland at the Downs 70 units (Affordable senior), Downs 100+ units, Little Dolphin School 60 units (Affordable senior), Single- and Two-Family: Cottages at Sawyer Road 92 units, Whitten Woods six units, Peaceful Acres nine units, Holbrook Farm 16 units and the Downs 25+/- units. All growth equates to more calls to fire and EMS service and increased demands for all municipal departments, traffic on our roads, pressure on our natural resources and family homes impact our school enrollment. There will be an Ordinance Committee meeting on Thursday Aug. 20 from 4 to 5 p.m. where this topic will be discussed along with Long Range Planning Committee input. You can attend or view this meeting from the Home Page>Town Calendar>Thursday, Aug. 20. We will also post a follow up on the findings here with the next Council Corner in the Scarborough Leader.
You can help keep this column filled with the information you think is important by sending your ideas for articles to the Town Council, towncouncil@scarboroughmaine.org. We intend to use this space not just when something contentious is in front of us but to discuss how taxation works, what services the town provides, insights into the Town Charter, and other topics that will help important conversations happen with better information shared by all participants. Our job is to make information available and we ask all of you to Be Informed and to sign up for our newsletter, check in with our website, and read this column regularly.
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