BIDDEFORD — In November, Biddeford’s City Council considered a change to the land development regulations to increase the density for some residential property owners in Biddeford’s downtown. On Wednesday, the Biddeford Planning Board will hold a public hearing on the measure.
When council members considered the issue, most said they liked the idea, however they wanted more input from the public and referred the matter to the Planning Board, ordering the board to hold a public hearing and make a recommendation before bringing it back to the council for a vote.
One goal of the change would be improving the housing stock in the downtown. Former Ward 5 Councilor Victoria Foley brought the issue forward at the request of one of her constituents. She said her constituent thought the measure was a way “to create high quality housing” in the city center.
If the proposal were approved, property owners in the MSRD 2 zone would be allowed to add rental units or create condominiums in their buildings, provided they redevelop the property to increase the quality grade rating above the established medium and that there is at least 650 square feet of living space per residential unit. The MSRD 2 zone circles the the commercial core of the city.
As proposed, the measure would relax minimum density to promote higher quality housing facilities, condominium forms of housing, and affordable housing, according to the ordinance.
To redevelop an existing rental building or convert to or develop a condominium, property owners could be allowed a density bonus of one residential unit for every 650 square feet of living space within an existing structure, provided the applicant present redevelopment plans to the Code Enforcement Officer demonstrating how the redevelopment project will result in the number of residential units with two or more bedrooms being at least or more than the number of units with two or more bedrooms before the density bonus was granted.
In addition, if the density bonus were applied to a new condominium, the unit price could not exceed 125 percent of the York county median home price affordable to median income households in Biddeford.
Currently, the city requires a 2,000-square-foot-lot size per unit in the MSRD 2 zone.
If the measure passes, City Planner Greg Tansley said in November, it would “better utilize some of these very large older buildings” in the downtown that have small lots.
Tansley said he expects the Planning Board to make a recommendation regarding the proposal after the public hearing.
— Associate Editor Dina Mendros can be contacted at 780-9014 and dmendros@journaltribune.com
Comments are not available on this story.
Send questions/comments to the editors.
