York Town News
Planning Board gets first look at plans for a new York Beach
By Jennifer L. Saunders
YORK BEACH - After years of work, the York Beach Renaissance Committee has brought forward a first draft of its proposed ordinance to breathe new life into this historic village of homes and businesses by the sea.Part of the Planning Board's meeting on Thursday, Feb. 22, was devoted to a workshop with members of the committee to discuss the first draft, which calls for a village center in York Beach fanning out to a transition zone with more restricted commercial uses.
Greater York Region Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Cathy Goodwin spoke to the board of the Renaissance Committee's work on the proposed ordinance.
Planning Board Vice Chairman Tom Manzi said it is a "blessing" the 25-page draft document is coming from residents and business owners in the beach, rather than being forced on them by others, using the analogy of the state's controversial plan for educational consolidation as an analogy.
The goal, explained Town Planner Steve Burns, is to include the ordinance on the warrant in November for voter approval.
Both Burns and Goodwin noted one area of the beach that is not addressed in the first draft of the ordinance is the York's Wild Kingdom property, which has been under contract by Massachusetts-based developer Oscar Plotkin for about one year.
Plotkin has been to town a number of times in the past 12 months to meet with local officials and hold public forums on his plans for the park property, but a proposal has not yet been submitted to the town.
"We didn't get into that because we don't know what's being proposed there," Burns said, adding that to make a decision on that parcel "becomes a politically loaded issue" because it could be perceived as being zoned to accommodate a specific future development.
Instead, Burns told the board, the town is focusing on York Beach Village itself and the surrounding neighborhoods.
"The what-ifs are just too big," Goodwin added of the York's Wild Kingdom parcel. "We have to deal with what our current owners are dealing with."
Goodwin applauded the volunteers who have worked toward a common goal of new zoning to help bring new life to York Beach. Several of those volunteers - John and Diane Spear, Joe Lipton Bob Dunfey, David Woods, Steve McNally, Cindy Gould and Cheryl Farley - attended the meeting.
"When we can't agree on something that is a common goal, it gets moved off the table," Goodwin said of the process to date. "… We are always working on what we can agree on as good things, good work, for York Beach."
The overall goal of the ordinance is to revise the existing zoning to more correctly match what is there, Burns and Goodwin explained, and to allow for increased density and other changes to renovate buildings in keeping with the historic character of York Beach.
Goodwin said the vision is for buildings that accommodate retail and housing, with a focus on pedestrian and trolley accessibility rather than vehicular traffic.
The committee has been keeping in mind that the Comprehensive Plan also calls for a village center in York Beach - and of a design that features, for example, buildings with pitched roofs in keeping with the Victorian history of the area as a summer destination. The proposed ordinance would pave the way for shops on the sidewalks, second-story offices and third-story housing, with a transition zone where commercial uses would be restricted as the area moves outward to the surrounding residential neighborhoods and undeveloped properties.
The focus at this time is on the existing commercial area, Goodwin said, in keeping with last year's voter-approval of a Tax Increment Financing district to encourage renovations in the area and a current $15,000 budget request from the town to improve traffic patterns in the area.
And the work has already begun, Goodwin pointed out, citing the removal of the York Beach Cinema to make way for a 250-seat banquet facility and the Atlantic House renovation plan that includes plans by celebrity Chef Lydia Shire to create 250-seat destination restaurant as part of the building.
Goodwin said the driving force behind the changes is the Comprehensive Plan's directions in terms of retaining the character of York Beach and creating a pedestrian-friendly village center there.
"We understand that everything will spin from that," she said.
Recommendations include a zoning district recognizing existing patterns and allowing for redevelopment and new development to match the character of the beach, Burns said.
"I was impressed how closely we matched what the Comp Plan says," Burns said of the work to date, adding, "emphasis should be placed on the quality of design."
Renaissance Committee member Woods pointed out seemingly subtle changes could go a long way toward those goals, but are not allowed in the current zoning. These include increased density in the business district itself and agreements between adjacent business and building owners to provide interior access for patrons to travel from one to another through doorways in shared interior walls.
The transition zone, he said, is "more of a feathering of a concentrated business district … so when you get into the real, current residential areas, there's a clean division between that and the commercial."
Planning Board member Barrie Munro said he agrees with the plans for the York Beach Village at a first look, but expressed some concern about the transition zone.
"The transition zone is the zone that has the greatest potential for development and for change," he said, adding, "we want to get it out in the open now, have any discussion … way in advance of the drop-dead referendum date."
Goodwin noted that while this is the first public airing of the plan, there will be many opportunities for public input and dialogue, adding, "there's opportunity for change, for dialogue."
Burns pointed out that unlike other zoning changes in town, "This is something that people in that area are bringing back to us. … This is a unique circumstance for us."
Manzi said such key points as providing a rationale for proposed changes like an increased building height limit to 40 feet in certain areas of York Beach Village will be important as the draft moves forward.
Goodwin explained that the Victorian-era Union Bluff building that once overlooked Short Sands Beach stood 5½ stories high and was over 65 feet tall.
"In order for the renovations of these buildings to be economically feasible, you have to allow for a higher height," she said, explaining the new 40-foot limit would allow for three stories and a pitched roof for buildings that front on Railroad or Ocean Avenues and Bay, Beach or Main Streets.
She also noted that renovated and new buildings will be in keeping with plans for the town's future flood and drainage improvements.
Burns said the current draft proposal is a lot better than what is currently in place in terms of York Beach zoning. He said that while this plan does not represent everything that needs to be done in the beach, it is a significant portion of it.
The three Planning Board members at last week's meeting - Manzi, Munro and Lee Corbin, who has since been formally appointed from alternate member to full member to replace Richard Smith, who resigned last month - agreed to additional workshops in March and April with the York Beach Renaissance Committee with the plan to schedule public hearings in May.
The Planning Board also discussed an array of other ordinances proposed for the ballot in November to bring the town's zoning ordinance into line with the Comprehensive Plan, including removing density bonuses for development and utilities in rural areas, issues related to new roads and the preservation of open space in proposals for subdivisions.
In other business, the board approved a landscaping change to the Heart Health entrance at York Hospital where concrete needs to be replaced.
Corbin pointed out the change will enhance the safety of the hospital area and will not involve any erosion.
Looking to the future, Steve Pelletier of York Hospital told the board, "We'll be before you in the next three to six months with the surgery center proposal."
The Planning Board's next meeting is scheduled for March 8. For more on the early draft of the York Beach zoning and the other amendments being reviewed for the November warrant, visit the Planning Department website's link at http://www.yorkmaine.org/Portals/0/docs/Planning/2007-02-15%20Ord%20Amendments%20for%20Nov-2007.pdf.
