York Town News
Beach rezone on hold
By Jennifer L. Saunders
YORK BEACH - The York Beach Zoning Ordinance will not be included on the November ballot.
That was the unanimous decision of the three Planning Board members present for the June 28 meeting after a lengthy public hearing that included comments both in favor of and against the proposal.
For the York Beach Renaissance Committee, which has been working on the ordinance for years now, the decision came as difficult news.
The committee has been meeting weekly with Town Planner Steve Burns since September - and began its volunteer efforts long before that - in an effort to draft an ordinance to allow changes to the York Beach business district and its surrounding residential neighborhoods. The overall plan has been to allow the village center to expand in keeping with the character of its Victorian-era roots.
The logistics of that, however, have caused concern for some abutters to York Beach's village center.
The current draft includes a village business zone and a transition zone with a mixture of businesses and residences in what is currently a residential neighborhood.
"I think the key policy choice is whether you want the Beach to expand as a mixed-use center or not," Burns told the Planning Board at the start of the public hearing.
Those who spoke against the current proposal raised concerns about increased density in the transition zone and impact on residential neighborhoods.
"I have a big, big problem with proposing 5,000-square-foot lots," Rick Boardman said of the transition zone area surrounding the York Beach business center. "Eighth-of-an-acre lots ... to me, you don't put eighth-of-an-acre lots in those woods."
Boardman said such a move directly benefits particular landowners but doesn't make sense in terms of the overall character of the area and with regard to such issues as drainage problems in York Beach.
Renaissance Committee Chairwoman Dawn Fernald disagreed that members of the committee are thinking only of their own properties.
"I want to speak a little about the self-serving comments we've heard... We've asked for input from everyone in town," she said, pointing out that she has no business interest in York Beach and resides in another area of town.
Her fellow committee member Steve McNally agreed.
"I'm a York Beach Renaissance addict," he said, describing a positive process filled with compromises - including the reduction of an original proposal for 60-foot building heights to mimic Victorian-era hotels down to the current proposal for 40-foot height limits.
Many different opinions were shared through the process, he said, with a hope of revitalizing York Beach by making it possible to renovate or expand business properties with a reasonable return, improving the appearance of York Beach while adding to the tax base to help the town's taxpayers as a whole.
"There's going to be an evolution of growth in the town, whether we like it or not," he said, stating the question is what kind of growth the town wants to have.
Bob Dunfey spoke on behalf of Berkshire Development, which has an option on land adjacent to the business district, including the York's Wild Kingdom property. While the ordinance does not affect the Berkshire parcel, Dunfey said, "Berkshire strongly supports reinvestment in York Beach Village Center."
He urged the Planning Board to forward the proposed zoning ordinance to the voters.
David Woods, a member of the committee, told the Planning Board, "We're getting closer. ... It is a work in progress, and I don't believe this is as dramatic of a change as a lot of people may think."
Residents opposed to the current draft, however, voiced concerns about increased traffic congestion and the deterioration of residential neighborhoods.
Ultimately, Planning Board Chairman Glen MacWilliams and members Barrie Munro and Tom Manzi voted not to move forward with the ordinance at this time, and instead to hold a work session with the York Beach Renaissance Committee with an eye toward including the ordinance on the May ballot.
Munro raised concerns including impact on abutters and the 5,000-square-foot lot size in the transition zone, while Manzi questioned issues related to parking and the floodplain in the area.
"The amount of work that's gone into this is huge," MacWilliams said in praising the volunteer committee, but added that a recurrent issue for the Planning Board has been design review.
He urged the committee to come forward with a draft that includes design requirements rather than options.
Manzi said voluntary guidelines effectively remove any power from the Planning Board and Code Enforcement Office to satisfy abutter concerns.
"I think the voters are entitled to something more specific than what we have before us," Munro added.
Although the board's consensus was the ordinance is not ready at this time, the members urged the York Beach Renaissance Committee not to give up.
"Don't stop, please. You've done too much to stop now," MacWiliams said.
Burns suggested a workshop in August for the two groups to work together.
"I want this thing to happen. I really do," Munro said. "... We'll get it done, but not
