Update, March 8, 2007: The Cape Elizabeth Town Council voted unanimously to refer the zoning ordinance changes to the Ordinance Committee (made up of town councilors) with the expectation a referal back to the committee will be made in time to hold a public hearing and vote at the council's April meeting.

By Ward Peck
Editor
    A proposal to rehabilitate a shuttered nursing home on Scott Dyer Road in Cape Elizabeth is moving ahead following the town Planning Board’s decision to recommend two changes to the zoning ordinance sought by developers.
    According to Town Planner Maureen O’Meara, town councilors will begin their own deliberations on the amendments at their March 5 meeting.
    Canyon Creek Development, Inc of Salem, Ore. bought the former Viking home located at 126 Scott Dyer Road, just west of the town center in late 2006, according to Ryan Houskeeper, vice president of acquisitions, finance and construction for Canyon Creek. The company has developed a plan to demolish a nearly 30-year-old one-story structure that housed the facility’s skilled nursing and replace it with a two-story building that will house independent-living apartments. Canyon Creek’s plan, according to Houskeeper, calls for the new wing to contain 45 units consisting of studios and one and two-bedroom apartments. It plans only minor alterations to the newer assisted living wing containing 55 units. Including reserves, Canyon Creek expects to invest roughly $12 million in the project.
    But, the project is not allowable under current zoning laws. The total projected 95 units exceed the current allowable density for the facility. In order to proceed, the company has requested the density allowances for the zone be increased.
    The building also does not currently conform to the town’s wetland zoning ordinance. The 1970s-era wing the developers seek to demolish and replace currently encroaches on a 250-foot wide wetlands protection buffer. Under the current ordinance any changes to such a non-conforming use structure cannot increase the overall building volume within the buffer by more than 25 percent.
    Owens McCullough, a civil engineer of the firm Sebago Technics said that by building a two-story structure, the facility’s overall footprint will be reduced, the amount of impervious surface will be decreased and will have no impact on the adjacent sensitive environmental areas. McCullough noted the facility is already served by public water and sewer service. Owens also said the plan is consistent with the town’s goals contained in the Comprehensive Plan to increase the diversity of a housing stock overwhelmingly comprised of single-family homes.
“We are not going to expand the building’s footprint,” McCullough said. “In fact it will probably be reduced.”
    Because the developer plans to expand the building up rather than out, Canyon Creek has petitioned the town to change the standard in order for them to proceed.
    The planning board unanimously approved a recommendation to change the ordinance to increase the allowable building volume expansion from 25 percent to 80 percent, but added some additional restrictions. According to the proposed amendment, such expansion is limited to property served by public water and sewer and as long as the footprint is not increased. The allowance will also not apply to single-family homes
    With the positive recommendation, the proposed ordinance changes will move to the council and be the subject of further deliberations, including a public hearing.
    If the zoning ordinance changes are enacted, Canyon Creek would then be required to present a specific site plan back to the planning board for deliberations in order to receive a building permit.
    “We are poised to commence immediate design and site planning services on our project with the goal of starting construction in the summer of 2007,” Houskeeper wrote last year to the town council in a request for a zone change.
    So far that schedule seems to be holding up. In December 2006 Town Manager Michael McGovern predicted it would be possible the zone change could be enacted as early as April 1, although he said May 1 would be more likely and could take longer depended upon how the proposal is received by the board, the public and ultimately the council. With council deliberations beginning March 5, the likelihood of an early April approval has increased
    That the company is eager to move quickly comes as no surprise to those familiar with its business model. Canyon Creek is the development arm of Sunwest Management, Inc.; a privately held firm established in 1991 that operates a spectrum of senior housing and assisted-living facilities. Sunwest, through Canyon Creek, has acquired more than 220 facilities across the country. The Viking project is the first the company has pursued in Northern New England.