By Amanda Estes
Staff Writer
    In an effort to prevent another controversy, similar to the one that surrounded last year’s Sawyer Marsh development, the city council is considering amendments to the city’s zoning ordinance that would extend the Resource Protection (RP) zoning district and terminate the special exceptions that currently allow for construction on the margins of 100-year flood plains.
    The property in Sawyer Marsh was preserved through a land swap between the city and developers Paul Vose and Larry Lydon. Vose and Lydon were given a city owned lot across the street from 689 Sawyer Street, which was the property they had been given approval to develop. The development was initially given approval because it is  upland beyond the boundary line of the 100-year flood plain. The Sawyer Marsh was determined by a city study to be one of the most valuable open spaces in the city.
    “The potential for another Sawyer Street controversy is still there today and potentially we would have to allow some development,” said Tex Haeuser, South Portland’s Planning and Development Director, at Monday’s council workshop. He said Councilor Jim Soule asked him to prepare amendments to the zoning ordinance as a method for providing some protection right away for the city’s streams and flood plains. Haeuser developed the amendments in cooperation with City Manager Ted Jankowski, Code Enforcement Officer Patricia Doucette, Community Planner Steve Puleo, and Councilor Soule. 
    Part of the proposed zoning amendments is to extend the RP zone by 25 feet. The RP zones are comprised of four streams, their tributaries and their respective 100-year flood plains. Puleo defined a 100-year flood plain as an area that is likely to be flooded once every 100 years. The RP zoning district currently includes Anthoine Creek, Barberry Creek, Mill Creek including Kimball Brook and Trout Brook, and Long Creek, which includes Clark’s Pond, Jackson Brook, Red Brook and their tributaries. Soule said the group debated over the size of the buffer and considered extensions of 100 or 50 feet, but determined that those extensions would be taking too many rights away. Puleo said 25 feet is a typical wetland buffer.
    The second amendment would remove the special exceptions in the ordinance that currently allow for the development of homes and related structures in the RP district.
    “Now in the RP zone, people are allowed to build a home as long as the home is elevated and includes design features that allow the water to pass through,” Haeuser said. He said under current code regulations in chapters 5 and 27 of the city’s respective building and zoning ordinance, the Planning Board can approve the construction of homes in flood plains. Under the proposed amendment, only additions or alterations to existing structures would be permitted and properties with pending approval or recent approval, meaning from 2000 to the present, would be allowed to continue. The ordinance would be retroactively dated to March 7, which is the date it became public knowledge. 
    Exceptions to the ordinance that would not be affected by the amendment are public educational facilities, public utility structures, water-related uses such as boat ramps, and agricultural uses. The ordinance also currently allows for recreational uses such as golf courses, but Haeuser said he would discuss removing that exception with the Planning Board in response to concerns from Councilor Linda Boudreau. Boudreau also questioned why agricultural uses would still be permitted, since “not everyone is an organic farmer.”
    Mayor Claude Morgan said he thinks the city could address the farming issue by only permitting organic farmers to use the land.
    Within the RP zoning district, there are 12 lots that could potentially be impacted by changes to the boundaries and permitted uses of the zones. In the Anthoine Creek area, one of two properties would be slightly impacted by the 25-foot extension and on the other property several condominium units already exist. In the Barberry Creek area one property would be impacted, but there would still be land available outside of the zone for development. The Mill Creek area contains the majority of the affected parcels with 10 lots that are available for development under the current RP zoning, but may not necessarily be available under the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) regulations. Haeuser said the Long Creek area has the benefit of an existing 100-foot setback from the stream channel so there do not appear to be any areas where new boundaries would prevent development. Doucette said that a second look at the lots might determine that the land is not developable anyway due to other stipulations.
    The amendments were referred to the Planning Board for consideration and a public hearing and will most likely be the subject of another city council workshop. The council will want to hear from owners of the potentially impacted parcels and learn more about the current status of the properties in question.