Staff Writer 

In a month, Lee Wilson may open up for business at 553 Shore Road in Cape Elizabeth. Since she purchased the property,  Wilson said she has envisioned a “small retail space” in the first floor of the building, with offices on the second floor and possibly a residential tenant on the third. 

“We saw a house that should have been a business rather than a home,” Wilson told the Sentry in November. “Nobody would want to live there now.”

Until Monday, zoning regulations had prevented Wilson from moving forward with her plans. The town council passed amendments to the town’s Business A, or BA, zoning ordinance that converted Wilson’s property from a residential to commercial lot in a 4-2 vote with councilors Jim Rowe and David Backer in the minority. Once the changes to the ordinance are enacted after the formal waiting period, Wilson can open for business.

“It’s going to be beautiful and low impact and incredible,” Councilor Sara Lennon said of the property’s conversion to commercial. 

Backer and Rowe said they both sympathized with the opinions of members of the North Shore Neighborhood Association, a group of residents who live close to Wilson’s property. For nearly a year, the group has opposed the expansion of the BA district to include Wilson’s property on the basis that it would result in a decline in their property values and changes in the overall nature of the neighborhood. 

“I have yet to hear a compelling reason for rezoning 553 Shore Road,” Backer said. “What would I want the rules to be if I were a neighbor, or living in the neighborhood of 553 [Shore Road]? The people who have lived in the area for 20 or 30 years have a reasonable expectation that zoning ordinance will protect them.”

Councilors who voted in favor of the BA expansion on Shore Road said they believed the new ordinance language was restrictive enough to protect the neighborhood. The ordinance restricts businesses within 100 feet of a residential district to operate past 10 p.m. and has special limitations for lots bordering residential properties. According to the ordinance, Wilson’s lot may only be converted to a “personal services” business – including a barber or beauty salon, a tailor shop, and a dance studio – a village retail shop, a professional business office, a “cottage industry manufacturing” business or a day care facility. Wilson has been vocal about her intentions to convert the first floor into a small boutique-like shop.

Lennon said she was hopeful members of the North Shore Neighborhood Association would welcome and support Wilson and her new business to the area much as they did the Cookie Jar and Ann Veronica – two businesses already within earshot of 553 Shore Road.

“Talk to each other and make friends because you all have the same goal and it’s going to be great,” Lennon said.

On the other side of town, amendments to the BA district also included changes that may affect businesses along Route 77 in Cape Elizabeth. Councilor David Sherman said he was optimistic about the inclusion of new performance standards and site plan review requirements and what it might mean for the aesthetics of the southern portion of Route 77. 

“Businesses are going to have to consider things like buffering, parking and curb cuts,” he said. “It’s going to encourage more and more responsible businesses.”

According to the ordinance, businesses along Route 77 may normally operate between 6 a.m. and 10 p.m. and are permitted to stay open until 11 p.m. three nights a year with permission from the code enforcement office. Businesses within 100 feet of a residential lot – including Rudy’s of the Cape restaurant – may not serve alcohol outside and no more than 50 percent of a restaurant’s annual income can be collected from the sale of alcohol.

The amendments to the BA ordinance along Route 77 passed in a 4 to 2 vote with councilors Rowe and Backer in the minority.

   Staff Writer Nate Jones may be reached at 282-4337 ext. 233.