By James V. Horrigan
Staff Writer
When the Scarborough Town Council meets next week to approve a six-month moratorium on development on an area around Running Hill Road, what isn’t clear is the answer to the question: Why now?
“I guess that there’s been somebody talking about doing some sort of development out there, although there’s been no formal application,” said Town Councilor Judy Roy.
Scarborough Town Manager Ronald Owens said a combination of factors, including several potential developments, led to the proposal to put all potential development in the Running Hill Road area on hold until next June. The next meeting of the Town Council is on Dec. 19, at which point there will be a public hearing, followed by a vote on the proposed moratorium, Owens said.
“One of the goals of the Comprehensive Plan is to try to minimize residential development on that western side of the turnpike,” Owens said.
“We know there’s interest in some residential development and some interest in commercial development and we don’t want to be having to respond to those [proposals] without having a better plan in place to what we would like to see happen in that area,” he said.
Roy, who said she took a drive down Running Hill Road before the last council meeting, isn’t convinced she wants to see new development in the area.
“I was thinking, let’s not widen this road and destroy this beautiful scene,” she said.
“The pine trees were just laden with snow and it was gorgeous. I think we need to be really cautious about what kind of development we allow in there and just how much disruption we do to what we have aesthetically right now,” Roy said.
In a Nov. 28 letter to the town council, Scarborough Town Planner Dan Bacon wrote that the proximity of the proposed Running Hill Road District to the Maine Mall and turnpike make it an attractive area for growth, as identified in the Updated Comprehensive Plan. Currently the proposed growth area straddles two land use zones, a Rural Residence and Farming zone to the west and a general business zone to the east.
According to the July 2006 update to the Comprehensive Plan, the town has identified the area on both sides of Running Hill Road – from the South Portland boundary to New Road in the west and the Maine turnpike to the east – as one in which development will be “more urban than suburban, more vertical than horizontal.”
The plan describes the area as important for economic development and critical to achieving the town’s goal of a commercial valuation base of at least 25 percent.
“The Plan’s vision is that this district foster high-quality, well-designed commercial and mixed use development that is more urban than suburban and that is organized around a community center that distinguishes Scarborough and offers an alternative to the form of development in the Maine Mall area,” Bacon wrote.
He said the six-month moratorium will give the town a chance to study the area without the threat of new development in the interim.
Bacon’s suggestions for areas to study include a look at the current state of roads and sidewalks, an analysis of the present capacity of the area’s water and sewer infrastructure and its potential to serve growth and new development, as well as a plan for the management of storm water and how it affects both the Red Brook and Long Creek urban impaired watersheds, which are subject to heightened state standards.
“We don’t want to open up that area to a lot of residential development further out by extending sewers west of the turnpike,” Owens said. “So those are all issues that have to be dealt with in this planning process.”
Owens said road upgrades of some degree will be required with any new growth.
“It really cannot handle much more traffic than it currently handles, so it would be a problem for any kind of major development that would go into the Running Hill Road area,” Owens said.
Roy said protection of the watershed is something that needs to be looked at sooner, rather than later. But she is also concerned about how any development, commercial or residential, will impact those who already live in the area.
“Have we talked with any of the people living on Running Hill Road? Do they want that to be a four-lane highway some day? What are their thoughts? Were these folks involved in the Comprehensive Plan? Did they have any input?” she asked.
Roy said the moratorium will provide the council and planning board with some breathing room to look at the environmental impact on the watershed, as well as on transportation and public utilities.
“It will give the council a chance to barter those issues around. We’ve all got opinions and concerns, so it gives the council some room and the planning board some room to really look at it carefully before any major development goes on,” Roy said.