Staff Writer

Standards applied to the Dunstan Corner subdivision off Route 1 and Broadturn Road will apply to a wider section in the area if some committee zoning recommendations are accepted and implemented.

The revisions are intended to help promote “walkable neighborhoods with sidewalks, parks and other common space.” Possible changes to zoning are considered as part of the “Future Land Use Plan” section of the comprehensive plan.

The changes, which would expand the Village Residential 2 zone, were considered by the council Wednesday after the Leader print deadline. Councilors will forward proposed changes to the Planning Board and schedule a public hearing.

A memo from the six-member Comprehensive Plan Implementation Committee, which includes Planning Board Chairman Allen Paul and Councilor Michael Wood, calls for expansion of the VR2 zone because of improvements to the intersections of Payne Road and Route 1 and Broadturn and Pine Point roads and Route 1. The improvements are intended  to help improve traffic flow in the area. The  road work would be completed in 2012, according to the report.

Scarborough currently has seven rural, residential and commercial zones in the area between Route 1 and the Maine Turnpike and bisected by Broadturn Road. Committee members recommended expanding the VR2 zone into rural farming areas because councilors approved changes that allow limited agricultural uses, including raising poultry in residential areas.

If enacted, the expanded VR2 zone would cover land north of Broadturn Road in a subdivision along Saratoga Lane and south of the Dunstan Crossing subdivision. Zones covering the area would be reduced to five – changes the committee said will create more consistency in the area.

The committee also has proposed a two-acre minimum plot for homes in the VR2 zone, requiring on-site sewage disposal and limiting to two homes per acre if they are using  public sewage disposal.

Future subdivisions would be required to have sidewalks, a grid pattern for streets and areas set aside for common use.

Councilors last approved changes to the comprehensive plan in 2006. The comprehensive plan proposes the VR2 zone “provide a quality residential neighborhood as part of Dunstan Village,” according to the resolution placed before councilors at Wednesday’s meeting.

Voters approved the subdivision plan in 2003.

Staff writer David Harry can be reached at 282-4337, ext. 219