Kittery development moratorium near Route 236 expiring. Town to address zoning changes.
KITTERY, Maine — A nearly year-long, town-ordered halt on development in one area of town will soon expire. Officials are still evaluating the future of the land in question and how it should be zoned.
After community outcry against a proposed 900-unit residential and commercial development on Dennett Road and Route 236, the Town Council held a special meeting last summer to amend zoning rules and block the project, called Dennett Landing, from advancing before the Kittery Planning Board. A petition, created by former town councilor Charles Denault, called for the then-mixed-use neighborhood zone, to be replaced with its prior designation, the business park zone, which the council agreed to last July.
A moratorium on development was then enacted within the zone, now set to expire in August after being extended last fall, while town leaders chose to re-evaluate how the land could be developed in the future.
The Planning Board, according to town director of planning and development Jason Garnham, recently recommended that the Town Council amend the town zoning map to call the area the business park zone, which reflects Kittery’s zoning text.
“This will eliminate the inconsistency between the zoning text and the zoning map that expiration of the moratorium would have created,” Garnham said. “So, in the near-term, the area in question will completely revert to business park zoning on August 8 and the associated business parking zoning provisions will re-take effect.”
The purpose of the business park zone is “to encourage investment that promotes development of a high-quality parklike setting for both the business and residential communities,” town code states.
Permitted land uses for development in the business park zone include commercial parking lots or parking garages, mass transit stations, schools, museums, hotels and more alongside cluster residential development.
Work on assessing the land, however, is far from complete, as the town aims to further study how the land could potentially be developed in years to come.
Later in June, the findings of a hydrologic assessment of the area around Route 236 and Dennett Road - conducted by a consultant that the town hired - could be released.
The watershed study began in November with field testing in the area between Dennett Road, I-95, Route 236 and Martin Road.
“This should clarify developable and undevelopable areas and outline potential mitigation strategies for future development to minimize impacts on neighboring areas,” Garnham stated.
The planning and development director added that the town is looking to have a consultant perform a market analysis of the business park zoning district, as well as the mixed-use zoning district along U.S. Route 1 near the outlets.
“We specifically want to understand the opportunities for commercial development in both areas and what the market thresholds (and) barriers are for provision of housing that serves a range of households (and) income levels,” Garnham continued.
Upon completion of a market analysis, the town would proceed to hire another consultant and, informed by the findings of the analysis and hydrologic assessment, conduct public feedback sessions to come up with possible solutions on how the area could be zoned for future use.
“This will involve several public meetings and focused discussions with stakeholders and should result in a small number of development plan sketches which will serve as conversation pieces,” said Garnham.
Such work is anticipated to begin in the fall. From there, town staff and related committees will draft amendments to the zoning code.
This article originally appeared on Portsmouth Herald: What's next for former Dennett Landing site in Kittery, Maine?
