Town of Scarborough

Board & Committee Newsletter

The Town of Scarborough has a number of boards and committees working to enhance our community, guided by the expertise of citizen volunteers. This special edition newsletter features some of the board and committee work that has taken shape in 2026. Read on for more, then visit our Boards & Committees page for access to meeting agendas and the Town Calendar for a look at recent meetings and links to recordings.

This is a special edition of our regular newsletter. We'll send these periodically for a deeper dive on topics we don't want you to miss.

Planning Board Reviews New Projects & Ordinance Amendments

The Planning Board has reviewed a number of exciting projects this year, including Pageside Heights, a new multifamily development off of Broadturn Road; a mixed-use redevelopment at 26 Adams Way; and the Elmwood Meadows Subdivision, a 23-lot conservation subdivision. The Planning Board has also held public hearings on a range of topics, including short-term rentals, mobile food vendors, and mobile saunas.

The Planning Board continues to provide input on advisory opinions and ordinance amendments. Recent agenda items have included new site plans within the Downs' Town Center and updates to previously approved site plans. The August meeting includes several of these amended site plans, as well as a site plan proposal for trail parking at the Beaver Brook Preserve.

Pageside Heights is a 24-unit workforce housing development at 17 Broadturn Road. It was reviewed by the Planning Board in their March meeting.

What's Ahead

The Planning Board is anticipating several changes to the Zoning Ordinance as the Town incorporates recent state legislation LD1829/LD2173 by July 2027. These updates will include revised standards for accessory dwelling units (ADUs), decreasing the minimum lot sizes in areas served by public water and sewer, and allowing staff to review applications for smaller-scale multifamily buildings of four units or less. Staff also expects an update to Scarborough's Comprehensive Plan and future land use map to align with the state's definition of growth areas. This will allow the community to continue the use of growth permits and moderate development in Scarborough.

Long Range Planning Committee: Zoning Consolidation

The Long Range Planning Committee (LRPC) is one of the primary committees tasked with implementing the Town’s Comprehensive Plan, a 2021 document outlining a vision for the future of Scarborough. This year they have been working through a Zoning Consolidation project stemmed from the Comprehensive Plan. The goal of the project is to refine the number of zoning districts and defined uses into broader category types, grouped by impacts and intensities for a more organic and nimbler commercial and mixed-use development. The efforts also seek to create opportunities to preserve and maintain existing farms and open spaces as well as right size neighborhood zoning.

To date the LRPC has drafted 9-10 refined zoning categories and are testing them on different areas of Town through a mapping exercise. They have completed the review of the Dunstan area and North Scarborough with Oak Hill next on the agenda in August. The work should be wrapped up this fall and the committee will report out findings for potential zoning updates as well provide recommendations for Growth Area amendments to respond to the new state laws that go into effect next year affecting housing.

Shellfish & Coastal Waters and Harbor Advisory Committees

The Shellfish Commission and Coastal Waters Committee continue to work together to protect and enhance Scarborough's valuable coastal resources while supporting the commercial and recreational users who depend on them.

This summer, the Harbor Master and Marine Resources Office have continued to work closely with commercial shellfish harvesters, conducting resource management activities, supporting conservation efforts, and coordinating educational outreach. The annual crab management efforts have also continued with the assistance of local harvesters, helping reduce green crab impacts on the marsh ecosystem and soft-shell clam resource.

On the waterfront, planning continues for several infrastructure improvements, including replacement of aging public access floats and continued maintenance of municipal boating facilities. These projects are designed to improve public safety, increase accessibility, and ensure reliable waterfront access for commercial fishermen, recreational boaters, and emergency response personnel.

The Coastal Waters committee has been discussing dredging, a new dock for more tie space for commercial and charter boats, as well as more skiff tie-up for commercial fishermen. They are currently working on an RFP to replace pier floats next spring. They are also considering options for boat ramp float replacements. The Shellfish committee has focused their work on conducting ordinance reviews.

Thank you to the members of both committees, our commercial shellfish harvesters, volunteers, and community partners for their continued dedication to protecting Scarborough's working waterfront and coastal environment.

"Fisherman's Co-op, Night Shift" by Ken Sabatini, entered in our Summer Photo Contest

The Harbor Master/Marine Resource Officer has a Facebook page! Follow for updates, images and information on the marine resources and harbor management for the Town of Scarborough.

Community Services Advisory Board Supports "Let Grow"

Earlier this year, the Community Services Advisory Board (CSAB) hosted multiple days of engagement with the community to garner feedback regarding Community Services programming and the needs/wants to help drive deliverable programming for 2026.

A few months ago, CSAB worked with Community Services to bring forward a new program called "Let Grow" for Summer 2026. Let Grow is a nonprofit program focused on helping children build independence, resilience, confidence, and problem-solving skills through real-world experiences and unstructured play. Its school and community initiatives encourage kids to do age-appropriate activities on their own, such as walking to a friend’s house, making a snack, or exploring outdoors, while helping adults “step back so kids can step up.” The program is rooted in research showing that independence and free play support mental health, social-emotional growth, and coping skills. We currently have over 175 kids participating in this challenge-oriented program that will finish in late August.

The Board worked with Community Services to bring forward a new program called "Let Grow"

Following this launch, the current focus of the Board has continued to be on the framework and structure of a full-fledged Volunteer System for Community Services to assist with special events, programs, child care/camps, and community clean-ups. This framework will include detailed roles/responsibilities and requirements/needs from volunteers. Additionally, they are considering recruitment strategies, accessibility (website and easy-to-sign up opportunities), incentives and engagement, and a hosting site to manage it.

What's Ahead

In addition to continued work on the volunteer program, the Board will also assist in the adaptation of a recreation-based application and evaluation tool for Parks and Conservation Land Board. The objective is to have a tool to utilize for potential land bond requests that are not conservation-based, but active recreation-based to assist Community Services in infrastructure support to meet the growing demands for field space, etc.

Sustainability Committee: Climate Action Plan Outreach

The Sustainability Committee continues to pursue opportunities to promote sustainability in Scarborough. They are supporting work on Scarborough's Climate Action Plan, aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions and improving resiliency. The Plan will identify Scarborough's climate challenges and opportunities, creating a vision for addressing climate change in the community. As part of community engagement outreach efforts this summer, the committee has partnered with the Scarborough Public Library on several events to help reduce waste, including clothing swaps and "Junk in the Trunk" free yard sales.

Another current area of focus for the Sustainability committee is researching the opportunities and risks associated with data centers. The committee will provide a memo outlining its recommendations related to data centers to the Town Council in September.

Community members helped inform topics in the Climate Action Plan at the Library's "Junk in the Trunk" event.

Conservation Commission Encourages Stewardship

The Conservation Commission spent time recently providing input and feedback on a tree clearing and land disturbance ordinance and a low impact development ordinance. They've also begun work on a land stewardship guide for homeowners that will focus on using native plants, creating wildlife habitats, conserving water, and other related topics. This effort is expected to take several months to complete.

"Monarch on Milkweed" by Averyl Hill, entered into our Summer Photo Contest (open through August 31st!)

Transportation Committee: Traffic Calming Safety Efforts

The Transportation Committee studies transportation issues and initiatives in Scarborough and makes recommendations to the Town Council and Town Departments on improvements. With the completion of the Transportation Assessment in 2025, they have been reviewing more specific projects this year so far:

• Supported the Safe Streets 4 All Grant demonstration project implementation in early July (pictured).

• Helped finalize the East Grand Avenue Complete Streets Design, which was proposed in the FY2027 budget and ultimately deferred

• Developed and completed the Complete Streets & Traffic Calming Guidance Manual, which was presented to the Town Council on July 15th and will be considered for adoption by the Town Council in their August 19th meeting. 

A temporary pedestrian safety demonstration project was installed on July 8 along Route 1 near Hannaford Drive and Little Dolphin Plaza. The project is part of a regional safety initiative led by the Greater Portland Council of Governments (GPCOG).

With those larger initiatives in the first half of the year complete, the Transportation committee has their focus shifted on other ongoing work. The Scottow Hill Road project will soon be back in the review of the Town Council, after the Town hears about what (if any) grants have been awarded. The committee is looking at traffic calming implementation strategies on the Scottow Hill Road detour route. They are also reviewing High Crash Locations, as identified in the Transportation Assessment.

A priority in the months ahead is supporting the Metro Connect launch, Greater Portland Metro's new service expansion coming to Scarborough this fall. It includes a new fixed bus route along Route 1, and on-demand microtransit up to two miles from the fixed service route.

Looking to the remainder of the year, the committee will begin prioritizing the projects from the Townwide Transportation Study, and will also review the Traffic Calming Request Policy for any needed updates.

The Parks and Conservation Land Board (PCLB) continues to review applications for land purchases. They've also been working on developing a new evaluation tool since last year. Earlier this year they finalized the Land Acquisition Assessment Form (LAAF) application with the help of Viewshed to ensure the process better aligns with the 2025 Open Space Plan. The board re-assessed a handful of past conserved properties with the new tool to check how they would score today. They also updated the Acquisition Evaluation Process (AEP) and paper application based on the assessment tool.

With that work complete, the PCLB now accepts all future proposals using the updated application and assessment tool. They have been asked to assist the Community Services Advisory Board with developing a similar application for recreational-based lands. Plans for the remainder of the year are to continue to accept and evaluate proposals for conserved lands and easements. The board will also be conducting site visits and evaluations of ten Town-owned parcels in September in order to make a recommendation for transfer to the Scarborough Land Trust.

The Land Bond helped the Scarborough Land Trust acquire 25 acres of land adjacent to Pleasant Hill Preserve in May.

Presented by Harriman on July 28, 2026 (view all slides)

Since voters approved the school construction referendum last fall, the Post-Referendum Building Committee has been meeting regularly to help guide the project from concept to construction. The committee has been engaged in the collaborative work necessary to refine the project and prepare the designs for the next phase of development. They've been working closely with the School Department, Town staff, and our architecture team at Harriman to review educational programming, site planning, building layouts, project phasing, and operational needs. The collaborative process ensures that the evolving designs reflect the educational priorities approved by the community while addressing technical requirements, long-term functionality, and project budget.

As the design continues to advance, the team is preparing the materials that will be submitted to our estimators for detailed cost analysis later this fall. Meanwhile, the permitting process is underway, and the team is preparing materials for Planning Board review.

Looking Ahead

This fall, we anticipate receiving updated cost estimates based on the advancing design, providing an important milestone as the committee evaluates the project and continues refining the plans.

The committee is planning a community forum in November to share project updates, present the latest designs, discuss the cost estimates, and answer questions from residents. We encourage community members to stay engaged by following project updates, attending public meetings, and participating in opportunities for public input.

We appreciate the community's continued support as we work together to deliver safe, modern, and inspiring learning environments that will serve Scarborough students and families for generations to come.

Watch a Committee Meeting

Committee meetings are a great starting point for you to participate in particular topics of interest—they are less formal than Town Council meetings and allow ample opportunity for discussion. Find agendas on each individual webpage (all listed here), tune in on the Town's YouTube channel, or participate in person or on Zoom (link in the agenda). Committee meeting dates are listed on each committee page or on the Town Calendar.

Apply to Join a Committee

We also invite you to consider joining a committee. Your time and expertise would have tremendous impact on the Town. Our municipal government relies on the volunteer service of residents on boards and committees. If you are interested in serving on a committee, apply online today.

Current Vacancies: Several of our boards and committees have vacant seats. The Town Council's Appointments and Negotiations committee reviews all applications to fill positions on an ongoing basis. See our Boards & Committee page (bottom) to learn more.

Applications are reviewed monthly by our Appointments and Negotiations Committee.