Town of Scarborough

Board & Committee Newsletter

The Town of Scarborough has a number of citizen-led boards and committees working to enhance our community. Their efforts are guided by the expertise of citizen volunteers and have a lasting impact in our town. Read on to see what some of the busier boards and committees have been up to in the past few months. Visit our Boards & Committees page for access to meeting agendas or to apply to fill a vacancy, and use 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 Notable Projects

The Planning Board has reviewed several notable projects in the past few months. At its February 20th meeting, the Board approved the site plan application of Portland Rugby Club for two athletic fields, a clubhouse, and network of walkways connecting the fields at 122 Two Rod Road. Additionally, InterMed submitted a sketch plan proposing a surgery center, urgent care, and office building in the Downs Town Center subdivision. The Board will be reviewing the Downs Town Center 1st subdivision amendment in their April 16 meeting. Meeting recordings are available to view on the Scarborough Maine Public Meetings YouTube channel.

Clubhouse plan from the Site Plan Review Application for Portland Rugby Club (February 20th meeting)

Long Range Planning Committee is Simplifying Ordinances

The Long Range Planning Committee (LRPC) has continued its work to implement the Comprehensive Plan that was approved by the Town in 2021. As part of this work, the LRPC is simplifying and clarifying existing ordinances, including combining standards from the Site Plan Review Ordinance and Design Standards for its Commercial Districts. The current standards under review pertain to architectural requirements, building materials, placement of buildings on a site, and pedestrian amenities for new and redevelopment projects. The Committee anticipates work continuing on this through the spring. The next topic for review is the existing parking standards. Learn more about Ordinance Consolidation.

The Comprehensive Plan outlines a vision for the future of Scarborough. It was completed in June 2021.

Coastal Waters and Harbor Advisory Committee

Coastal Waters has focused their efforts around parking in the Pine Point area. They recently completed an extensive parking analysis and sent recommendations to the Town Council for a more in-depth look at parking solutions due to the pressure on the Pine Point Co-op. The committee is trying to alleviate some parking issues at the co-op by making improvements to the commercial fishing lot and putting up additional signage.

Also at the co-op, new cranes for commercial fishers have been installed and are up and running since the end of February. 

"Sunset at Pine Point" by Connie Gregoire

School Building Advisory Committee Meets Weekly

The Scarborough School Board and Scarborough Town Council are working together with a new School Building Advisory Committee. The committee charge is to research the current space issues in the district and propose a new solution. They held their first meeting on February 12 and are now meeting on a weekly cadence. The committee is currently finalizing subcommittees for the following:

• Enrollment 
• Business Case Review
• Finance
• Benchmarking & Programming
• Building Infrastructure
• Communications

They will begin to meet in these groups once formed. This past week, the committee went on building tours of the Middle School and Eight Corners School. Additionally, a school building survey prepared by a consultant was recently administered to committee members. Within the next couple of weeks, residents of 4,000 randomly selected homes will receive the statistically valid survey to provide their insight and help inform the committee of community opinions. Results will be shared when available.

Sustainability Committee Supporting New Projects

The Sustainability Committee is advocating for the adoption a Commercial Property Assessed Clean Energy (C-PACE) ordinance, which makes financing available to commercial property owners for energy efficiency projects. The C-PACE Ordinance was presented to the Ordinance Committee in March (view agenda with details) and is scheduled to go to the Town Council for its first reading on April 3rd.

The committee is also finding ways to support sustainability projects in Scarborough. They requested a reserve account for this purpose, recommending that a portion of revenues from electrical permit fees and in-lieu fees collected from the Town’s electric vehicle charging ordinance be directed to the account. It will be reviewed by the Finance Committee. 

Transportation Committee: Study & Traffic Impact Fees

The Transportation Committee is preparing for the upcoming Townwide Transportation Network Study, which was approved last spring in the fiscal year 2024 budget review process. The last Townwide Transportation Study was completed in 2006. The committee expects to have a full draft from the consultants by late spring.

They anticipate the study to cover Vision Zero, High Crash Locations, Bike and Pedestrian connectivity to destinations throughout Town, and consideration of the latest Community Survey results. Some specific areas of town that are of current focus are reimagining Haigis Parkway to provide complete street connection between Route 1 and Payne Road, and the Payne Road corridor from Exit 42 to Gorham Road. When they consider improvements to these areas, the committee is looking at bike and pedestrian network connections and safety.

The committee is also working on reestablishing Traffic Impact Fees in Town. The Town's Ordinance requires all new development projects to mitigate their traffic impacts. Developers pay their portion of Traffic Impact Fees which contribute to a future road construction project. As we move towards completion on many of the designated projects, the Town is looking at our next priorities and the need to establish new Impact Fee areas. The next such area is the Payne Road corridor from Exit 42 to Gorham Road. The Transportation Committee will be considering the master plan for this corridor at their next meeting.

Vision Zero is a strategy to eliminate all traffic fatalities and severe injuries, while increasing safe, healthy, equitable mobility for all.

Conservation Commission Focused on Water Resources

The Conservation Commission is working with the Planning Department to protect Scarborough’s water resources. They want to develop requirements for natural vegetation buffers and increased setbacks. They also finalized their recommendations for new Environmental Standards, which would be added to Chapter 405B Site Plan Standards if approved. The next step is for the Ordinance Committee to review and offer feedback. Looking ahead, the commission is supporting the Open Space Plan process that is currently underway. The plan was approved in the FY2024 budget to identify locations to create opportunities for small and large open space areas that could be used for passive park space, trail connections or other conservation. 

Shellfish Committee

The Shellfish Committee oversees a shellfish conservation program for the Town to ensure the protection and sustainable management of shellfish resources. Over the last few meetings, the committee reviewed Chapter 1002 – Shellfish Ordinance and discussed proposed amendments. They were adopted by the Town Council in their January 17th meeting. Read the amendments here.

The committee is also working to establish conservation time and the proper process to make sure that conservation time gets submitted to the Town in appropriate manner. The next large event for shellfish will be April 8th for license holders, which will be first come first serve.

Parks and Conservation Land Board

The PCLB plays a key role in the Town Council’s goal to increase land conservation through their 30x30 initiative (conserving 30% of Scarborough land by 2030). The Board has been hard at work discussing their part in making this happen and reviewing the resources available to them. They wrote a letter to the Town Council in support of adding a Land Bond request in the upcoming FY25 budget process. Over the next few months the PCLB will be formatting a “Success” report to aid as an informational and educational tool. This report would be a living record of funding allocation and its uses, as well as narratives about each purchase. 

Community Services Advisory Board

The Community Services Advisory Board (CSAB) has warm weather on their mind. Beach atmosphere and operations has been the main topics of discussion and will continue to be as Community Services prepares for another beach season. 

The CSAB will be reviewing and approving their annual goals at their next meeting as well reviewing the proposed FY25 Community Services Budget. The CSAB has also been asked to review the Coastal Waters & Harbor Committee Parking recommendation document at this meeting. 

The Age Friendly Scarborough Committee meets monthly in order to promote active, healthy, and engaged living by residents of all ages, especially older adults. The committee has been focusing on various projects including: a local/state emergency numbers magnet, a Senior Resources Page, and a Walking Group Kick-off event to celebrate the AARP Challenge Grant benches that were installed throughout the municipal campus. 

The Walking Group Kick-off event will be held on Saturday, April 27th at 10 am starting at the Scarborough Public Library. This event is for all ages and will celebrate the installed benches, while also fostering community and wellness through walking. Check out the Library calendar for more information. 

The committee will also be hosting two programs run by AARP this spring. The Smart Driver TEK workshop will be held at The Hub on Tuesday, May 21st at 1pm. This 90-minute workshop is free and will keep you in the know about the latest high-tech safety features in your current or future car. The Driver Safety Course will be held at The Hub on Thursday, June 27th at 9am. This 4-hour course is $25 for non-AARP members and will teach you research-based safety strategies to help keep you safe while on the road. 

The next Age Friendly Scarborough committee meeting will be held on Thursday, April 11th at 11am at The Hub. 

Five new benches were installed at various walking points throughout the municipal campus, thanks to the support of this committee and the Library.

The Ad Hoc Community Center committee first formed last summer and is now working on the specifics of a potential future community center. UTILE, the committee's architectural consultant, has been hard at work in narrowing down the building program (spaces inside the building) as well as reviewing operational costs and offsetting revenue potential. Presently, they are working on evaluating municipally owned properties to share for site fitting. This is the next step in the process to get closer to a construction cost figure. Once all three pieces are complete (construction cost, operational budget and revenue projections), the committee will then “work” the facility figures to create the most cost effective facility while trying to find an operational balance to meet the needs of the community. 

Committee meetings are open to the public and we would love your input. See the project page for more information. The Committee will be hosting a Community Center Open House this spring—details to come.

Watch a Committee Meeting

Committee meetings are a great starting point for you to participate in your particular topics of interest—they are less formally structured 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.

The following boards/committees currently have vacancies:

• Shellfish Committee

Applications are reviewed monthly by our Appointments and Negotiations Committee.