While many Town-wide topics of interest are reviewed at the council level, most all discussions begin in municipal committees. Welcome to our first newsletter dedicated solely on the work of our citizen boards and committees. Read on for a brief overview of what our more active committees have been working on in 2022 and their goals looking ahead.

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. We also invite you to consider joining a committee. Your time and expertise would have tremendous impact on the Town.

Stay Connected Visit our Boards & Committees page for access to meeting agendas, or check the Town Calendar for a look at recent meetings and links to recordings.

This year, Conservation Commission work is around prioritizing Commission-related goals and tasks outlined in Scarborough's Comprehensive Plan.

They also have an ongoing focus on community education and outreach about pesticide-free yard care practices, and have put out articles with topics like transitioning to organic lawn care and tick awareness.

A significant accomplishment that came in Spring 2022 was completing a merger of the Conservation Commission and the now former Pest Management Advisory Committee. The commission also supported a $50,000 grant proposal to partner with Maine Department of Transportation (DOT) to develop a resiliency strategy for Route 1 and Pine Point Road where they cross Scarborough Marsh.

Looking ahead, the commission plans to work with the Sustainability Committee to develop an ordinance to minimize habitat alteration during development.

The Long Range Planning Committee's (LRPC) primary focus this year is on implementing the newly adopted 2021 Comprehensive Plan. The committee has been reviewing the strategies and assigning priorities for implementation.

The LRPC also looked at providing input to the Town Council on what changes would be necessary in the Zoning Ordinance if marijuana cultivation was allowed in the RF zone. This request was made by the Council to the LRPC.

In addition, Angela Blanchette, Town Engineer, briefed the committee on watershed management. She explained that Scarborough was working with surrounding communities to give input to the State on a model ordinance for Low Impact Development (LID) provisions for development projects in watersheds.

At their July meeting, the group will go back to their work program on developing a strategy for implementing the Comprehensive Plan. Just like in 2006, implementing the Comprehensive Plan will take time to complete. They will likely spend the balance of 2022 working on the implementation plan strategy.

A few committees reference work aligning their goals to those included in the Comprehensive Plan. Scarborough adopted a new Comprehensive Plan in June 2021 after several years of research, design, public input, and staff and committee time. The plan is a community-wide initiative outlining a vision for the future of Scarborough. It analyzes existing conditions and emerging trends, illustrates a guide for future development and conservation, and provides the Town with strategies for sustainability and steps for implementation.

Much of the committee's work in 2022 has been revising a utility-scale solar ordinance and developing an EV charging ordinance. They also worked with the Conservation Commission to support the $50,000 grant and partnership with Maine DOT for the Route 1/Pine Point Road marsh resiliency strategy.

Looking ahead, the committee will continue to recommend new ordinances or ordinance revisions aimed at making development in Scarborough more sustainable. Examples include advocating for Scarborough to adopt a stricter energy code to make new homes and buildings more energy efficient and working with the Conservation Commission to develop an ordinance to minimize habitat alteration during development.

The charge of this board is to recommend and advise the Town Council on land acquisitions identified through the acquisition evaluation process. As well as any conditions, restrictions or protective measures appropriate for Council to consider on the land identified for acquisition.

Presently, the Board has a recommendation in front of the Town Council to authorize the sum not to exceed $210,000 from the Land Acquisition Reserve Fund for the purchase of 380 Payne Road (Map R038/Lot 7), pictured above. This proposal for consideration was brought forward by the Scarborough Land Trust. The Parks & Conservation Land Board is also reviewing for consideration two other properties presented by the Scarborough Land Trust.

The Planning Board has been busy this year with reviewing site plans for commercial buildings and several subdivisions in town.

As The Downs continues to develop, the Board has worked with the Crossroads team to facilitate approval of the Haigis Parkway entrance to The Downs, which will serve as a connection to the Town Center Residential District and Scarborough Downs Road in the future.

On the commercial side of things, the Board has approved 5 Site Plans for projects that include an IDEXX manufacturing and research facility on Innovation Way, building additions at a local church, redevelopment of an abandoned building on Route 1, as well as construction of a retail and office building in Dunstan Village. We've also seen projects that seek to utilize existing parking areas for retail and commercial space, which is an encouraging trend that reduces impervious area and stormwater impacts. Overall, 14 projects have been approved this year and more are currently under review.

With traffic flow and transportation being key issues in Scarborough right now, the Transportation Committee has a critical role in navigating priorities and action items. This year they have developed a scope for the Townwide Transportation Network Study that has be included in the FY2023 budget. Additionally, they've developed a Town Bike Rack Program and will begin installing bike racks in various locations throughout Town.

They are also reviewing and implementing the transportation-related elements from the Comprehensive Plan, which was adopted in 2021. This implementation is ongoing work that will continue through the remainder of the year.

There have been some accomplishments for the Transportation committee this year. They completed the Payne/Gorham Rd intersection Safety Audit, and reviewed High Crash Locations to inform reestablishing the Traffic Impact Fee Zones in Town.

There are two upcoming pedestrian and traffic improvement projects as part of other road construction, one on Spurwink Road and the other at Highland Ave. The committee provided review and feedback on both of these projects.

In addition to implementing Comprehensive Plan goals, this year the committee plans to update our Traffic Impact Fee Ordinance and lead the Town-wide Transportation Study Initiative.

For the first time in several years Scarborough has a complete Board of Appeals with 5 voting members and 2 alternates. The Board of Appeals (BOA) has a very important role acting in a quasi-judicial capacity to follow stricter procedural requirements (The term “quasi-judicial” literally means court-like; implying that proceedings must be similar to those followed in court proceedings). If the requirements are not followed, a court could invalidate the decision if it is challenged.

Some examples of recent appeals that have come before the Board include miscellaneous appeals to expand or enlarge a non-conforming use of land; several limited reduction of yard size appeals seeking limited relief from required setbacks for additions to existing buildings; practical difficulty variance appeals for dimensional relief when the property is not located in a Shoreland Zone or Special Flood Hazard Area and where no feasible alternative exists.

A relatively new duty that has been transferred to the Board of Appeals from the Planning Board is the determination of Shoreland setback to the greatest practical extent. This occurs when a structure is located within the required setback to the water resource such as a river or ocean, and the owner wishes to replace the structure or the foundation under the structure. The Shoreland regulations require that before the activity can be permitted, the BOA must first determine if the structure can be moved back to the required setback, or if not, the greatest practical extent that it can be moved back.

The BOA must always make its decision based on the rule of law, which is the Zoning Ordinance, or the Shoreland Zoning Ordinance, whichever is applicable to the specific appeal. The BOA must develop findings of fact that lead to “conclusions of law” in order to form the decision to approve or deny an appeal.

Many times, applicants are disappointed to find their appeal is denied because the BOA could not find that a request met the standards for that particular appeal. However difficult, the BOA must set aside emotion and look at the facts in order to reach its decision.

Much of what the Shellfish Commission was working on this year has been set in motion. In fact, most of the members are out harvesting! All of the conservation projects for the year have been organized and scheduled, including invasive crab trapping, shellfish population surveys, and a marsh trash pickup. They are currently supporting a project through the Downeast Institute called the Softshell Clam Recruitment Monitoring Network, consisting of trays placed in the intertidal designed to catch and protect baby clams. This project hopes to provide a better picture of how much clam reproduction is taking place annually and how much of an effect predation has on clam survival.

The shellfish commission is also tasked annually with setting the number of available shellfish licenses based on historical license numbers, shellfish surveys, and guidance from the Department of Marine Resources. They keep general tabs on matters similar to the Harbor committee including monitoring shoreline access for harvesters, and being considerate of various things that may affect Scarborough's shellfish program. These types of things include possible point source pollution areas and also things such as general water sanitation scores in Scarborough which affect whether areas are open to shellfish harvesting.

The Senior Advisory Board was established in an effort to create and provide effective and meaningful programs for Scarborough seniors. This group has been the lead behind planning of the Annual Senior BBQ, discussing the logistics, location, date, entertainment, trivia, raffles, etc. for this annual event.

In recent years and largely as a result of the pandemic, this group hasn't been as active. They have held virtual workshops to check in and talk through current senior program offerings and challenges. This group hopes to become more active and has vacant spots to fill. If you are interested in being a part of developing Scarborough's senior program offerings, consider applying to join the board.

This board acts as a sounding board for the Community Services Department. The Board provides recommendations for consideration to the Council as requested on matters pertaining to planning, developing, financing and implementation of Community Service’s programming and facilities.

Presently, the Board is working on establishing Board goals and then ultimately creating action items to set the path for their work and objectives.

Our municipal government relies on the volunteer service of residents on boards and committees. There are nearly 20 council-appointed committees made effective by the expertise and commitment of dozens of volunteers. If you are interested in serving on a committee, apply online today (applications are reviewed monthly by our Appointments and Negotiations Committee). The following boards and committees have vacant seats:

• ADA Advisory Board

• Community Services Advisory Board

• Housing Alliance

• Senior Advisory Board

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