Growth Management Ordinance

Growth in Scarborough

Scarborough is a desirable community to live and work, sought after for its proximity to Portland, quality schools and services, access to nature and coastal ecosystems, and pristine beaches. This attractiveness to new residents is nothing new. Scarborough’s population and housing trends have been among the State’s fast growing for more than 5 decades.

The Growth Management Ordinance (GMO) was first adopted in 2001 in reaction to the rapid single-family housing development that was prevalent in the late 1990s and early 2000s and its impact on our school facilities and municipal services. Scarborough is fairly unique in this regard, as very few communities in Maine use such a growth management measure. 

Recent diversification in housing construction led to complexities surrounding the GMO. The increase in development of multi-family choices was not the focus or the expected pattern of development during the adoption of the 2001 GMO. Recent multi-family developments, when coupled with the traditional single-family growth, created pressure on the system and a need for significant modifications to the GMO. The Town Council approved a new Growth Management Ordinance on May 5, 2021. It took effect on June 1, 2021.

2023 Revisions

Growth Management Ordinance

About the Ordinance

Our Growth Management Ordinance (GMO) is a very specific tool to manage the pace of development within our community. The ordinance regulates how much of the allowable growth in an area can occur in a single year, within the framework of the following criteria:

1. To provide for the immediate housing needs of the existing residents of the Town of Scarborough.
2. To ensure fairness in the allocation of building permits.
3. To plan for continued residential population growth in Scarborough which will be compatible with orderly and gradual expansion of community services including, but not limited to, education, public safety, transportation infrastructure, waste disposal and health services.
4. To avoid circumstances in which the rapid development of new residences, potentially housing many families with school age children, would outpace the Town’s capability to expand its schools and other necessary services soon enough to avoid serious school overcrowding and a significant reduction in the level and quality of other municipal services.

Under State statute, our GMO is used to manage the pace of growth, not total growth within the community. It cannot, on its own, determine how much ultimate growth is allowed in an area of town. Other tools, such as the zoning ordinance regulate total growth through density and development standards.

Twenty years later, with an increased rate of growth, permit allocation reaching capacity within months of the new year’s allotment, and an updated Comprehensive Plan near completion, the Town Council modified the GMO to better accommodate the needs of the town.

VIEW Gmo

View all Scarborough Town Ordinances. The Growth Management Ordinance is listed as 413.

Ordinance Amendments

2021: The Council had two proposed changes to the Growth Management Ordinance: A repeal and replace of the existing Ordinance- Order No. 21-029, and an amendment to the existing Ordinance- Order No. 21-024. 

2022: The Council has a GMO amendment being reviewed, proposed in September 2022: Extend two of the low impact dwelling unit exemptions that were included in the Growth Management Ordinance re-write and have either expired or will expire at 12/31/2023. Amendments are proposed to Section 6: Exemptions (View Here on page 15 of 10/5 Council Meeting Agenda).

Residential Permit Reporting

The amended Growth Management Ordinance adopted in 2021 requires reporting for residential permits issued as of the June 1, 2021 effective date. Records will be updated monthly.  We appreciate the community's patience as staff continues to refine the process for updating and maintaining these records.

2021 Residential Growth Overview Memo

GMO 2022 Archived Report
GMO 2021 Archived Report

VIEW PERMIT REPORT

2023 Revisions

After the GMO was amended in 2021, the first application for an exemption process was submitted in 2022. The new exemption process brought a complexity for both the Town Council and developer to navigate. This experience exposed the need to revisit the GMO for another round of revisions to more effectively meet the needs of the community.

In January 2023, the Town Council set a Residential Growth Management goal for the year: "To update our ordinances to better manage the pace and impacts of growth on the community." Councilors Jon Anderson and Nick McGee volunteered to lead this effort with staff support.

Supporting Goals:

1. Review and revise the Growth Management Ordinance (GMO) by June 30, 2023 to enhance the predictability of residential growth in Scarborough and make progress on prioritized elements of the Comprehensive Plan.
2. Revise zoning to better align with future growth goals and at a minimum:

• Update Zoning Ordinance to ensure compliance with LD2003 prior to the law going into effect
• Review and make recommendations to update existing Impact Fees and identify new areas for consideration (School, Traffic, Recreation, and new areas - e.g. Environmental).
   

Process

Work began in the Fall of 2022 and has included solicitation of input from all pertinent Town Advisory Committees, staff and the development community.

Developer's Focus Group on Growth Management Ordinance

YouTube Recording | (January 11, 2023)

Scarborough Economic Development Corporation (SEDCO) along with select town staff and council members invited developers to a brainstorming session on the use and implications of the current GMO. Their suggestions will contribute to the review and revision process in Spring 2023 as prioritized by the Town Council.

A Town Council workshop is scheduled for February 15, 2023 for preliminary ideas to be shared with the Town Council and the public in an effort to further shape the final recommendation for modification to GMO.

Town Council Workshop on GMO

YouTube Recording | (February 15, 2023)
Presentation Slides

Councilors Nick McGee and Jon Anderson shared preliminary ideas with the full Town Council and the public in an effort to further shape the final recommendation for modification to GMO.

Council Corner Live on GMO

YouTube Recording | (March 2, 2023)
6:00pm, Public Safety Building

Councilors Nick McGee and Jon Anderson facilitate an informal, two-way conversation with residents to hear more public input on the GMO and potential revisions.

 

Meetings

January 11, 2023 | GMO Focus Group Meeting:
Recording

September 21, 2022 | Town Council Meeting:
Agenda
Recording

September 28, 2022 | Town Council Workshop:
Agenda
Recording

October 5. 2022 | Town Council Workshop:
Agenda
Recording