Wells voters overwhelmingly approved an ordinance Tuesday establishing a temporary moratorium on large-scale residential developments.
According to the unofficial results published by the town, 980 ballots were cast in support of the measure, representing more than 92 percent of those who turned out to the polls.
The now-approved moratorium will temporarily prevent any large-scale residential development of forty-five units or more from moving forward during a 180-day period that will be deemed to have retroactively begun on April 16.
The Select Board will have the option of extending this moratorium in 180-day increments, subject to a public hearing, should they find that need still exists.
The moratorium was proposed in order to give local officials the opportunity to study the town’s “existing infrastructure, public facilities, and ordinances” in order to determine the potential impact of larger developments and to consider ways to address them.
Until recently, the vast majority of residential subdivision proposals with which the town was faced were significantly smaller in size with an average of fourteen units.
While the moratorium is in effect, Wells will not allow for:
- “Siting and/or constructing any Large-scale residential development;
- The acceptance or processing of any application pending on or after April 16, 2024 for Large-scale residential development; or
- The issuance of any approval or permit related to any Large-scale residential development.”
Under Maine state law, municipalities can enact a moratorium of this nature if it is “needed” to prevent the overburdening of local facilities or if the application of existing plans and ordinances would be “inadequate” to prevent “serious public harm” as a result of residential development in the area.
“We felt we really need to get our hands around this and put a pause on large-scale development in town,” Scott DeFelice, vice chair of the Wells Select Board, reportedly said in advance of the vote this week. “Things are already pretty jammed up here, especially in the Route 1 area.”
Click Here for More Information on the Moratorium
The Wells Planning Board is scheduled to hold a public hearing and workshop on August 12 to discuss a number of proposed changes to local ordinances designed to help the town adapt to larger residential projects.
Among the proposed changes are the elimination of all but two density bonuses, raising the parking requirements for banks, lodging facilities, restaurants, and dwelling units, and increasing the minimum square footage for cluster lots, among other things.
I wish South Portland would do this but nooooo. The most of them are whining that we need MORE taxpayer subsidized housing for welfare recipients. Actual working men and women are unwelcome here.
Too little too late?
Seems like other towns should follow the lead of Wells and hold off large-scale housing.