Update, March 8, 2007: The Cape Elizabeth Town Council voted
unanimously to refer the zoning ordinance changes to the Ordinance
Committee (made up of town councilors) with the expectation a referal
back to the committee will be made in time to hold a public hearing and
vote at the council's April meeting.



By Ward Peck

Editor

    A proposal to rehabilitate a shuttered nursing home
on Scott Dyer Road in Cape Elizabeth is moving ahead following the town
Planning Board’s decision to recommend two changes to the zoning
ordinance sought by developers.

    According to Town Planner Maureen O’Meara, town
councilors will begin their own deliberations on the amendments at
their March 5 meeting.

    Canyon Creek Development, Inc of Salem, Ore. bought
the former Viking home located at 126 Scott Dyer Road, just west of the
town center in late 2006, according to Ryan Houskeeper, vice president
of acquisitions, finance and construction for Canyon Creek. The company
has developed a plan to demolish a nearly 30-year-old one-story
structure that housed the facility’s skilled nursing and replace it
with a two-story building that will house independent-living
apartments. Canyon Creek’s plan, according to Houskeeper, calls for the
new wing to contain 45 units consisting of studios and one and
two-bedroom apartments. It plans only minor alterations to the newer
assisted living wing containing 55 units. Including reserves, Canyon
Creek expects to invest roughly $12 million in the project.

    But, the project is not allowable under current
zoning laws. The total projected 95 units exceed the current allowable
density for the facility. In order to proceed, the company has
requested the density allowances for the zone be increased.

    The building also does not currently conform to the
town’s wetland zoning ordinance. The 1970s-era wing the developers seek
to demolish and replace currently encroaches on a 250-foot wide
wetlands protection buffer. Under the current ordinance any changes to
such a non-conforming use structure cannot increase the overall
building volume within the buffer by more than 25 percent.

    Owens McCullough, a civil engineer of the firm
Sebago Technics said that by building a two-story structure, the
facility’s overall footprint will be reduced, the amount of impervious
surface will be decreased and will have no impact on the adjacent
sensitive environmental areas. McCullough noted the facility is already
served by public water and sewer service. Owens also said the plan is
consistent with the town’s goals contained in the Comprehensive Plan to
increase the diversity of a housing stock overwhelmingly comprised of
single-family homes.

“We are not going to expand the building’s footprint,” McCullough said. “In fact it will probably be reduced.”

    Because the developer plans to expand the building
up rather than out, Canyon Creek has petitioned the town to change the
standard in order for them to proceed.

    The planning board unanimously approved a
recommendation to change the ordinance to increase the allowable
building volume expansion from 25 percent to 80 percent, but added some
additional restrictions. According to the proposed amendment, such
expansion is limited to property served by public water and sewer and
as long as the footprint is not increased. The allowance will also not
apply to single-family homes

    With the positive recommendation, the proposed
ordinance changes will move to the council and be the subject of
further deliberations, including a public hearing.

    If the zoning ordinance changes are enacted, Canyon
Creek would then be required to present a specific site plan back to
the planning board for deliberations in order to receive a building
permit.

    “We are poised to commence immediate design and site
planning services on our project with the goal of starting construction
in the summer of 2007,” Houskeeper wrote last year to the town council
in a request for a zone change.

    So far that schedule seems to be holding up. In
December 2006 Town Manager Michael McGovern predicted it would be
possible the zone change could be enacted as early as April 1, although
he said May 1 would be more likely and could take longer depended upon
how the proposal is received by the board, the public and ultimately
the council. With council deliberations beginning March 5, the
likelihood of an early April approval has increased

    That the company is eager to move quickly comes as
no surprise to those familiar with its business model. Canyon Creek is
the development arm of Sunwest Management, Inc.; a privately held firm
established in 1991 that operates a spectrum of senior housing and
assisted-living facilities. Sunwest, through Canyon Creek, has acquired
more than 220 facilities across the country. The Viking project is the
first the company has pursued in Northern New England.