Staff Writer 

Cape Elizabeth’s Planning Board and Ordinance Committee have spent more than a year reviewing the town’s Business A (BA) district, and if Town Council Chairman Jim Rowe has his way, proposed changes to the zoning ordinance will have to wait a little longer. 

“I personally think there has been creditable evidence brought forth that there may be some confusion due to the inaccuracy of the [zoning] map,” Rowe said. “Half of the lot [at 551 Shore Road] is zoned residential and the other half is zoned business. There’s enough question left there for me.” 

On Monday, he asked other council members to postpone a public hearing on the proposed changes to the BA zone – including updated design standards, setback requirements and boundaries in town – until the planning board has time to consider a rezoning request filed by 551 Shore Road property owner Jane Waning. Waning is requesting her lot at 551 Shore Road, which is currently included in the BA zone, be rezoned Residential C, or RC.

“I purchased 551 Shore Road in 1992 and was told it was in a residential zone,” Waning said on Monday. “I don’t know when [a zoning change] took place, I wasn’t ever given any notice. I’d like [the zoning] changed as soon as possible.”

Town Planner Maureen O’Meara previously said it could take the planning board up to two years to address Waning’s request, which the town council unanimously forwarded to the planning board two months ago. At the time, Councilor David Sherman said he was confused by the request, as rezoning Waning’s property could inhibit her ability to continue to rent out two apartments, a use not allowed in an RC zone but some neighbors believe should be grandfathered.

 “This is my home, I plan to live here and continue to have tenants,” Waning told the Sentry in January. 

Town Manager Michael McGovern previously said the ordinance committee could have recommended Waning’s request be included as part of the BA overhaul proposal in an effort to “act expeditiously,” but her request remains separate from the BA proposal.

“Ms. Waning agreed to do a separate process, against the advice of staff,” McGovern said on Monday. “Staff believes it is an issue of the way the [zoning] maps have been drawn over the years and it would be easy to address Ms. Waning’s request, but she has chosen a different route.”

The proposed updates to the BA zone would continue to include Waning’s property in the BA zone and expand its boundaries to include her neighbor, Lee Wilson at 553 Shore Road. Last summer, a number of surrounding residents in opposition to the BA zone expansion formed the North Shore Neighborhood Association.

“Any business has to be supplied with deliveries and trash pickup,” North Shore Neighborhood Association member Ed Materson said Monday. “A line of shrubs is no protection from trucks and dumpsters, which create noise that disturbs you in your home.”

Some councilors see Waning’s request and the updates to the BA zoning ordinance as separate issues.

“[Waning’s request] is a very small piece of an extremely large package. It’s not a dealbreaker,” Councilor Sara Lennon said. “The fact is, our charge was to look at everything, we could have drawn the [zoning] map however we saw fit. We could have done anything we wanted. Waning’s concern doesn’t trump what’s in [the BA zone update].”

Rowe’s motion to table the public hearing on the proposed updates to the BA zoning ordinance until the planning board addressed Waning’s request was defeated in a 3 to 3 vote with Rowe, Councilors Paul McKenney and David Backer in the minority. The council then voted unanimously to schedule the public hearing for May 11.

“I think it’s been pushed off for too long already,” Sherman said. “In my view the issue of [Waning’s property] has been settled.”