Bremen voters will convene for a special town meeting to consider amendments to the town’s land use and shoreland zoning ordinances at 6 p.m. on Tuesday, May 7 at the town office.
The Bremen Select Board scheduled the meeting, which will also ask voters to consider authorizing funds transfers, at its April 18 meeting.
The amendments in consideration will bring the town’s ordinances into compliance with L.D. 2003, law passed in April 2022 with the goal of addressing housing affordability issues in Maine. The law requires municipalities to adopt language and definitions to permit accessory dwelling units for lots originally zoned for single-family dwellings as well as affordable housing developments.
According to the proposed land use ordinance on the town of Bremen’s municipal website, the amendments to the land use ordinance include requirements concerning the accessory dwelling unit’s access to potable water, connection to sewage, and financial stipulations for affordable housing.
Those renting from affordable housing developments must have a household income at or below 80% of the local area median income at the time of initial occupancy. For owned housing, the household income should be at or below 120% of the local area median income.
The ordinance change articulates area median income as the midpoint of the Lincoln County region’s income distribution calculated on an annual basis by the Maine State Housing Authority.
The language inserted for affordable housing development in the town stipulates that were any developed, it should be located within a zoning district that permits multi-family housing.
Affordable housing developments cannot be used as short term rentals, nor erected within the shoreland zone, according to the proposed land use ordinance
Additional off-street parking for accessory dwelling units is not require but the ability to park off-street must be provided, whereas affordable housing developments must provide two parking spaced for every three affordable units.
Affordable housing developments also have similar requirements as accessory dwelling unit’s do for potable water and sewage.
The definition additions regarding L.D. 2003 in the shoreland zoning ordinance are similar to those found in the land use ordinance.
Another proposed change in the shoreland zoning ordinance is the allowance for the normal upkeep and maintenance of nonconforming uses and structures including repairs or renovations that do not involve expansion.
Additionally, extensions added to existing structures in the process of elevating the structure above Federal Emergency Management Agency base flood elevation or to prevent damage from sea level rise will not be considered expansions in the proposed ordinance.
The stipulation being that the extensions are the minimum amount needed to accommodate the height increase, according to the proposed shoreland zoning ordinance.
Other proposed changes include language alterations for consistency between the land use and shoreland zoning ordinances.
For more information on the proposed amendments, go to bremenmaine.org/announcements-2.
The funds transfer, according to Bremen Town Administrator Melanie Pendleton, is to move $125,000 from unexpended funds of fiscal year 2022-2023 to the roads and bridges account.
Pendleton said the funds will help start road work needing to be done in town like crack sealing on Medomak Road, ditching, as well as dealing with storm debris.
Voters will also decide whether to authorize the transfer of $50,000 to the town’s repair and maintenance account to address erosion problems on the town landing at the end of Medomak Road.
In other news, select board member Steve Page continued a solar farm moratorium discussion brought up by concerned citizens at the select board’s March 21 meeting.
According to Pendleton, citizens attended that March 21 meeting with concerns about solar farms being put into Bremen after a farm recently went up in Waldoboro.
While select board members didn’t feel that implementing or pursuing a moratorium was needed at this time, they agreed to send out an email to gauge the interest of residents have in being on a solar farm ordinance development committee.
Those interested in being on the committee can contact the town office at 529-5945 or email bremen@tidewater.org.
The select board’s next meeting is 5 p.m. Thursday, May 2 at the town office.
