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Portland ZBA approves conversion to residential care facilities (12 to 16 beds) at multiple addresses
Summary
The Zoning Board approved conditional-use permits allowing licensed small residential care facilities to operate with up to 16 residents at multiple Portland addresses, including 19 Bramhall Street and five other properties. The board found that the change in the city land-use code and site-specific evidence supported the permits.
The City of Portland Zoning Board of Appeals granted conditional-use approvals on Feb. 6, 2025 for licensed residential care facilities at several addresses, permitting up to 16 residents where prior approvals had allowed up to 12. The approvals covered multiple properties operated by the same applicant group and an independently filed application at 19 Bramhall Street.
Attorneys and operators told the board the homes are licensed by the Maine Department of Health and Human Services to serve people with substance use diagnoses and receive MaineCare reimbursement for supportive services. Applicants said the structures and operations are unchanged from prior use as sheltered group homes and that the January recode of Portland's land-use code established the residential-care-facility-small category that allows up to 16 residents under the same three conditional-use standards now used by the board.
Board staff confirmed that the applications met public-notice requirements (mailed Jan. 29) and that some facilities had previously operated at higher occupancy levels historically. Applicants said there would be no substantial exterior changes to properties, that many residents do not drive (limiting vehicle impact), and that life-safety upgrades required by state or city fire marshals (sprinklers, alarms) had been addressed or were in process.
Several neighbors spoke in support, describing direct experience with the homes as positive. One neighbor said the properties had not generated traffic, noise or trash problems and had been improved under the current operators. Another public commenter raised a procedural concern about the time between mailed notice and the hearing; city staff confirmed notices were mailed Jan. 29 and met the seven-day-notice requirement in the land-use code.
After deliberation the board adopted written findings for each application and voted, by roll call, to grant the conditional-use permits. Approvals included (votes recorded by roll call): 19 Bramhall Street (grant), 99 Concord Street (grant), 1582 Forest Avenue (grant), 85 Pleasant Avenue (grant), 251 Pleasant Avenue (grant), and 1519 Forest Avenue (grant). The board noted that where state or city life-safety approvals remain outstanding, applicants must meet those requirements before full occupancy.
