University of New England seeks Institutional Overlay and open‑space protections in second Planning Board workshop

Representatives for the University of New England returned to the City of Portland Planning Board on Jan. 28 for a second workshop on a proposed Institutional Overlay Zone (IOZ) for the UNE Portland campus at 716 Stevens Ave. The submission seeks to convert the campus’s underlying zone to B2 community business, create a regulatory framework for campus growth in the city code, and reserve several forested and streamside parcels as dedicated open space.

Planning staff summarized comments from the board’s November workshop and said the applicant had updated the Institutional Development Plan (IDP) and the proposed "open space and maximum height map." Staff asked the board for feedback on several items, including the rationale for a limited number of parcels shown at 85 feet, the exact geography and regulatory consequences of the open‑space designations, and whether some open‑space parcels should be rezoned to the city’s OSP (open space preservation) base zone so protections are permanent and not only…