Planning board forwards Libby Hill zoning change to city council with recommendation to pass

The Gardiner Planning Board voted unanimously to forward a proposed zoning change affecting Libby Hill Road to the City Council with a recommendation that the council approve the change.

The proposal, presented at a public hearing and led by Chris McNeil, the city’s code enforcement officer, would rezone parts of Libby Hill Road from Rural to Residential Growth and adjust density and setback requirements so the zoning better matches existing lot sizes and uses. "We started this process six months ago ... The result is people can't do additions or garages ... so I propose that we change it to residential growth," McNeil said during the hearing.

Planning board members said the change aims to allow typical one-acre and smaller lots on Libby Hill to more easily accommodate accessory structures such as garages and additions. McNeil explained that the current rural standard requires roughly 2-acre lots and 30-foot setbacks, which prevent many one-acre lots on Libby Hill from adding garages or splitting double lots. Under the proposed Residential Growth designation discussed by staff, the applicable density for dwellings on similar residential growth zones is approximately 40,000 square feet per dwelling and proposed setbacks could be reduced from about 30 feet to roughly 15 feet in some cases, allowing owners more flexibility to use existing lots.

Residents at the hearing asked how the change would affect taxes and whether state law would override local decisions. Lynn Gujean, who said she lives on 34 Booker Road, asked if the municipality still had zoning authority after the state proposals; McNeil described recent statewide changes, including LD 2003, that limit municipal discretion and grant density bonuses for affordable housing, and said a new bill, LD 1829, was expected to take effect in September and would further change minimum lot size and density rules statewide. "Last year, the state released a law called LD 2003 ... The new bill that's coming forward ... addresses minimum lot size," McNeil told the board and public.

Flora Pelletier, who lives on Libby Hill Road, asked whether the rezoning would change her tax bill because of frontage; McNeil responded that property size would not change and that the assessor bases tax assessments on buildable land area, not the zoning label. "Your lot's not gonna change," McNeil told Pelletier.

Board members and staff said the rezoning is intended to align local zoning with existing neighborhood character, not to encourage large apartment complexes on Libby Hill. Planning board discussion noted that the Residential Growth designation already exists elsewhere in the city and that the proposal was adjusted after neighborhood meetings to avoid very high densities. The public hearing record included a letter raising traffic and speed concerns; staff said that correspondence would be forwarded to the City Council for consideration.

Outcome: The planning board moved and seconded a recommendation to forward the rezoning request to the City Council with a recommendation to approve; the board recorded the vote as unanimous.

The proposal will proceed to the City Council, which will hold two readings. Staff and board members said the first reading was expected in August and that council meeting dates and the record will be posted on the city website. Citizens were told they may submit written comments, speak at council meetings, or contact their city councilors.

The planning board and residents also discussed the state-level changes that will affect municipal zoning and density rules; staff said the town is beginning a multi-month process to adjust the local land use ordinance to conform to the new state statutes.