CAPE ELIZABETH (WGME) — The Cape Elizabeth town council has scaled back an ordinance about how the town should comply with a state zoning law.
The state law is aimed at creating more affordable housing. Passed in 2022, the law allows for accessory dwelling unit, or ADU, on a property. That’s a small extra living space on a property like a tiny home or an in-law apartment.
The way Cape Elizabeth is changing its zoning laws to comply with the state has raised some concerns.
“You care more about the number at the bottom of your tax bill than the 90,000 Mainers who are housing insecure,” Cape Elizabeth resident Nat Jordan said at the Cape Elizabeth town council meeting Monday. “You value the aesthetic pleasure of driving by an empty lot every day over giving a poor kid the chance to learn from the same educators that taught me.”
Cape Elizabeth’s town council voted on zoning rules to comply with state ADU regulations in November, but on Monday, those rules were amended. The council made changes like setting the maximum size of the unit at 800 square feet, instead of the previously voted on 1,100 square feet.
“It’s just that now it’s all at the Cape Elizabeth scale,” Town Council Chairman Tim Reiniger said. “It preserves the feel of the town and protects the neighborhoods.”
That change came after Councilor Susan Gillis, who voted “yes” to the rules in November, brought the ordinance up on Monday for what’s called “reconsideration” to change her position with a newly inaugurated town council.
“Yes, I voted for it even though I wasn’t for it, because I knew this was the opportunity to overturn it,” Gillis said. “This was the only way to do it, we’re not stupid.”
But the changes raised some legal questions. The town attorney says it’s not clear if reconsideration is allowed when the town council changes after an election.
“If you were to vote on the reconsideration it would just raise some questions,” Cape Elizabeth town attorney Mary Costigan said. “I don’t have a perfect answer for you, and I apologize for that, but this is the world of grey areas.”
The council chairman says he doesn’t believe anything was done illegally and is happy with the outcome of the changed ordinance.
“All these issues have been the subject of multiple public hearings, so I am not at all concerned about the legal questions, in that respect,” Reiniger said.
The state law and Cape Elizabeth’s town ordinance will go into effect in January.