Camelot Farm plans face Portland Planning Board review
Courtesy / CBRE | The Boulos Company and Maine Imaging
The old Camelot Farm property includes more than 2,000 feet along Westbrook Street and 1,500 feet along the Stroudwater River in Portland.
The developer of a residential subdivision at the former Camelot Farm in Portland’s Stroudwater neighborhood is proceeding through the city's planning process, notwithstanding the Nov. 7 citizens referendum that would allow a zoning change to be blocked if 25% of voters who live within 500 feet of a zoning change file written objections.
The referendum, if approved, would complicate the Camelot Farm project, which earlier this summer had received City Council approval for a zoning change that will allow the developers to build 95 homes there while preserving 24 acres as open space for public use and access.
The referendum question, however, would allow a way for a developer to override a citizens' veto — if 51% of registered voters within 1,000 feet of the disputed zoning change approved the rezoning within 45 days.
The Forecaster reported that developer Michael Barton and his partners are moving toward site approval regardless of the looming referendum. Their project will be reviewed in a 4:30 p.m. Planning Board workshop Oct. 4 in Portland City Hall.
“We are still excited about it,” Barton told the newspaper.
The three-phase project calls for building 98 single-family homes and 25 townhouses on 55 acres, with 24 acres will be set aside as open space with public access. Twelve affordable housing units will be part of the project.
Barton said the partners will build on the land regardless of the referendum result.
Mary Davis, the Stroudwater resident behind the referendum, told Mainebiz in July that the referendum question is not an anti-development measure but a way to ensure that citizens' concerns are not ignored in the planning process.
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