A dream deferred | Six years after it was proposed, John and Elliott Chamberlain have finally broken ground on their "Great American Neighborhood" in Scarborough

When Elliott and John Chamberlain set out to build Maine's first "Great American Neighborhood" development in Scarborough back in 2001, they knew they'd be pioneers. They just didn't know how rough the trail would be, or how long it would take to travel.

Six years later, ground has been broken on the project near the site entrance from Broad Turn Road, and later this spring 26 housing units will be under construction, including an eight-unit, multi-family housing cluster. It's a relatively modest start on a neighborhood once projected at 441 units on 150 undeveloped acres bordering the Maine Turnpike, in one of the fastest growing towns in the state.

In between, however, were many twists and turns. First was a successful bid, late in 2001, to convince the town to enact a zoning variance called a "contract zone" for the project. Then came a citizen referendum that repealed zoning approval the next year, and finally a 2004 Superior Court decision that got the project back on track, though at a smaller size and a slower timetable. Now, the 10-year build-out on the project is capped at 288 units, and the stores and offices located within walking distance of the homes, along Route 1, will come toward the tail end of the development.

Knowing what they know now, would the Chamberlain brothers have proposed what one neighbor presciently called "a new concept for Maine, even revolutionary"?

Yes, says Elliott Chamberlain, although he would have done it a bit differently, in retrospect, seeking a zoning ordinance change rather than a contract zone. Looking back, he says, "A lot of people thought we were foolish to propose a high-density development in such as fast-growing town. They told us, 'Don't waste the effort.'"

Yet the prospect of a mixed-use, "walkable" neighborhood in their own town — one that embodies the classic suburban model of large lot sizes and a dependence on automobiles to get just about anywhere — seemed irresistible, and Chamberlain still finds it compelling. His vision is a throwback to the days before suburbia, when people knew their neighbors and the notion of community included things like small stores, sidewalks and easily accessible recreation. If his agenda could also include preservation of open space, trail development and historic preservation, so much the better. It's a vision that has not only gained a foothold in Scarborough, but in communities throughout Maine that cast a wary eye on the corrosive effects of residential sprawl and strip-mall development.

But trailblazing came at a cost. The Chamberlains' proposal was initially met with a fair amount of skepticism, and in some cases outright hostility. It took a lot of time and effort to make that point, but Chamberlain says it was worth it; the ideas behind the development are now the consensus position in town. "We wanted to get our subdivision approved, but we also wanted the community to engage in some creative thinking about how to change the approach to development, to get away from constant sprawl," he says. "People are now talking about what we've tried to do as the best way to bring back the villages in town."

That should be a cause for celebration, but there's a rueful tone to Chamberlain's voice as he says it.

Winning hearts and minds
On a pleasant day early this spring, Elliott Chamberlain stands on a patch of dry ground amid the fledgling road system of the development, pointing out the locations of buildings that have yet to be constructed. He recently took over active management of the project while brother John continues to focus on land acquisition for Chamberlain Development. As part of their continuing involvement in Scarborough's town government, John now sits on the planning board, and both brothers serve on the new comprehensive planning committee.

Elliott recalls what it was like growing up in South Portland, where, for him, the inspiration for the Great American Neighborhood comes from. "We had a 100-by-70-foot lot and a small house and 10 people [from the Chamberlains' extended family living in the house]," he says. "It all worked, and we all knew everyone on the street."

Decades of cul de sac subdivisions on large lots, where neighbors are physically and socially distant — the norm in Maine and elsewhere for much of the post-World War II period — represents a loss of community to Chamberlain, and to many others as well.

"The Great American Neighborhood, or whatever you choose to call it, is what many homebuyers are looking for," says Evan Richert, the State Planning Office director under Gov. Angus King. It was Richert's enthusiasm for the concept that helped inspire the Chamberlains.

Their initial success in convincing the Scarborough town council and planning board to back the required contract zoning changes evaporated when a citizen petition with 1,000 signatures was submitted to the town. An accompanying letter said, "These are the voices of the people. I hope you will see that this project is not good for our town."

In the resulting special election, voters revoked the contract zone, dismaying supporters statewide who believed the Dunstan Crossing development, as it is now known, could set a new pattern for building, countering the sprawl that was rapidly transforming Cumberland and York counties. The state Department of Transportation pledged road improvements to Route 1 if the project was built; the Maine State Housing Authority vowed to offer affordable housing credits.

John Del Vecchio, a veteran of the State Planning Office, points out that for new development ideas to succeed, they have to be supported by the market, by developers with plans and by the regulators who approve the plans, as well as by the broader community, which may resist new and unfamiliar concepts.

Richert agrees, saying, "Zoning is an inherently conservative tool. It was meant to protect single-family housing, and it does." Mixing single-family units with duplexes and apartment building produces "more vibrancy, more community, more excitement," he says, but it also runs afoul of zoning rules that date back, in some communities, almost a hundred years.

The Chamberlains did a good job of outreach to neighbors and townspeople when they first laid out their plans, Richert says. "They pushed it hard, and they were effective. What they may have forgotten is that the public process isn't linear. People find out about it at different points, so you really can't check it off the list and say, 'We've done that.' "

After the setback at the polls, the Chamberlains filed suit against the town, contending that a 1992 comprehensive plan — the one that was just replaced last fall — called for exactly the kind of development they were proposing. Trouble was, Scarborough had never gotten around to enacting the zoning changes that would have permitted it. A Superior Court judge largely agreed with the Chamberlains, and found that comprehensive plans, while not legally binding, do require that towns and cities make a good-faith effort at implementation. He ordered the parties back to the table to negotiate what zoning changes the town should adopt.

The result was the present 288-unit configuration that includes most of the original elements, but on a smaller scale. With a relatively slack housing market, Elliott Chamberlain plans to put up less than 10 percent of the total units in Phase 1, with 45 units in the second phase, and 40 in the third. The bulk of the housing, 150 units in Phase 4, along with the commercial cluster along Route 1, are still some years off.

Going slow is dictated not only by market conditions, but also by a desire to better gauge what buyers really want, Chamberlain says. For instance, some units in Phase 1 will be built with alleys and rear entrances, leaving the front doors overlooking porches and green space — social space devoid of cars. "That's exactly what cities have that people find so appealing," he says, naming Boston and New York and Washington, D.C.'s Georgetown area. Will it work in Maine? He thinks so, but wants to see if buyers agree.

Overall, Chamberlain has no doubts that customers will be there. Del Vecchio cites a 2003 survey in the Midcoast area showing that four in 10 potential homeowners wanted to live "in town," which requires smaller lots, smaller units and access to stores within walking distance. Richert says those numbers will only grow as Baby Boomers continue to age and cash in their suburban houses for something more manageable.

Ron Owens, town manager in Scarborough, envisions something similar for the community as a whole. He went through the long negotiations for the contract zone, the referendum reversal, the court case and now — as part of Scarborough's response to the case — a new comprehensive plan and zoning amendments. The Dunstan Crossing case helped change the way people see their town, he says. Better understanding about how relatively dense development with interconnected streets can moderate traffic demands has allowed other projects to be considered, and approved, he adds. A development in the Oak Hill section has a density of five units per acre, with narrower streets than the 50-foot right-of-way the town previously required. "It's required us to change the way we do things too, but it's something people seemed to want," he says.

While Scarborough will probably never look like Portland, it has graduated "from a totally suburban place to one that has more urban elements," Owens says. In addition to Dunstan and Oak Hill — old villages that, more and more, were becoming overwhelmed by sprawl — he foresees the North Scarborough area hosting similar mixed-use development. In the western, more rural sections of town, open space and protection and limited numbers of large lots will be the rule. "We're trying to find the appropriate balance, and not just try to build the same thing everywhere," he says.

Seeds are sown
Chamberlain says that most developers are waiting to see how Dunstan Crossing sells before pushing similar plans themselves. "Given what we've gone through, that isn't particularly surprising," he says. "There has to be not only a market demand, but a process that gets you there."

Other communities have been promoting similar principles for a while now. Fifteen years ago, Rockport created a zone along Route 1 that called for dense, mixed-used development as a complement to the commercial pressure that characterizes most of the highway's length. So far, though, no plans have been submitted.

Richert points to Unity Village, a project by developer Richard Berman that helped launch the revival of the Bayside section of Portland. It includes 30 units on not much more than an acre, "and fits beautifully into the neighborhood," he says.

Berman is partnering with Jim Hatch in Thomaston on an ambitious plan to redevelop the site of the old Maine State Prison, recently sold to the town. (For more on Berman and Hatch, see "Collaborative effort," page 44.) Community meetings are being held this month not only to show off potential configurations of housing, offices and stores, but also to invite citizens to help design the project. Getting active community participation, and not just passive acceptance, may be the key to convincing people that mixed uses can help, and not harm, their existing neighborhoods, Del Vecchio says.

Richert observes that The Maine State Prison project, demonstrates the virtues of Great American Neighborhood design in an urban setting, while Dunstan Crossing does the same for a suburban area. The Maine State Prison project, which would effectively extend Thomaston's existing downtown, would show what can be done in a small town setting, he says.

Del Vecchio points out that the Great American Neighborhood is more a set of ideas than a specific blueprint for development. Some Mainers don't even like the name, shying away from the "Great" just as they do the "smart" in "smart growth."

Wherever they are eventually located, a lot may be riding on the success of GAN projects. It's routine to deplore the costs of sprawl, which some argue produces housing that's expensive to build and maintain and puts a greater strain on public services. Yet the sprawl pattern itself is so well established that people seem to expect it to continue, Del Vecchio says. The forces that created the New England village, and the urban downtown, have long since passed, he says, and economics alone will clearly not recreate them.

Richert says other towns and cities are changing ordinances and requiring design elements that will help push forward Great American Neighborhoods in the future. Portland, Bangor and several Midcoast communities represent prime areas, he says; Orono, where he is now a planning advisor, has changed its zoning to allow higher densities with architectural design standards.

Richert also believes there will be more developers like the Chamberlains in the future, in part because of the pride factor. "You build another cul de sac development, and no one really likes it. It isn't anything to make you want to send post cards to your relatives," he says. "People really do care about where they live, and what their houses look like." By contrast, the "new" kinds of neighborhoods championed by the Chamberlains create excitement and pride," he says.

Richert is confident that mixed-use principles will become firmly established in Maine, if we're willing to be patient. "The seeds are now sown," he says. "It will just take some time for them to germinate."