On the beach | York weighs a plan to revitalize the town's fading York Beach neighborhood as a commercial and recreational center

To those who live in the town of York, York Beach can be seen as the fading remnant of 19th century summer seaside tourism, when city folk came by train every weekend from Boston. Or, it can be seen as the core of a reinvented community that benefits year-round residents and new generations of visitors.

Those competing views are in evidence these days as the town considers an ambitious effort to revive the fortunes of York Beach, a one-mile stretch of oceanfront anchored by York's only traditional downtown featuring numerous multi-story commercial buildings set close to the street. York Beach is just one of four distinctive villages ˆ— the others being York Village, York Harbor, and Cape Neddick ˆ— in this fast-growing town. But it may be the town's most important redevelopment project as York tries to take advantage of opportunities most Maine communities would envy. "We have an absolutely beautiful beach that we don't use," said Cathy Goodwin, president of the Greater York Region Chamber of Commerce. "We've started seeing deterioration of buildings, and that's a bad sign." Left unchecked, "it will put us in a place we really don't want to be."

Last year, when Goodwin began hearing from chamber members about a proposed sidewalk replacement along the beach, she discovered a 1990 town plan, never implemented, that suggested ways to revive York Beach. The result was formation of the York Beach Renaissance Committee by the end of the summer, a town-wide effort that has quickly stimulated discussion and set large goals for the redevelopment of the area.

In January, the town held the first hearing on possible zoning changes aimed at encouraging that development. While much of the talk has focused on how to bring more tourists and visitors to the beach ˆ— in effect, converting a three-month season into a nine-month or even year-round economy ˆ— for Goodwin the question is more about what York wants for itself. The key idea is to create a revived commercial center not dependent on Route One traffic. Unlike York Beach, York Village is primarily made up of residential and institutional buildings, such as a hospital and municipal offices. Likewise, planners see little chance of establishing a "walkable" downtown in some of the town's other residential areas. "That's a real limitation on this kind of development in Cape Neddick," said Steven Burns, the town planner.

So the York Beach Renaissance Committee is focusing on several potential changes to spark a revival of the area. But some of the most significant proposals will require political and financial backing from the entire community. For example, the committee is asking the town to form a tax increment financing district for the beach area, so revenues from new development can be redirected to improving infrastructure, and to change zoning ordinances that now prohibit the kinds of buildings that already exist in York Beach, which often have small setbacks, near-total lot coverage, and little off-street parking. Because of restrictions, developers have had trouble renovating decaying buildings.

But redevelopment also would require the town to address environmental issues, such as devising a flood control and mitigation plan to deal both with ocean storm surges and freshwater runoff that has increased with development inland. The committee also would like to integrate wetlands and open space into any redevelopment plan to preserve wildlife and increase recreational access.

Spurred by the committee, the town is moving ahead with some of the recommendations, including proposed zoning changes to decrease setbacks, allow increased lot coverage and waive off-street parking in some instances. With insufficient time before the May town meeting, though, the amendments are now expected to be ready for a November town vote. Few are waiting for that date, however, and debate over the wisdom of these changes is already heating up.

Debating the possibilities
Chambers of commerce aren't usually leaders of community redevelopment efforts. But Goodwin is comfortable with the York chamber taking a primary, rather than a supporting, role in the York Beach Renaissance Committee because she sees the beach as the town's "biggest asset," she said. One sign the community also sees the importance of the project, she said, was evident at the first "visioning" session, held last October. "We had 110 people turn out just to talk and present their ideas. And they had plenty of good ideas about what should be done," Goodwin said.

One believer that the time for redevelopment is right is David Woods, a local business owner who runs the campground his parents started, Burnette's Tent and Trailer Area, on the beach. It was started in the 1940s as a group of cabins and now has 180 sites. Woods says business is good in the "high season," from late June to Labor Day, but that the annual volume isn't sufficient to get many new investors interested.

Woods owns half a dozen other local businesses, including York Oil, and has redeveloped several buildings along the beach that have attracted a variety of other tenants. Without relief from current zoning requirements, however, it just isn't possible for new commercial construction to take place, he said.

While Woods argues some changes are needed, he believes that the development push won't aim to turn the beach into something it's not. "This has always been a blue-collar, family-oriented kind of place," Woods said. "Some people think we're trying to turn it into Aspen, but that's not the case."

Other developers also are showing interest in some of the old buildings. Don Rivers, a developer who lives in York, now has conditional planning board approval to renovate the four-story Atlantic House, built in 1887, and another, smaller old hotel nearby. Rivers has not yet decided what kinds of renovations to make. The old hotel could offer weekly rentals, B&B and other short-term accommodations ˆ— but turning the building into private housing such as condominiums isn't possible without running into York's residential growth cap. The growth cap, in effect for the last decade, has produced a four-year wait before new projects can be built. (A proposal to loosen the cap from 84 to 120 units a year will be voted on at the May town meeting.)

But there are some who believe the whole idea of remaking York Beach as an upscale tourist destination is misguided. One is Ron Nowell, who served as a York selectman for 18 years ˆ— including in 1990 when the plan that so intrigued chamber members was written for the planning board. "To me it was the kind of thing that planners come up with when they don't have anything else to do," he said.

At a recent public hearing to discuss rezoning and a TIF district, Nowell said that "radical" zoning changes would be "the death knell of York Beach," as reported in the York Weekly. Expanding on those remarks, he said it's unrealistic to expect a reasonable return on money invested in the beach area. "You've got maybe 10 big summer weekends a year, and there are resorts a lot closer to Boston than York Beach," he said. "Look at Newburyport (Mass.). There's been enormous redevelopment there, and you only have the big crowds on warm weekends."

He said it was "just foolishness" to expect that York Beach could attract similar numbers of visitors. But to supporters like Cathy Goodwin, that reaction misperceives what the renaissance committee is trying to do. "This is about us, first, the people who live here now," she said. "I live on the Nubble nearby, and I'd love to have a place to drop in, where they know your name, a real downtown again."

Beyond the shorefront
York Beach is often described as quaint but stagnant, its Victorian details looking tired though not yet dilapidated. Unlike Old Orchard Beach, which thrives on its raffish charm, or Ogunquit and Kennebunkport, which cater to the upscale tourist, it is relatively little known outside the immediate area.

But the doubters about York's appeal, Goodwin said, need to consider recent history. The town's population grew 30% in the 1990s, to more than 13,000. That growth rate sparked the enactment of the town's growth cap, and there are no signs of a slowdown.

Chuck Lawton, a senior economist with the South Portland-based consulting firm Planning Decisions Inc. and a York resident, ran the "community dialog" meetings that sought the public's suggestions and comments for the committee. He was struck, he said, by the number of urban professionals who found York appealing. One, a Boston banker, had bought a beachfront house and was spending more time there than in the city. "People are looking for the safety and security of small town life, but with quick access to the urban hub," he said.

Even with momentum from the committee's efforts, there's general agreement that the York Beach issues won't be resolved quickly. Both supporters and detractors recognize that seasonal flooding, for example, is a significant concern. Rising sea levels and increased runoff require significant infrastructure improvements and planning to avoid future trouble. A report on how significant the problem is, and what solutions might work, is due in April. "The drainage situation needs to be addressed," said Burns. "That was true in the 1990 plan, and it's true today."

There's little doubt that the costs will be significant, and would have to be paid for over several years. To that end, the town is considering a TIF district that is designed not to funnel money back to developers, as has been often done with large industrial expansions elsewhere in Maine, but to recapture the net increase in property taxes that would otherwise flow into the town's general fund. "That's why the TIF district is so important," Goodwin said. "There has to be a way to make the public investments necessary to bring in private dollars."

There's also recognition that even if voters agree with the overall approach to reviving York Beach, a series of interlocking changes must take place. The town as a whole will have to start seeing York Beach differently. Zoning that works for the rural west side of town, beyond the Maine Turnpike, won't work for a densely developed commercial area. What's more, the higher-priced residential areas, like York Harbor and Cape Neddick, will have to see the value of having a thriving business district in an area now known for primarily for its past.

Cathy Goodwin understands that convincing the town to back the project ˆ— as well as to approve a TIF district, a new concept for York ˆ— will take a concerted campaign, but sees that as part of the task at hand. While she admitted that any number of environmental, political or economic obstacles could sink the plan, she sees the chance for York's four distinct villages to work toward a common goal. "We can improve the whole community's quality of life," Goodwin said, "if that's what we want to do."