City officials want to avoid `beehive’ housing

There may not be an immediate change in High Density Residential zoning requirements in Brewer, some officials said Wednesday. The Planning Board voted not to recommend a change to relax lot-size requirements and presented its report to the City Council last Tuesday.

Some homeowners had complained to the council that their older and larger homes were under-utilized because zoning laws prevented them from adding apartments.

At least one homeowner told the council that zoning requirements limiting the number of dwelling units, based on the amount of yard space, restricted the availability of affordable housing in the city.

City Planner Thomas Kurth told officials that congestion was a problem in HDR areas and that “green space,” or open space, and parking space were considerations that should be studied.

The request for the ordinance change had come when Appeals Board members noted that many requests for exceptions had been filed with them. Those exceptions had been sought when city planners declined to approve the addition of dwelling units in homes where lot sizes were considered inadequate.

Kurth said Wednesday that some of the streets in the HDR zone were narrow and that Planning Board considerations of open space could not be addressed in the proposed amendments to the ordinance. A public hearing already had been held and to change the legislation would require a second hearing, Kurth said.

“The technical point is that you can’t alter legislation once it’s gone to public hearing,” he explained. “You can lessen it, but can’t add stuff.”

Kurth predicted that there would be “some slight relaxation” of regulations governing lot size and number of dwelling units during the next three months.

But he warned that maintaining open space was essential and that the “beehives” created by too dense development had an effect on people living in congested areas.

Council Chairman Ronald Harriman said he spoke with a member of the Planning Board last Tuesday and was assured that the board had given the proposed change serious consideration.

The planner told Harriman, he said, that open space had been an issue among board members. Otherwise, the board had been receptive to change. “You do have to have a reasonable amount of open space,” Harriman said.

“I am sympathetic with people who have a big, old building. It makes sense to add an apartment, but if you try to cram too many people into too small an area, you’re inviting problems. You’ve got to have parking and some green area — room for a swing set for the kids or something, a little room to play. You can’t take it all up with pavement.”

Harriman said he had hoped to strike a balance but that some change may occur when the city’s comprehensive plan is completed. Density of development would be a large part of that plan.