The Planning Board will hold a public hearing March 16 on plans for a renovated 80-seat restaurant and convenience store for Rudy’s of the Cape, located at 517 Ocean House Road. The meeting starts at 7 p.m.
Landscape architect Patrick Carroll of Carroll Associates, on behalf of Two Lights General Store LLC owner Mary Page, presented a revised plan to the board Feb. 16, pointing out several enhancements designed to buffer business activities from the surrounding neighborhood.
A major change to the parking lot would be redirected traffic flow from Route 77 at a single entrance to the north of the building, moving to parking at the sides and behind the building, and ending at a dedicated exit to Route 77 to the south. The new configuration, Carroll said, improves traffic circulation and the appearance of the site from Route 77.
Currently Rudy’s patrons park in front of the building, with ingress and egress possible from any point on Route 77 in front of the property.
Landscaping and parking reconfiguration will reduce slightly the amount of impervious surface on the lot, from 21,209 square feet to 20,754 square feet, with gravel surface.
Carroll also presented plans for vegetative buffering around the property. Most of the 25 parking spaces and the outdoor eating area will be on the south side of the building, away from the neighbors, he said.
A small expansion of less than 800 square feet will be added to the building, and an outdoor dining area will also be added to the southern end. Seating for 80 people will be divided between the indoor and outdoor areas depending on the weather. The outdoor siting also takes advantage of seasonal sunlight.
“I think it will be an attractive amenity for Route 77,” Carroll said.
An earlier plan to add multiuse space to a second story has been scrapped, Carroll said. The plan submitted includes storage and office space on the second floor.
Plans are to keep business activity 100 feet away from existing residential areas, which will allow Rudy’s to operate from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m., and to 11 p.m. up to three times a year for special events, provided they notify the town’s code-enforcement officer in advance. The 100-foot buffer and hours of operation are part of new provisions of the Business A District adopted by the Town Council last June.
It’s the second plan submitted to the town for review under the new zoning provisions, recommended by the 2007 comprehensive plan to encourage a neighborhood feel for the two Business A districts currently in town. In August, the Planning Board approved the first site plan under the new standards for a retail, office and multifamily use at 553 Shore Road.
Also consistent with the new zoning regulations are plans for pedestrian walkways along Route 77 in front of the new Rudy’s, and a connector path to the mixed-use “Two Lights Professional Center” property behind it.
Assisted living facility approved
In other matters, the board approved a plan submitted by Lon Walters, of Woodlands Assisted Living of Cape Elizabeth LLC, to redevelop the former Viking Nursing Home and Crescent House assisted living facility into a new assisted living center for Alzheimer’s patients.
The approved project, “Evergreen Memory Care,” was renamed last month after public safety officials said they believed the original “Woodland Assisted Living” sounded too much like the Woodland Apartments off Mitchell Road.
Walters operates other facilities under the name Woodlands in Hallowell, Waterville, Brewer and Rockland.
The site plan was approved by unanimous vote, but with a number of conditions, mostly brought up by the town’s engineer. These include concerns over snow removal, and an even greater concern that the plans show new and existing buildings in a 100-year floodplain, where flooding is likely to occur on average every 100 years.
As a condition of approval, the board is requiring that the Woodlands obtain a revised floodplain map from the state. “The building is well above the 100-year flood,” said project engineer Eliot Thayer. The Woodlands have submitted a revised flood map to the Federal Emergency Management Agency and is waiting for approval, Thayer said.
Another concern for board members was Town Manager Michael McGovern’s approval of the project’s financial capability. A letter submitted by Bangor Savings Bank had yet to be reviewed by McGovern at the time of the Planning Board hearing, but board members agreed with Chairman Peter Hatem that it was not enough to delay approval.
“The bonding requirement is what protects the town’s interest, and they have to post that for public parts of the project before they get their building permit,” Hatem said. “I don’t see that as a reason to hold it up under the circumstances,” he said.
The building has been vacant since 2005. A subsequent owner also submitted plans for redevelopment as an elder-care facility, but the property was taken over by the bank and auctioned in 2007.“This thing was bought out of a bankruptcy foreclosure, which we approved as having financial capability,” Hatem said. “So that doesn’t insulate it from financial issues,” he said.
Walters is planning to renovate an existing two-story building on the property into a 72-bed facility. An older, one-story building that was the original Viking Nursing Home will be razed, according to the plan. Plans are for separate, grade-level entrances to each floor of the renovated building. Snow that accumulates on the ramp entrance to the second floor will need to be removed to another area.
“I’d like to wish you good luck,” said board member Barbara Schenkel. “It will be a pleasure to see that building being used for a good purpose again,” she said.
Interim concession stand
for Hannaford Field approved
In other matters, the board approved an application from the town of Cape Elizabeth for a concession stand to be used at Hannaford Field behind Cape Elizabeth High School. The application was considered an amendment to the approved site plan for the field.
The building is considered to be an interim structure, between the tents and tarps currently used to house concession sales, and the permanent structure envisioned by booster clubs once funding is available.
Tom Greer of Pinkham and Greer engineers said the building would be put up to the north of the new bleachers. Power would be provided by generators because wiring to that location is difficult. The 16-by-20 foot structure could be picked up as a whole and moved to another location between seasons. Boosters selling concessions would continue to use hand-sanitizing gel in lieu of running water.
The board voted 7-0 to approve the amended site plan, but some were concerned about the generator’s noise. However, considering its location next to the bleachers and the crowd, “you’ll never hear that generator,” said board member Jim Huebener.
Agricultural amendments
sent to Town Council
In other matters, the board voted to recommend to the Town Council a set of amendments to the zoning ordinance meant to enhance farming and fishing in Cape Elizabeth.
At a public hearing, the first held for the agricultural amendments package, Cape Farm Alliance Chairman Penny Jordan thanked the board for its time and consideration.
“Thank you for all you have done to value not only the existing agriculture, but the emerging agriculture that happens in our community,” Jordan said. “As I travel around the state, I am proud to say that I live in Cape Elizabeth and we demonstrate the value of agriculture,” she said.
The amendments are the third in a series of five packages of zoning ordinance updates recommended by the 2007 comprehensive plan.“Overall, the amendments are intended to create more flexibility for Cape Elizabeth farmers with the goal of promoting farming by making it more economically viable,” according to a memo to the Town Council, submitted on behalf of the board Feb. 18.
The amendments were drafted with significant input from the Cape Farm Alliance, and address:
• Minimum lot size for fish and farm markets,
• Temporary buildings needed for worker housing,
• Agriculture-related accessory buildings and uses,
• Agriculture definition,
• Agriculture-related products and uses,
• Restrictions on the percentage of non-farm/nonlocal produce that may be sold in farm markets.
Following the hearing, the board added language to the draft definition of “farm market” that allows products on display anywhere at the market, inside or outside, to be considered part of the 50 percent maximum area devoted to related products not generated by the farm.