Last night, June 13, the planning board approved both Port Property’s Bayside Master Development Plan and their proposed major site plan to convert most of 511 Congress Street from office space to housing*. The only conditions on the approval of the Bayside MDP were related to standard department processes such as pre-permit requirements.
The board discussed some of the differences between a master development plan and a site plan, and what can and can’t be changed once a master plan is approved.
It was noted that the footprint and height of the proposed buildings could get smaller but not larger without Port Property seeking a major amendment, and that building designs may change as each phase and sub-phase moves forward.
Other topics:
- Affordable housing segregation Community members voiced concerns about the current plan to segregate all the low income renters into one block-long building at 89 Elm. One planning board member felt the design for 89 Elm was wrong and said she would fight for it to be two buildings.
- Trees In response to concerns about Port Property’s plan to remove and replace almost all of the existing trees in the nine acre project area, the board confirmed that all proposed tree removals must be approved by the Parks and Recreation department.
- Neighborhood residents expressed a hope that Port Property will be responsive to community feedback during the decade-long construction of the project. Though the planning board cannot require a neighborhood advisory panel, they noted the community’s request and suggested to the Port Property team it will be easier to get their future site plan approvals if the community is on board.
A recording of the meeting may be found here. Discussion of the 511 Congress project is first and the Bayside MDP discussion starts at the 2:09 mark. A Portland Press Herald article is here and a News Center Maine report is here.
* Like the 804 proposed Bayside units, the 107 apartments at 511 Congress will consist mostly of 1 BR & studio units with no parking included.
