Outer Congress Street Land Use

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2 Outer Congress Street Land Use Outer Congress Street, with its historic residential district, natural resource and open space amenities, trail network, and proximity to major transportation infrastructure and commercial areas, presents a series of challenges and opportunities distinct from other areas of Portland. In part as a function of these diverse attributes, the area has experienced considerable and varied land use pressure at times over the past several decades. Recently, improvements to the transportation system, positive trends in the use of the Jetport, and an evolving real estate market, coupled with the presence of large tracts of undeveloped and underdeveloped land, have again brought this tension to the forefront. The city s recent deliberations over the proposal to rezone the property at 1945 Congress Street exemplify the challenge of balancing these competing factors. This white paper is intended to inform the ongoing discussion by describing the existing land use climate and presenting a basic outline for land use policy in the area. The outlined approach is founded on recent land use planning work on the part of the city, the Jetport s master planning process, previous land use discussions for the area, national best practices, and public input received through the course of the 1945 Congress Street deliberations. Land Use Pattern The permanent settlement of present day outer Congress Street dates to the colonial community of Stroudwater, the neighborhood first established around the junction of the Fore and Stroudwater Rivers in the 18 th century. Rural agricultural land ringed the settlement through the turn of the 20 th century, when Stroudwater Field, the precursor to today s Jetport, was founded. The mid 1900s brought connections to I 95 and the country s vast highway network, along with a corresponding increase in commercial development in areas to the immediate south and north. In the years since, the area has changed markedly and in ways common to many communities with increasing pressure from autodependent retail and office uses, expanding residential development, and an over burdened road network carrying large volumes of traffic. Today, the area, which can generally be defined as the stretch of Congress Street from I 95 to Frost Street, exhibits a few general areas of land use and form: 1. Stroudwater residential: Stroudwater, a strong and largely single family residential neighborhood, is focused around the intersection of Congress Street, Westbrook Street, and the Stroudwater River, a busy juncture which, in recent years, has worked to maintain its pedestrian scale. Originally, the airport gained entrance from Westbrook Street through the densest part of this neighborhood. The decision to move the airport entrance to the west on Congress Street has helped to preserve the neighborhood s traditional residential feel. A significant portion of the neighborhood lies in a local historic district. Appendix J - DRAFT 1

3 Stroudwater Residential Stroudwater Historic District I 95 Industrial/Office Congress Street Institutional Western Avenue/Maine Mall Commercial Stroudwater has been zoned low density residential, R 1 and R 2, since the late 1950s, and there has been some recent residential development off Congress Street in the R 2 zone, including the buildout of Old Mast Road in the 1980s and Tide Mill Road in the 1990s. In the early 2000s, the city established a small area of Neighborhood Business B 1 at the intersection of Congress Street and the Fore River, reflecting the location s centuries old traditional use for commercial purposes. The neighborhood is also home to a contract zone used to create the River s Edge residential subdivision, which was developed in the 1990s. 2. Congress Street institutional: To the west of the residential neighborhood of Stroudwater, as Congress Street widens to four lanes, the land use pattern changes markedly. Institutional uses, including several churches, a fraternal club, and two cemeteries, the Brooklawn and Temple Beth El Memorial Parks, predominate. These institutions generally occupy large lots and either have broad front setbacks or are undeveloped by nature, such that they create a greenscape along Congress Street. Interspersed among these institutional uses are several residential properties, with homes which sitin close proximity to Congress Street. Several of these homes have recently been repurposed for office use, with the rest continuing as residential. Much of this area remains in residential zoning in the city s R 1 and R 2 zones, where institutional uses are permitted under conditional status. However, commercial zoning, including the Airport Business (A B) and Office Park (O P) has expanded northward and eastward closer to and into this area in recent years. There is also some Residence Professional zoning west of the Jetport entrance, which has been used to accommodate residential to office conversions. Appendix J - DRAFT 2

4 I 95 Industrial/Office: Office and industrial uses become more prevalent to the west of Johnson Road around the I 95 interchange. UNUM, which occupies a large campus north of Congress Street, owns a great deal of the undeveloped land in this area. Other light industrial and large offices can be found west of I 95. These office and industrial uses generally lie on very large lots with significant front yard setbacks. This area is zoned O P and Moderate Impact Industrial (I M). Land Use Change Though this general pattern exists, it is far from concrete. For example, over the past 20 years, residential development has pushed westward from Stroudwater with the buildout of River s Edge and Tide Mill Road. These have emerged as strong single family neighborhoods, with access to Congress Street, the river, the local trail system, and the historic resources of Stroudwater At the same time, commercial interests have expanded on the west end of Congress Street, where UNUM has grown, office and industrial uses have emerged,, and historically residential uses have turned over into commercial from Johnson Road east. Simultaneously, the downstream commercial area associated with the Maine Mall has continued to develop over time. Altogether, these changes, when coupled with suburban growth beyond the city line, have resulted in large traffic volumes on Congress Street through this area. Appendix J - DRAFT 3

5 The cumulative effect is to place outer Congress Street at the crux of very disparate patterns of development, with each pressing its current boundaries. As this pressure mounts, the area around the airport entrance road, with its large tracts of undeveloped or underdeveloped land, has come to serve a critical purpose in the transition from the commercial and industrial complexes to the south and west and the single family, historic residential neighborhood to the east. Current Plans Recent planning work on the part of the city has attempted to address the nature of this transition. The second phase of the city s Congress Street Corridor Study has taken a careful look at Congress Street between Garrison Street and the Fore River and identified a series of improvements with the intent of reinforcing the street s human scale in this area. The plans include a road diet, landscaped medians, crosswalks, sidewalks, bicycle treatments, and transit improvements. Likewise, ongoing planning around the Jetport considers land use change as airport operations continue to evolve. The Sustainable Airport Master Plan shows the airport entrance road remaining largely undeveloped under the existing R 2 zoning; however, southern portions of this road have been identified as potential locations for commercial development as the demand for airport related business grows. Policy Direction As development pressure continues on Outer Congress Street, it is important that the city establish a policy direction for future land use decisions in this area: 1. Protect the residential area of Stroudwater and emphasize pedestrian, bicycle, and transit improvements on Congress Street in this area, particularly east of the airport entrance road and the Congress Street neckdown. The residential neighborhood east of the Jetport entrance is wellestablished. The city should continue to support this residential neighborhood and reinforce pedestrian, bicycle, and transit improvements, in keeping with the Congress Street Corridor Stud, in this area. 2. Focus commercial development and/or higher density residential development where the road network can support it and low density residential development is unlikely. The areas surrounding I 95 and the Maine Mall benefit both from proximity to the highway and from a road network that is designed to carry high volumes of traffic. In addition to these assets, the Jetport is a significant economic development resource, and should be leveraged appropriately to support the health and vitality of the city as a whole. Because of these factors, these areas are likely to experience additional highway oriented commercial, industrial, and office pressures. There is no one right boundary where these commercial areas should end and residential neighborhoods should begin, but the capacity of Congress Street is one indicator. Currently, commercial uses are generally located west of where Congress Street increases to four lanes at Garrison Street. The lots in this area tend to be larger in size than those to the east. The city should continue to balance commercial development with impacts to Congress Street, prioritizing good access management, pedestrian and transit connections, and high quality design. Further, the city should use the site plan review process to emphasize thoughtful, context sensitive Appendix J - DRAFT 4

6 development where this commercial development occurs, reinforcing the idea of a gradual transect from commercial/industrial/office to residential. Lastly, the city should continue to support higher density nodal residential development in proximity or even co located with commercial uses as a matter of smart growth. 3. Preserve a greenscape along Congress Street in the vicinity of the airport entrance road to soften the transition between commercial areas to the south and west and the residential areas to the east. The green space associated with the Brooklawn and Temple Beth El cemeteries, as well as the manner in which UNUM, the airport, and the institutional uses east of the airport entrance road have developed have combined to create a sense of buffering between more commercially developed areas to the west and south and residential areas to the north and east. The city should continue to encourage planting and landscape preservation in this area. Sites along Congress Street should be carefully designed to help enhance this transition. 4. Reinforce small scale nodal commercial and mixed use development within the existing B 1 zone in Stroudwater proper. This existing B 1 zone at the intersection of Waldo Street and Congress Street could serve the surrounding residential area with walkable, neighborhood scaled retail. Further, this intersection could potentially support mixed use development with additional upper story housing, taking advantage of water views, Congress Street transit connections, and access to trails. Either of these uses would reinforce the pedestrian scale in this area of Congress Street, calm traffic, and reduce vehicular trips. 5. Continue to mitigate the airport s impacts on the surrounding neighborhood by preserving a vegetated buffer around the airport itself. The relationship between the airport and its neighbors, particularly its residential neighbors to the north, is at least in part a function of the health of the buffer between them. The undeveloped natural areas which currently border the airport to the north and south should be maintained to the extent possible, while still allowing the airport to serve the critical function of supporting the Portland region s economy. 6. Emphasize transit, bicycle, and pedestrian connections; context sensitive site planning; and high quality design to minimize development impacts. In all cases, the city should focus on preserving and encouraging the elements of outer Congress Street that make it a desirable place for people to live, work, and shop, including accessibility and mobility, natural resource protection, trail development, historic resource protection, and high quality design. Appendix J - DRAFT 5