Planning Board Recommends Zoning Code Amendments, Overhauls Parking Standards; Recommendation Passes 6–1

The Lewiston Planning Board on Dec. 22 voted 6–1 to send a recommendation to city council for amendments to the zoning and land-use code covering definitions, administration, appeals, district regulations and performance standards, with particular changes to parking rules in Article 12.

Planner Craig Thibault presented detailed revisions to Article 12, Section 17. He said the board reworked parking calculations by use, moving from seat counts to square footage for many businesses and adding or adjusting categories. Key changes cited included: adult business establishments at one space per 200 square feet of customer service area; drinking places at one space per 200 square feet of seating area; drive-in restaurants remaining 10 spaces plus one space per 200 square feet of dining area; light industrial bumped from 500 to 750; hotels, motels and inns to require two spaces plus one per sleeping room; and self storage reduced from five required spaces to three if an office is present. Thibault also noted the code would permit a 50% reduction in required spaces for uses located within 500 feet of a public transit stop, measured as a straight line, subject to demonstration and possible conditions.

Board members pressed staff on clarity and intent. Chair Shannon Cox and others asked whether the 500-foot measure should be to an actual transit stop that serves the site rather than any straight-line distance to a 'transit service' line; staff said they could clarify the language to reference a transit stop or access point and that reductions would typically be subject to conditions or additional review.

The board voted to recommend the package to city council. The roll call was 6–1: Michael Marcotte cast the lone dissent and said he was concerned the council could significantly alter the recommendation and raised broader worries about parking and state mandates and home-rule implications. The board’s recommendation will proceed to city council, which may adopt the amendments, make non-substantive edits or, for significant changes, return them to the planning board for further review.