CARIBOU, Maine — City councilors have approved the rezoning of two areas in town to better fit their current and potential uses.
Based on recommendations from the Caribou Planning Board, the first area to be rezoned contained approximately 85 acres, including lots on the east side of Main Street and west of the South Main and Presque Isle Road intersection.
This area was previously zoned as Commercial-2, but the planning board recently determined that the land was more rural/residential, and therefore fitting of a Residential-3 zoning.
Caribou City Manager Dennis Marker said that Commercial-2 means that an area is zoned for general commercial use, but that the planning board found there are no retail businesses in the area and more residences.
“We changed it to an R-3,” Marker said, “which means it’s still a residential zone, but it has a lot more uses, including things like warehouses, storage, and offices. [Councilors and members of the Planning Board] felt that [an R-3] was more indicative of what’s actually in that area.”
The second area of land was changed from Residential 1 to Residential 2, as the planning board determined that multiple families lived on the land, and that it would be better to zone the property as Residential 2.
This 17 acre area contains lots on Columbus Avenue and on Grove, Caribou, and Roberts streets.
Marker said that the transition to R-2 was made as there are more multi-family homes and a higher density of single family homes in the area.
A public hearing was held on each rezoning item during the City Council’s Nov. 27 meeting, but neither received any public comment before councilors approved the changes.
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- Caribou councilors recently approved changing the zoning of this approximately 85 acre piece of land from a Commercial-2 zone to a Residential-3 zone to better reflect current uses in the area. (Courtesy of City of Caribou)
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- Caribou councilors recently rezoned the 17 acre area bounded by the lines from Residential-1 to Residential-2 to reflect more multi-family homes and a higher density of single family homes. (Courtesy of City of Caribou)
