“Throw it in the trash.”

That’s what one Scarborough property owner suggested Monday night during a town planning board’s public hearing in response to a proposed zoning amendment.

The amendment was proposed to encourage land preservation and higher density housing developments. The change came as the result of recommendations in the Scarborough Comprehensive Plan, which was approved last summer.

Assistant Planner Dan Bacon said the proposal contained two separate mechanisms to increase housing densities and preserve land.

The first approach would be to charge developers a fee so that they could exceed the maximum density allowed in a zoning district. The town proposed charging $15,000 per housing unit – the approximate equivalent of a two-bedroom home.

The fees charged to developers would be placed in a bank account. The money could later be used to purchase land or conservation easements. The town, in turn, would negotiate with a landowner for the development rights to the property.

Dave Green of Beech Ridge Road argued the $15,000 fee was too low. He said his property is worth more than that.

“You people can take this document and throw it in the trash,” he told the board.

Bacon explained that the $15,000 fee was intentially set well below the market value for two reasons: Property owners would still be able to use the land that couldn’t be developed, and the town wanted to encourage developers to use the mechanism.

Though Bacon explained that the group that helped shape the terms was “well-rounded,” Green said he suspected there was a lack of property owners who would be able to use these mechanisms.

“If you think people are going to line up down here at town hall for development rights, you’re sadly mistaken,” he said.

The board went on to further explain the proposal, and how the $15,000 would not necessarily correlate to how much a property owner would get for land. Through state and federal agencies who match land conservation funds, the money could double or triple. Furthermore, the price would be agreed upon by the town and the landowner.

“The key word here is willing,” said board member Cory Fellows, explaining that nothing could happen to the property owner’s land unless the owner wanted to sell it.

The second mechanism was the more traditional method of transferring development rights, in which the town is not involved. In that method, property owners can sell the right to build on their properties to a developer who wants to exceed the density restrictions on land elsewhere in town. Developers would still need to get planning board approval for any additional density.

Though other towns in Maine have set up this mechanism, historically, it has been used rarely, because the buyer and seller have to be interested in doing the same thing at the same time. By creating a fund, as the first mechanism does, the buying and selling can happen at different times.

The Scarborough Town Council will hold its own public hearing before deciding whether to implement the amendments.