BRUNSWICK

After nearly three years and more than 100 meetings, the end is in sight for Brunswick’s long-awaited zoning rewrite, Director of Planning and Development Anna Breinich told the Planning Board on Tuesday.

Beginning in the fall of 2013, the town sought the services of Clarion Associates and established the Zoning Ordinance Rewrite Committee, comprised of three town planning staff and three members of the planning board — Charlie Frizzle, Margaret Wilson and Richard Visser.

The goal was to bring the often amended 1997 Zoning Ordinance into line with Maine laws, as well as simplify the structure of zone districts and achieve a better fit with the town’s comprehensive plan.

Among the major changes to the ordinance is the consolidation of 50 districts down to 32.

Town center districts have gone from three to only one and college districts have been abbreviated from eight to four. Several residential districts in the growth area have been combined as well.

There has also been a complete rewrite of the Shoreland Protection Overlay, creating two new subdistricts — Resource Protection and Stream Protection.

The Rural Brunswick Smart Growth Overlays have also been renamed the Wildlife Protection Overlay.

Other changes were made to overlay zoning districts, where now solar energy collection facilities are permitted in all Aquifer Protection Overlay Districts.

The Flight Path Overlay has also been adjusted from the days of Navy operations to a general aviation airport.

New property development standards have also been rolled out, including solid waste, residential recreation requirements, Cook’s Corner design standards, architectural compatibility, and neighborhood protection standards.

What few questions the board heard from the public on Tuesday had little to do with the rewrite, with most concerned with recreation fees and possible ordinances regarding internet home rental sites.

A question was raised regarding the zoning of Bowdoin College’s athletic fields and any possibility of future residential development on that property under the new zoning.

Catherine Ferdinand of Bowdoin College thanked the board for their work on the rewrite, noting zoning has historically been tight for the school.

Ferdinand said that while the new ordinance does not relieve the college of its many restrictions, it does make the process for the college more streamlined in regards to development on campus.

Breinich said the next step will be to make a recommendation to the town council to approve the plan, which could occur at another public hearing later this month.

Further public forums are planned for December and January as the process moves toward final approval and completion. Breinich said she hopes the process will be concluded in early 2017.