Kennebunk Select Board members and the owners of 421 Alfred Road have a agreed to a consent judgment that resolves the number of dwelling units on the property. Dan King photo

KENNEBUNK – Select board members have voted in favor of a consent judgment that resolves, over time, the status of the primary residence and number of dwelling units at 421 Alfred Road.

Currently the property has four rental dwelling units, three in the primary residence and one detached, which exceeds the number allowed in the rural residential district. One of the units is not owner-occupied for six months of the year, as Kennebunk’s zoning ordinance requires.

Terms of the agreement spell out that the number of dwelling units on the property be reduced to three, with one of them being owner occupied,  by Jan. 1, 2025. The agreement includes a $5,000 fine.

The property is currently for sale, board members were told Feb. 14. Community Development Director and Town Engineer Chris Osterrieder told the board the listing is “reflective of what is currently occurring on the property, however anything other than what is legally allowed to occur on the property could be subject to enforcement action.”

Kennebunk’s zoning ordinance currently allows one accessory dwelling unit and specifies the primary residence be owner occupied six months of the year. The planning board is considering revisions to the ordinance, in light of L.D. 2003, which was passed by the Maine Legislature to address the state’s affordable housing crisis.

Osterrieder told the select board that the property can support the uses.

He said the property itself dates well before zoning – documents show the main house was built in the 1790s, with others added later – and that the number of dwelling units currently in place predates the current owner, and likely the prior owners.

Osterrieder said the challenge is that the units are housing community members and noted the town is trying to increase the housing supply – hence the proposed consent judgment.

He said the proposed agreement would be with the current owners, and would transfer with the property upon sale.

“L.D. 2003 will make some changes to local land use laws by allowing accessory dwelling units and greater density in some locations,” Town Attorney Natalie Burns said. She said proposed ordinance changes would not make the property fully compliant, “so there is a need to do something and as long as an outstanding violation they are unlikely to be able to sell the property.”

Select Board chair Shiloh Schulte asked if there was a path forward that would allow an owner plus three dwelling units.

Burns, the attorney, said that could possibly happen with a contract zone or future ordinance.

Osterrieder noted the planning board’s recent look at L.D. 2003, but pointed out the property is not in the town’s growth area. “This is a compromise,” he said.

There were questions whether the consent judgment would set a precedent.

Burns explained that each enforcement action is judged on its own merits.

The vote was six in favor; select board member Kortney Nedeau was absent.