CUMBERLAND — Matt Purinton moved here from the North Deering neighborhood of Portland a year ago in pursuit of a better life for his boys, ages 5 and 4.
He traded traffic on Washington Avenue for a quiet cul-de-sac, and the boys got a school system considered among the best in the state.
"The driving force was the kids, no question," Purinton said.
The 2000 census shows that the individual decisions made by Purinton and thousands of other parents are an important factor behind sprawl – the spreading out of the state's population from cities to rural areas. The fastest-growing towns in the 1990s saw huge increases in child populations, indicating that much of the growth occurred because of an influx of families.
But the census offers some good news to state planners who are trying convince towns to change their zoning laws to allow for compact neighborhoods, seen as key to fighting sprawl.
While it appears that many families don't want to live in cities, many don't want to live on remote rural roads, either. They want neighborhoods.
The percentage of children in Cumberland Center, where the lots are smaller and close to schools and ball fields, is greater than in Cumberland as a whole. A recent town study showed that houses in subdivisions have more children than houses built in isolation.
Purinton's subdivision, Small's Brook Crossing, has more children than any other part of town and one the highest percentages of children in the state, according to the census. The subdivision was built in the early 1990s as part of the town's attempt to create housing for moderate-income families. To make the houses more affordable, the town allowed the houses to be built on smaller lots than the town usually allows.
Several of the subdivision's residents said they like their houses being close together because their children walk to their friends' houses on their own. Some even said they pitied the people who live in "palatial estates" on Tuttle Road, because their owners have to pack toddlers into the car just to drive to a neighbor's house to borrow some butter.
"I think people who have kids want to live in a subdivision," said Jeff Porter, a Town Council member who lives in the Small's Brook Crossing subdivision with his wife and five children.
In Yarmouth, the child population in the village increased by more than 16 percent, twice the rate of growth of the child population townwide. The village is so compact its density is considered urban.
There is a strong market for compact "neo-traditional" neighborhoods in southern Maine, said Beth Della Valle, a senior planner at the state planning office, but towns are reluctant to change their zoning laws to allow them.
Many town officials fear that high densities would translate into more children, higher school budgets and higher taxes.
But Della Valle, who lives in Cumberland, said the success of Yarmouth village and Cumberland Center provides evidence that compact neighborhoods can be successful and attractive places.
Julie McCue, a library assistant, contributed to this story.
Staff Writer Tom Bell may be contacted at 791-6369 or at:
tbell@pressherald.com
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