Building blocked

Councilors lean toward enacting a development moratorium in Willard Square.

Come what may, no one can deny this: the residents of Willard Square have had their say.

On Monday, 54 people turned out at the South Portland Community Center for a special workshop session of the City Council, called to consider a 180-day moratorium on building in the heart of the historic district. By the time the meeting ended, nearly three hours later, 31 of them had been granted the floor by Mayor Rosemarie De Angelis, and  councilors appeared ready to put a hold on any development in the neighborhood.

While a handful of residents rose in support of Glenn Perry and Ian Hayward, who plan to build an upscale food market on a 1,250-square-foot lot on the corner of Pillsbury and Preble streets, most decried the project. The problem, they said, is that the close quarters of the old neighborhood are not designed to handle an influx of modern traffic, including delivery trucks.

"Certainly, Willard Square already is quite dangerous for our children," said Ian Meng. "It's an accident waiting to happen. If someone was to get hit by a car and killed, you might feel somewhat responsible for not putting the brakes on and doing a proper study."

"Unless you change the laws of physics, when you look at how these delivery trucks will be coming in, and backing out, there's no way for them to turn around," said Ross Hickey, whose property abuts the building site.

No action could be taken by the council outside of a regular meeting. Still, based on councilor comments, it seems likely a modified moratorium would be initiated when councilors meet next on May 16.

Based on reservations voiced by Councilors Thomas Coward and James Hughes, both of whom expressed fear of an administrative anchor on development in the seaside community, it appears likely any moratorium adopted would be for no more than 90 days. Any moratorium put in place would backdate to May 2, when a petition signed by more than 200 residents was submitted to the council.

Following a public hearing held before the Planning Board on May 23, a building halt could be in place as soon as June 6.

Residents were quick to claim they are not trying to derail the proposed building. They only want the city to "take a breath," many said, to consider the impact of commercial sites on an area that has largely grown used to living without businesses nestled amid their homes. As many as three other projects are rumored to be in the pipeline behind the Perry/Hayward application, which, along with the recently reopened Bathras Market, would fill seven of the 10 available commercial spaces in neighborhood, zoned as a mixed-use village.

Others said it is unfair to the developers to try and change the rules after they've purchased property anticipating zoning regulation as it stands now. Coward also suggested the lesson future developers might take from Perry and Hayward’s example will be to pursue "stealth development."  They’ll present nothing to the public, he said, until formal plans are submitted to city planners.

That said, Coward, at least, seemed to detect from the crowd something more sinister: The faint whiff of NIMBYism (Not In My Back Yard).

After extensive questioning of Tex Haeuser, the city planner, Coward concluded that traffic and parking are concerns already under the purview of the Planning Board, as are noise, sanitation and signage.

"Person after person has stood up and said, ‘I'm not against development, I'm just concerned about traffic down there,’" said Coward. "If that's really true, then that's already covered. That's taken care of by the Planning Board.

"If what these people are saying, if what the message really is, is, 'We don't want development and traffic is the thing we are going to raise to do it,' that's another matter," said Coward. "That requires rewriting the comprehensive plan."

Although tackling a comprehensive plan is always a daunting task, many councilors seemed most sympathetic of those concerns, given that design standards are not something the Planning Board can easily address when considering Willard Square development under the ordinances in place.

Will Conway, vice president of landscape architecture for engineering firm Sebago Technics, acknowledged in an opening presentation that the Perry/Hayward project has been ridiculed by Willard Square residents as a "cowboy saloon." A number of changes have since been drafted, he said, but many still object to modular construction seemingly shoehorned among 19th-century, "stick-built" buildings.

"Currently, the zoning for Willard Square does not take into consideration scale, or orientation, or materials, or colors, or design characteristics that exist in the zoning for Knightville," said resident Jeff Selser. "So, the site-plan process will not address these concerns.

"I am for development," said Selser, "but not at the expense of safety and not at the expense of the traditional character of that neighborhood."

Almost unanimously, councilors agreed that Willard Square does not have the same design standards set forth for the nearby Knightville neighborhood because, as Tom Blake put it, "we dropped the ball."

According to Blake, the council had 10 criteria in mind in 2006, when Willard Square was rezoned from a "limited-development commercial" to “mixed-use village-commercial." That change effectively outlawed drive-throughs, motels, auto garages and other similar businesses. However, the finer points of what would be allowed were never addressed, even after a Willard Square Neighborhood Association tried to jumpstart the process in 2009.

"A number of things where brought up by the community then that needed addressing," Blake recounted. "For whatever reason, and I'm not faulting anybody, we did not address those concerns."

"I feel kind of strongly that we, as a city, missed a little bit," said Councilor Maxine Beecher. "I am asking my fellow councilors to enact a moratorium, if only because it would force us to do the job we screwed up on before."

"I agree we missed the boat," said Councilor Patti Smith.  "We didn't finish the job then. We didn't follow through in an adequate way. Looking back, I feel that even though a moratorium can be seen as a good or a bad thing, depending on which side of the fence you are on, I see it as the prudent thing to do.

"We have work that we've left undone," said Smith. "[The question is] can we get ahead of the curve before the curve hits us? I think a lot of the time in South Portland, we end up having a knee-jerk reaction, or having to enact something under the gun. I think we need to take out time and bring the parties together."

What might be written into local law during a building moratorium cannot be predicted. Even the residents themselves appear divided on what they want.

"The square at one point had three stores, a pharmacy, a plumbing-supply place and a trolley," said Sherry Wolf.  "We had a casino on the beach. If you look back in history, Willard Beach, and Willard Square, has been a very diverse neighborhood, with a lot of funky things going on. If you say no to something, I think you are taking away the actual feel of the neighborhood."

"You talk about this being a business area since the 1800s," said Dara Saffer, "but, in the 1800s, people weren't driving as many cars as they are now. They weren't talking on cell phones. If all there was were 20 horse-and-buggies, and a few farms and fishermen, then great, you could have 10 businesses. But now, it's kind of delusional to have 10 business with each one having 10 SUVs out front and everybody talking on cell phones and running each other over."

Ultimately, however, there was one thing everyone could agree on:

"I thank each of you for bothering to come out," said Beecher. "I am proud to belong to this city, because this is the city really speaking.

"And I also commend the builders," said Beecher. "They've heard you, they've made some monster changes. I just don't feel we've gone quite far enough. I just want everyone to buy in, because this is your neighborhood, and theirs."