Editor:
    I was disappointed to read Ward Peck’s editorial, “A bold design in Knightville”, in the South Portland-Cape Elizabeth Sentry of March 16th, 2007. In the editorial, he scolded residents living in the Knightville Mill Creek neighborhood for being concerned about a proposed zone change to allow construction of a four-story condo office building on the Beale St. BBQ/Mr. Bagel parcel on Waterman Drive. Regrettably, Mr. Peck did not speak to me or, to my knowledge, anyone else in the Knightville Mill Creek Neighborhood Association to inquire about our very legitimate concerns.
    At a Planning Board workshop on March 13th, the developer, Andrew Ingalls, presented the idea of the project on behalf of the owners, Readhart Inc. They are requesting a change in the zoning status of the parcel to allow constuction of a four-story office building. The office condo units would be for sale. Several residents attended the workshop though public comment is not allowed at a Planning Board workshop. The opportunity for citizens to speak will occur at the Planning Board public hearing on April 10th. Comments may also be emailed or sent to the South Portland Planning Dept.
    The residents’ concerns are not “NIMBY-ism” as Mr. Peck seems to imply. It is common sense that neighboring stakeholders should closely examine a proposed zone change anywhere in the city. The Knightville Mill Creek Neighborhood Association would welcome the redevelopment of this parcel with a three-story building as is allowed by the current zoning. In our view, however, four-story redevelopment belongs in the current Knightville Design District along the retail spine of the Knightville peninsula along Ocean Street and Cottage Road. Ideally, the height of the buildings would “step down” toward the water to the west and the east. Two-story residential homes and multi-family housing would continue to be the norm on the lettered streets perpendicular to the business district.
    The parcel in question is unique in being an island zoned for business surrounded by a residential zone. The new office condominium building will be bordered by very flat Legere Park on one side, several two-story homes and multi-family “triple-deckers” behind it, and a group of three-story residential condominiums on the other side. In this setting, it makes a real difference whether the building has the three floors currently allowed or the four floors that would be allowed by a zone change.
    What is the difference? It is a question of “scale” and how it will fit with the surrounding buildings. It is a question of how early in the day the nearby houses will be in deep shadow from a taller building to the west particularly during the winter months. It is the visual appeal of how Waterman Drive will look when the reconfiguration project is completed. It is how the building fits into the vision of the Knightville Mill Creek Neighborhood Master Plan to increase residential and commercial density to revitalize the area while maintaining the look and feel of one of South Portland’s most historic neighborhoods.
    The Knightville Mill Creek Neighborhood Association is one of several groups that include dozens of South Portland citizens and business owners who have volunteered many hours to plan for the future of Knightville Mill Creek over the last twenty-five years or more. These groups have been greatly assisted by municipal staff and have competed for and been awarded several CDBG grants for funding their activities. Our vision has evolved to include specific recommendations to guide appropriate redevelopment and growth in the high-density, mixed-use neighborhood of South Portland’s “downtown.” It is our goal to foster prosperity for business owners while preserving the quality of life for residents. It is a delicate balance.
    “Revitalization” is a process that will be years in the making. We are striving for a downtown that will be a credit to the city. A copy of the “Knightville Mill Creek Neighborhood Master Plan” is available in the Planning Department. Whatever the outcome of the requested proposal, we will continue to be active for the betterment of our neighborhood and South Portland.
Cordially,
Rommy Brown, Chairperson
The Knightville Mill Creek
Neighborhood Association
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Editor:
    It is clear from your editorial last week, “A bold design in Knightville,” that you do not live in that neighborhood and that you were not thinking very deeply about aesthetics or the fabric of a community.
    It is true that the north side of Waterman Drive is blighted by the deserted “Mister Bagel” building and the neglected parking lot, long owned by one of the developers. However, surrounding that eyesore are the features that define a healthy village neighborhood.
    Toward Ocean Street there are the blocks of well maintained, older, single and multi-family housing that make up Knightville, where people have chosen to renovate and renew what had been somewhat dilapidated buildings. To the west are newer condominiums with decks that take in the “stunning views” you point out. They are built to a scale that recognizes the surrounding buildings and their construction has added new residents who value the small community that offers a pleasant walk to the library, town hall, retail stores and groceries. Bordering the east side of the potential development is lovely small Legere Park that is frequented by young families with youngsters using the play structures, older kids playing basketball and others enjoying the green spread of lawn. Even the neon “lonely ’BBQ’ sign” is a warming light to those of us who enjoy walking to what is perhaps the busiest restaurant in Knightville. It’s too bad the developer doesn’t envision a restaurant on the ground floor of the new structure.
    The city’s plan to make Waterman “less parkway and more park-like” is the direction favored by those of us who live in the neighborhood- in fact the concept, known as the Waterman Drive Reconfiguration Project, got its start from a Community Development Block Grant applied for and won by the Knightville Mill Creek Neighborhood Association. The idea is to connect Thomas Knight Park to Legere Park, and then to the Greenbelt Walkway while redirecting its current automobile orientation, toward the creation of a more pleasant, pedestrian-friendly scale for the area. Narrowing the street, adding curves, planting trees and creating an esplanade would contribute to making the neighborhood more attractive, raise property values and screen the treatment plant.  There is no “strip development” (yet) on this section of Waterman. To build a monolithic four-story brick block of an office building in the middle of housing and a small park would do little to make the neighborhood more livable or attractive.
    The building you describe as “sleek” and “compact” could only be considered so in the context of an industrial office park or an urban environment, such as Portland’s Marginal Way, where the AAA building could be its twin. If the building will face “inward, as if looking at the rest of its neighbors in the eye,” it will be to stare them down while stealing the expanse of light and sky to the west. It is not “a beautiful building, “but a brick block with no interesting architectural details, no attempt to break up its mass with setbacks or jogs and not a nod toward the scale of its neighbors. The only reason the land is currently zoned Village Commercial, rather than Village Residential, is to acknowledge the never- appealing Mr. Bagel and Beal Street structures that were put up in the sixties. If you look at the zoning map that land is an island set in the Village Residential zone. To change the zoning to allow the extra height would be to detract from the village residential values of all the neighbors.
    As former South Portland Councilor, Rosemarie De Angelis, has written:
    “In the original plan to create Design Standards in Knightville, there was specific discussion about the impact of these standards. Specifically, the intent was that the spine of Knightville (Ocean St.) have the highest allowance and that the neighborhood fall out to a lower height from that point (out to Waterman Drive). If four stories were allowed, this would create a cavern in the middle, where people live. Additionally, with the recent sale of the Lighting Collection, it is clear that more requests could come forth for additional height allowances. The subsequent affect could be devastating to those living between the two panels of height (Waterman/Ocean).”
    Finally, there is nothing to indicate that a three-story structure would be “squatter, less appealing” or “less valuable.” Threatening to build a less attractive three-story building (as we have heard, both from the developers and you, if the zone change is not granted) is not the way to win community support. However, the developers are not looking to support the community, but to sell commercial condominiums.  Fine. But in your position of editor, please don’t tell us that “maximizing the value and visual impact of the development” is an obligation of the community, the city or the zoning laws. The developers will build with or without a zone change. They may make less profit without an extra story, but they began the project knowing in what zone the property is located. The onus is on the developer to show why changing the zoning will help the community, not on the Knightville-Mill Creek Neighborhood Association to show why changing it would not harm the community.
Nicholas Burnett
South Portland