By Rick Wright

Staff Writer

South Portland residents will have a chance in May to weigh in on discontinuance of a city road that could make room for a new shopping center.

The city council voted unanimously Monday to hold a public hearing May 3 to consider the discontinuance of Gorham Road Extension. 

If approved, the action would complete a purchase and sale agreement between the city and developer Vincent Maietta. 

Maietta bought the property from the city at 85 Western Ave. in 2006. When Maietta bought it the city agreed to discontinue the road. 

Completion of the agreement was held up by costs associated with the relocation of utility services, a weakend economy and the attainment of permits from the Department of Environmental Protection, according to South Portland City Manager Jim Gailey.

 The 63,162-square-foot lot is located on a triangle of land near the entrance to Redbank Village and is bounded by Western Avenue, Gorham Road and Westbrook Street. 

Maietta hopes to develop a shopping center on the site that might attract such tenants as Subway, Buffalo Wild Wings, FedEx, Kinkos, Hallmark and Radio Shack.

The original agreement stipulated the city would discontinue 600 feet of Gorham Road Extension. 

  In February the planning board voted 6-0 to approve discontinuance of 838 feet of Gorham Road Extension. 

Assistant City Manager Erik Carson said the planning board recommended the extra 238 feet so the city would not be responsible for plowing and maintaining any part of the street.

By Maine statute, the city is required to notify all abutting property owners before a public street can be discontinued. While the street has only five abutters, several councilors wanted to notify more residents.  

The neighborhood is densely populated by tenants in nearby complexes that include Redbank Village, Olde English Village, Liberty Commons and Brickhill.

City Manager Jim Gailey agreed to put an ad in a local newspaper and post notices at group mailboxes and bulletin boards throughout apartment complexes in the neighborhood.

In a related matter, the council voted 7-0 in a first reading to change the property’s zoning. 

The ordinance would change Maietta’s property from a transitional central and regional commercial district to a limited business zone. 

The extension discontinuation and rezoning will allow Maietta to add more parking spaces to the front and rear of the property. Maietta said at a workshop last month that more parking would make it easier for him to market the shopping center to potential retailers.

The council’s final action on the zoning change is scheduled for March 15. The planning board will make its final decision March 16. If everything goes as planned, the shopping center is expected to be finished sometime this fall, according Carson.

Rick Wright can be reached at 282-4337, ext. 237 or news@inthesentry.com.