By David Harry

Staff Writer

Several days after a developer withdrew site plans for a Willard Square store, South Portland Planning Board members supported a proposed 95-day moratorium on commercial development in the district.

The nonbinding 4-3 vote in favor of a moratorium will be accompanied by explanations why board members Gerard Jalbert, Amy Cullen and Paul McKee oppose a moratorium.

Board members are required by city charter to vote on the ordinance because it encompasses potential zoning changes. A second reading and city council vote on the moratorium is planned for the June 6 council meeting.

Willard Square residents Peter Cooke and Ross Hickey urged board members to support the moratorium because of the effects of commercial development in the square, which is zoned for a mix of business and residential use.

Both said their concerns go beyond the store that was proposed by Glenn Perry and his business partner, Ian Hayward.

Site plans for the two-story, 2,500-square-foot market were removed from planning board consideration last week, Perry said.

“I do this more in sorrow than in anger. This was predictable and predicted,” Perry said.

Perry said financing for the project fell through, in part because of the proposed construction moratorium. Perry withdrew his plans for the market at the confluence of Pillsbury, Thompson and Preble streets because he said strong opposition to the market would delay the project too long. He said he is considering other sites in the city. 

Mayor Rosemarie De Angelis said Knightville, the mixed-use neighborhood comprised of Legion Square and Thomas Knight Park, would be a good fit and added draw for the farmers market expected to begin next month.

Perry estimated he spent about $40,000, including $25,000 for the site plan review data the planning board was expected to consider next month. Cooke said neighbors’ investments in their homes was one reason a moratorium is needed.

Cooke backed up his comments with a slide show of traffic congestion in the area. Jalbert said he remained unconvinced traffic bound for Small School on Thompson Street would decrease appreciably by changing parking ordinances or altering the intersection at Willard Square.

Board member Curt Jensch joined the majority in supporting the moratorium. He said it would be brief enough to disrupt future commercial development and allow the zoning board and councilors to hash out remaining zoning issues.

Jalbert and McKee disagreed.

“It’s like taking a sledgehammer to solve the problem,” Jalbert said.

Board members agreed on creating design standards, but remained wary of making changes that are too restrictive. 

Hickey, who might have seen the market placed within feet of his property line, agreed because the neighborhood has such varied architecture.

De Angelis said the proposed moratorium, which covers about a dozen properties on Pillsbury, Preble and Willow streets, potentially places the city in a bad light because Perry’s plans fit all existing zoning laws and he repeatedly modified his plans.

Before withdrawing the plans, Perry offered to reduce the building height, change the roof so it would be less visible and restrict delivery times.

He said the estimates of 250 customers a day given during a neighborhood meeting reflected the busiest, not most typical days of the year at the proposed store.