By David Harry

Staff Writer

The businessmen who planned to build a Willard Square market will seek help from city officials to recoup expenses from the failed plan.

Glenn Perry, an owner of property at 7 Pillsbury St. in Willard Square, said his bankers refused to finance the market project after the city proposed a moratorium on new construction in the area. 

South Portland city councilors on Monday unanimously approved a 95-day construction moratorium in the area near the intersections of Thompson, Pillsbury and Preble streets,

The moratorium was established to allow the city planning board to consider additional ordinances on design standards, parking and safety in the area. Councilors, including Jim Hughes and Patti Smith, acknowledged Perry, his wife, Mary Jane Perry, and business partner, Ian Hayward, suffered financial harm because of council actions.

“They have been mistreated in my mind,” Hughes said.

Perry said he spent at least $25,000 on engineering, architectural and legal fees for the site plan, and expected to have a final expense tab to present to Mayor Rosemarie De Angelis and South Portland Director of Planning Tex Haeuser today.

Perry and Hayward had planned a two-story, 2,500-square-foot market to be located next to the apartment house at 7 Pillsbury St. The plan “met and exceeded” zoning requirements for the village commercial zone established in 2004, Perry said.

The proposed market drew opposition from neighbors and Willard Neighborhood Association members who worried about traffic flow in the area and children walking or riding bicycles to Dora L. Small School on Thompson Street. About 200 people signed a petition last month that sought the moratorium.

Neighborhood residents Linda Sanborn and Jeanine Bourke were among those who spoke for more than an hour. They said the moratorium was needed because the comprehensive plan for the area lacked needed zoning ordinances. 

Each said they were eager to help councilors and planning board members resolve traffic, parking and safety questions in the square.

“It boils down to cost versus worth,” Bourke said.

Sanborn, a 35-year Willard Square resident who said she once lived in the Pillsbury Street property owned by the Perrys and Hayward, said the moratorium is not an attack on anyone in particular. 

In the years she has lived in the neighborhood, Sanborn said she has seen traffic increase and more children walking or bicycling to Small School. Increased commercial activity has a place, she said, but the time is now to clarify how business fits in the neighborhood.

“What is going to be done to maintain the essence of the community?” she asked.

South Portland Director of Planning Tex Haeuser said the neighborhood plan, developed in 2004, came up for review in 2009 because of two impending development projects for about 12 structures.  

Haeuser said the plan excluded businesses such as car repair shops and motels, but was designed to enhance commercial activity in Willard Square. The 2009 reviews included at least one public hearing, but led to no zoning revisions because the economy soured development plans, Haeuser said.

Haeuser told councilors the moratorium was not necessary for the planning board to consider design, safety and parking issues the council outlined, but City Manager Jim Gailey said he recommended passing it to get the process moving.

Establishing design standards may be difficult,  said planning board member Gerard Jalbert, in part because city structures have so many architectural styles. Jalbert was one of three board members to vote May 24 against recommending the moratorium and said traffic safety can be addressed without planning board input. He suggested time limits for on-street parking in the area to relieve congestion. 

Perry said he and his partners will open a market in Knightville in a building already zoned for commercial use. While it will not require planning board review, Perry said he hopes the city may be able to help with low-interest financing because he anticipates his bank will charge 1 percent or 1.5 percent more for a loan because he could not go forward with his plans for Willard Square. 

Perry said he is uncertain when the new market will open, in part because he and Hayward spent so much of their savings and retirement plans preparing the site review for the Willard Square project. 

Hayward said the moratorium was “immoral if not illegal,” and said neighborhood opposition was economically based but presented as a safety issue. Hayward said he had been eager to bring a new business to Willard Square after working with Perry at a Yarmouth restaurant.

“I resent the idea I am a rich developer,” he said. “I’m a 28-year-old guy who dumped my life savings into the dream. I am sorry if I am a little emotional, but I am also broke.” 

Staff Writer David Harry can be reached at 282-4337, ext. 219.