Bangor planning board recommends rezoning of 861 Broadway despite traffic concerns

The Bangor City Planning Board voted unanimously on Feb. 18 to recommend the City Council approve a zone change for a roughly 10-acre parcel at 861 Broadway (Map Lot R41-005), moving the site from an industrial service district with a contract zone and low-density residential to a shopping and personal services district.

The change, moved by Member Ted Brush and seconded by Member Hume, passed with a roll-call vote and a unanimous recommendation that the council “ought to pass.” Chair Rhys Perkins read the board’s finding that the corridor’s future development is consistent with the city’s comprehensive plan.

Nut graf: The recommendation clears a major zoning hurdle for the property long occupied by a radio station and broadcast tower. The applicant and its planner said the new S and PS district would better match development patterns along Broadway and allow a wider range of commercial and higher-density residential uses. Neighbors said they support redevelopment but flagged traffic, pedestrian safety and the existing tower as outstanding concerns.

Andy Johnston, principal of Logitech Resource Consultants, told the board the parcel — near Bangor High School and along an arterial corridor between I-95 and Griffin Road — was originally rezoned by contract in 1996 for radio broadcast use and the contract limited uses to that purpose. Johnston said the radio station license has moved and the tower is expected to be removed, adding that rezoning would allow “high-value light commercial uses” and some higher-density residential compatible with surrounding institutions including Husson University and the Saint Joe’s Medical Campus.

Several board members asked whether rezoning would leave the tower as a nonconforming structure. City staff and the applicant noted the existing contract agreement allows nonconforming uses to continue if the City Council later changes zoning. Planning officer Anya Collette and city engineer Jefferson Davis also told the board that if the tower remains it would likely be nonconforming and that typical redevelopment plans would ultimately make the site’s tower impractical.

Longtime neighbor and property owner David Craig urged the board to weigh traffic and pedestrian safety in any future development. “My big concern…and I don’t want to stop development of that property…is the traffic,” Craig said, describing daily congestion and the lack of sidewalks on Broadway near Grandview Avenue. City engineer Jefferson Davis said developers can be asked to mitigate traffic impacts during later site-plan review and noted the city has planned sidewalk construction for the corridor, though no construction is scheduled yet.

Board discussion emphasized the difference between rezoning (a legislative recommendation to council) and later site-specific permitting. Perkins told the room that traffic and sidewalk mitigation typically are addressed at the subsequent site development permit stage when a specific use and site plan are proposed.

The board voted unanimously to recommend the council approve the zone change. The item will go to the City Council at its next meeting for final action.

Ending: The recommendation now moves to the City Council for final consideration; the board noted that traffic and pedestrian improvements would be addressed during any later site plan review if redevelopment proceeds.