Bangor OKs zone change for Grant land

BANGOR – Local developer Judson Grant Jr. Monday night got the zone changes he was seeking for more than 80 acres from Griffin Road along Broadway to his property line with Abundant Life Church, but not before members of his development team underwent some grilling by residents and a city councilor.

Rezoning the land to high-density residential and shopping and personal service is the first step in Grant’s plans for a combination residential and commercial development on that site.

Grant, who was represented Monday by his son-in-law Michael Longo, said earlier this month that he is considering a combination of residential and commercial uses, including the development of house lots, rental apartments and a yet to be designed commercial component.

Though many questions were asked and answered before city councilors voted 6-1 to rezone Grant’s land, it was clear during the meeting that the possibility a big box store might locate there was foremost on some people’s minds.

Not knowing the details of the project in advance of rezoning proved vexing to some residents.

“If people would just come out and say what they’re going to do with their land … the neighborhood wouldn’t have to get in a tizzy,” Kenduskeag Avenue resident Linda Hunter said, calling for “full disclosure by developers.”

“This is one of the last remaining undeveloped [large] parcels in Bangor,” she said. “It’s our last chance to do it right.”

Longo, however, said plans are in the early stages and that rezoning was a first step.

“We do not at this point have the commercial [plans] lined up. If I had all these answers, I would gladly give them to you and [dispel] all the mystery.

He did, however, address concerns about big box stores coming to the site, which Grant has owned for more than 30 years.

“We have not had one call for a big box on outer Broadway,” Longo said, adding that developers of big box stores were interested in sites that are close to Interstate 95, such as the Bangor Mall area, which has interchanges on both Hogan Road and Stillwater Avenue.

“And that is not our vision [for the land],” Longo said.

Other concerns cited Monday and during a public hearing conducted by the planning board last week included increased traffic and lost access to wetlands and forests on Grant’s land used for outdoor recreation.

Councilor Geoffrey Gratwick, who cast the sole vote against the rezoning requests, spent several minutes questioning members of Grant’s development team about a variety of concerns, including how and when wetlands were delineated, projected traffic increases, the intensity of the project’s commercial aspect, which would be clustered at the intersection, compared to the “much lower intensity” development on the other side of Broadway, and what changes might be in store if the land were to change hands.

As the city’s planning staff sees it, Grant’s plan to cluster commercial zoning at the corner would provide better opportunities to manage driveway access to the property than the narrow commercial strips along the length of busy Broadway.

Also concerned was Councilor Richard Stone.

“It’s no secret that I’ve had some concerns about this project,” he said, adding that he wanted to make sure that Grant and his team continued to work with the city on the plan “so we could do this as a community effort and not just the status quo.”