BANGOR – A Stillwater Avenue developer on Tuesday received the go-ahead he was seeking for an expansion of his commercial property, but not before planning board members vented some frustration about his failure to stick to the site plan the city approved three years ago and to abide by city deadlines.

At issue was a small strip mall development at 982 Stillwater Ave. being built by Stillridge LLC, owned by Thomas Ellis.

Ellis, who did not attend the meeting, was represented by Vinal Applebee, vice president of AMES A/E, a Bangor architectural and engineering firm.

Planning board Chairman Robert Guerette was among those unhappy with unauthorized changes to the project.

“I just don’t like to see applicants who come back with these [requests for changes],” he said. He said the applicant needed to understand “the importance of abiding by the plan,” adding that mechanisms exist for amendments, when needed.

“I certainly will convey that,” Applebee said.

Ellis originally received site plan approval in August 2001 for a 40,154-square-foot building, with a completion deadline of Aug. 15, 2003, according to documents from the city’s planning department. In May 2003, Ellis was granted a two-year extension, giving him until Aug. 15 of this year.

As of early August, however, only half the square-footage was built and several site improvements remained undone.

The city’s code enforcement office granted Ellis an extension through Oct. 14. The reason Ellis gave for seeking the extension was that he was involved in easement negotiations and was unable to find a tenant for the second half of the building.

During Tuesday’s meeting, planning officer David Gould said he told Ellis that further extensions would not be recommended because some of the details of the project were not built as originally approved.

Landscaping was not done to city specifications and internal traffic islands were not built in the parking lot, Gould said. Other changes include the location of the entrance driveway on Stillwater Avenue, which was built about 80 feet closer to Hogan Road than in the plan the city approved.

Applebee said the shift was made at the recommendation of the state Department of Transportation.

Also, the addition Ellis planned was 678 square feet larger than what he had approval for.

Ellis was advised to submit a new, updated application, which he did.

Board members approved the new plan in a 5-0 vote.

Also on Tuesday, the board approved Darling’s Inc.’s plan to add a two-story stair tower and change a walkway and handicapped-accessible parking at its vehicle display, sales and service operation at 60 Sylvan Road.