February 12, 2025
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Panel to oppose zoning for Walgreens

ROCKLAND – The comprehensive planning commission has voted to recommend rejecting the proposed zone change for Walgreens.

In a 6-0 vote Thursday, the commission recommended that the city council not approve Ordinance Amendment No. 8 calling for conditional rezoning of properties in the vicinity of the intersection of Camden Street and Maverick Street for a Walgreens pharmacy.

The commission’s decision follows two city council meetings in which residents, consisting mainly of neighbors of the pharmacy site, voiced their opposition at public-comment periods to its proposed 14,000-square-foot building. A letter from 40 downtown businesses and a statement by Mayor Hal Perry also opposed the change.

Although the commission’s function in city government is advisory, one of its roles is to review a proposal in light of Chapter 19 of the zoning ordinance and to make recommendations on readings of proposals before the city council, said Code Officer John Root.

The current proposal before the council, made by WagPharm Development LLC, is the second application in a year. A previous developer for Walgreens withdrew its paperwork a year ago in the face of community opposition.

The planning board has scheduled a meeting at 6 p.m. Tuesday, May 27, to consider the application for the zoning change. The city council is expected to make its final vote June 9.

The developer has offered to pay for improvements to the intersection of Maverick and Camden streets, considered to be the busiest junction in Knox County.

The drugstore would be built on land occupied by the former Garden Island Cleaners, the Church of the Nazarene, and three houses.

Neighbors have formed opposition to the proposal and held their own meetings outside of the city council sessions.

At Thursday’s meeting, commissioner Deborah Sealey said she felt the term “pharmacy” was misleading because she views Walgreens as a large convenience store, according to the minutes of Thursday’s meeting.

WagPharm’s representative Kevin Bunker told the commissioners that while 70 percent of sales are from the pharmacy, the pharmacy has 25 percent of the floor space.

Commissioner Terry Pinto said the C-2 zone permits many commercial uses, and whether it is a pharmacy or another business is not the issue.

Sealey said whether it is a pharmacy or a retail business with a pharmacy is a consideration in determining if the use is compatible. She said that just because Hannaford supermarket has a bakery, the store is not considered to be a bakery rather than a supermarket.

Commissioner Daniel Bennett felt the scale of development was an important factor of whether the use is compatible.

Commission Chairman Gerald Weinand later in the discussion said that commercial and residential can coexist, but not with this project.

Bennett agreed that the scale of the project is too big to coexist with the neighborhood.

Weinand said he envisioned 10 or so small-scale shops along Maverick Street as opposed to one giant pharmacy.

“This would afford a much greater buffer for the neighborhood,” he added.

Sealey said it seems that residents often seem to come second, and a better balance is needed in regard to the interests of residents and those of commercial development.

“It doesn’t always have to be business versus people,” Sealey said. “Zoning should have some staying power.”


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