BANGOR – Landowners and environmentalists squared off Tuesday over the future of a protected wetland just a stone’s throw from one of the city’s most heavily developed retail centers.

More than 250 people flocked to the Bangor Civic Center on Tuesday afternoon to weigh in on plans to increase the protected area around the Penjajawoc Stream and the accompanying 350-acre marsh, home to a number of the birds on the state’s endangered or threatened species lists.

The wetland, which lies north of Stillwater Avenue, has been the subject of intense public discussion since a New York-based developer unveiled plans to build a 224,000-square-foot Wal-Mart Supercenter in a nearby hayfield.

“I see development marching in this direction and that’s of concern,” said Ron Joseph, a biologist with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. “This is really a gem of a spot … and it would be a shame not to recognize that.”

The Tuesday meeting of the City Council’s Infrastructure and Development Support Committee focused on a plan to further restrict development near the stream, which winds its way under Stillwater Avenue and around the Bangor Mall before emptying into the Penobscot River.

Specifically, the proposed zone change, mandated by the Maine Department of Environmental Protection, would increase the setback along 4.5 acres of wetland from 50 feet from the stream’s high water mark to 75 feet from the upland edge of the wetland – the minimum allowed under state shore-land zoning ordinances.

Many property owners in that commercial district asked councilors to think long and hard about imposing the new restrictions without protecting the financial interests of those who have built businesses near the mall.

Carol Epstein, a commercial real estate broker and owner of several properties along the 3.3-mile stream, said the new requirements would decrease property values and limit the potential uses for the buildings should a current tenant decide to leave.

“We need to protect our economic resources as well as our ecological ones,” said Epstein, whose sentiments were echoed by several other business owners. “Both are valuable and we have to balance them out.”

Area environmentalists have backed the new restrictions, which would prohibit any new development along the stream. In addition, a local citizens’ group has asked the council to take the protection efforts one step further and explore turning the privately owned wetland into a nature preserve.

Bangor Area Citizens Organized for Responsible Development on Tuesday outlined its proposal to preserve the area, which if left untouched, they said, could draw tourists to the city.

“Serious harm has happened and further harm is likely to happen if we don’t have some protection,” said BACORD spokeswoman Valerie Carter, one of more than 100 people who stood in support of protecting the area. “Are we going to pave that area or preserve it?”

BACORD organized in September in opposition to the Wal-Mart proposal, which would include a 979-space paved parking lot.

That’s about 20 fewer spaces than included in the Widewaters Group’s initial proposal, which placed the building within 70 feet of the marsh.

DEP officials issued a draft rejection of that plan citing its close proximity to the sensitive wetland as well as other issues.

Widewaters, which in October paid $2.3 million for the 28.6-acre parcel, withdrew the plan.

Shortly thereafter, Widewaters submitted a revised application to the Bangor planning board that included the state-recommended 250-foot buffer. The planning board will likely consider that application at its March 20 meeting.

The issue has risen to the top of the agenda for city officials, who this week pushed for a compromise.

“Let’s face it, those wetlands have survived and thrived over the years,” Bangor Mayor John Rohman said Monday. “I think there’s room for both development and green space out there, and it’s our responsibility to keep that balance.”