Rockland is on track to eliminate a special zoning district that was originally approved in 2018 to give the commercial corridor along Route 1 a more walkable downtown feeling, after those zoning rules recently forced the developers of a drive-thru coffee shop to go back to the drawing board.
Developers initially proposed a one-story location of the Aroma Joe’s coffee chain at 182 Camden St. — which is also Route 1 — but earlier this spring, the Planning Board determined that it would have to be two stories for it to meet the zoning requirements.
Now, Aroma Joe’s has reworked its plans, and on Tuesday night, the project received initial approval from the Planning Board for a two-story building. But before that happened, the City Council took an initial vote last week to eliminate the Camden Street zoning requirements.
If the council goes ahead with that change, the Aroma Joe’s developers plan to reverse the changes and again come to the city with a proposal for a one-story building, according to the Midcoast Villager.
Among other things, the zoning rules Rockland passed in 2018 required new buildings to be situated close to Route 1 and stand at least two stories tall. The changes were also meant to encourage new projects to have multiple uses, such as retail on the ground floor and housing above, according to a 2013 document titled “Camden Street Design Principles.”
The changes were part of a larger ongoing effort by some Maine communities to revive fading commercial areas and make them more pedestrian friendly.
But last week, during an April 14 meeting of the City Council, Councilor Nicole Kalloch said the zoning rules for Camden Street were “not working” and that there hasn’t been any development on the street for several years.
Councilor Adam Lachman suggested that a public workshop be held to amend the vision for Camden Street, and Councilor Nathan Davis agreed.
“I do shed a tear for this because it was a noble intention many years ago,” Davis said. “But it’s also clearly not working, and we can probably find a better way to achieve what the intention was.”
The council will take a final vote on the change at its May 12 meeting.
On Tuesday, the Planning Board also decided that Aroma Joe’s plans for a two-story building were complete. A final vote is expected on May 6, but according to the Villager, the developers aim to return to a one-story design pending the council’s vote.
The timing is paramount, because the developers have a May 15 deadline to acquire the property, which requires approval from the Planning Board, the Villager reported. The final project will cost an estimated $800,000 and is set to be completed 120 days after gaining Planning Board approval.
