FALMOUTH, Maine — As the Town Council considers a proposed zoning amendment that would prevent new big-box retail development in the U.S. Route 1 business corridor, the potential buyer of the Falmouth Shopping Center is urging the town to quash the rule change.
The amendment, introduced by the council’s Community Development Committee on July 23, would limit the size of most new or expanded commercial properties in the corridor to a “footprint” of 30,000 square feet. Grocery stores could occupy a footprint of 60,000 square feet.
The town’s Route 1 Business District, which includes the shopping center, currently has no size limit on commercial development.
But the proposed limits are “hastily and arbitrarily conceived,” according to Ben Devine, a Falmouth resident and principal of Devine Capital, a partner with Philadelphia-based W.P. Realty in purchasing the shopping center. The deal is currently pending.
Devine also is a part-owner of Falmouth Plaza, the real estate company that leases space on Route 1 to the town’s only big-box retailer, Walmart. Coincidentally, the store is about to begin a major expansion, which already is approved and would not be affected by the proposed amendment.
In a recent letter to councilors and town staff, Devine said the research used by the CDC in recommending the footprint cap “seems to be based on guesses at the outdated size of a few retailers that have never shown any interest in locating to Falmouth.”
The zoning amendment comes after 10 years of planning and debate about how to redevelop the Route 1 corridor into a more pedestrian-friendly “village” of shops and multi-use buildings.
Earlier zoning changes considered by the CDC as part of that process allowed larger footprints. As recently as May, a CDC memo to the council proposed capping footprints of new single-tenant commercial buildings at 90,000 square feet.
With the proposal of a new, lower cap two months later, “the town is rushing to make things happen,” said Devine.
But according to CDC Chairwoman Bonny Rodden, the new limit is a “reasoned decision” based on careful study.
“The CDC looked at buildings in Falmouth, we looked at construction outside of Falmouth, we looked at studies and examples in other areas. Many communities in Maine and throughout the country are doing this,” she said. “We did our homework.”
She said limiting development to a 30,000-square-foot footprint — slightly larger than the Staples store located across Route 1 from the shopping center — would attract businesses that are a “better fit” for Falmouth than big-box stores that often occupy upward of 100,000 square feet.
“The goal of the zoning amendment is to make it clear, as a community, what our town looks like,” she said.
Rodden said the CDC and town council welcome Devine’s input. “We want him to work with us, as the current owners have done,” she said.
“Together, we’ve shared a vision [for the shopping center], and part of that vision was a footprint limitation.”
For his part, Devine said he wants a “candid dialogue with the town about what’s possible. We have to work together. Our common goal is to create a vibrant retail environment.”
He said there should be no fear the shopping center would become “Maine Mall North,” and that his objection to the footprint limitation is not based on plans to bring in a big-box tenant. He also pledged that he and his partners will not apply to develop space for such a tenant while the zoning amendment would be tabled.
“The reality is that Falmouth is not in threat of big-box retail. Years of difficulty in marketing the Falmouth Shopping Center and the surrounding retail properties is proof positive of the challenges that exist in the Route One commercial corridor,” he wrote in his letter to the town council.
“Then why is he so concerned about a footprint limit?” said Rodden in response. “The town has been working on this for so long. We need to get going, and turn the concepts for the shopping center into something concrete. You have to start somewhere.”
The CDC plans to hold a public discussion of the zoning amendment later this month or in September. Additional zoning changes will be presented over the winter, Rodden said.
Meanwhile, across the street, the plans to expand the Falmouth Walmart continue on track, according to Devine. They call for the store’s size to increase from 92,000 square feet to 124,000, with the addition of a grocery center and a pharmacy.
Final permits are now being obtained and contractors are submitting cost proposals, he said. Construction could begin in six weeks.
See more from The Forecaster at theforecaster.net.
Maybe you pay a little less at a Big Box store, but there are a lot of problems:
(a) Crushing small local businesses and all the good things they bring to a community
(b) A lot of the money given to a BB goes right out of state.
(c) A lot of the cash is going straight to China, supporting a police state that doesn’t have free speech, free religion and which tortures those who speak out for freedom. Support US jobs!
(d) Doing the right thing should be the bottom line, not money. History shows that when money becomes more important than ethics, the ultimate result is social deterioration.
(e) Traffic congestion and ugliness, lack of tranquility, shallow cheesy cultural blandness.
And this is just a starter list.
And without them your downtown still dies because people just go to the next town over that has the Big Box Stores and shops there. Not to mention those darned internets where people don’t even have to leave their homes to shop at Big Box Stores. Your assertion that you pay “a little less” is right on things like paper towels, but way off on big ticket items like electronics. There is a drastic difference in price on TV’s and the like. Eliminating Big Box isn’t the answer, controlling which ones can come is. If Falmouth says, “We will let Target in because they pay their employees better than Wal-Mart” or whatever the case may be, that is more in line with reality. Yes, we would love to see our downtowns thrive with local commerce, but the reality is, they just can’t compete with Big Box and No Box (like Amazon)
ebay is the biggest box of them all.
growing up in dover foxcroft it was a pretty frequent occurance to drive over to newport or down to bangor to enjoy big box shopping… well after Ames went belly up.
Don’t you think the small stores get their supplies from China too? Go to these stores and look at the tags on the products they are selling,most of it is not American made.
hahaha “China, supporting a police state that doesn’t have free speech, free
religion and which tortures those who speak out for freedom. ” because we don’t live in a police state.
Bangor has a walmart target home depot lowes kmart best buy sears etc. and we have a thriving downtown small business/mercantile community. The two can easily co-exist.
The Big Box stores also hire a lot of LOCAL people who buy things, pay LOCAL taxes etc. etc. The big box stores also pay huge local property taxes. Oh, the small local businesses ALSO sell stuff from China. The traffic congestion (?) requires fuel for the cars, and the local gas stations benefit by hiring people who pay LOCAL taxes, etc. etc. The marketplace along with supply and demand determine what businesses survive. Are you against “Free Enterprise”? You don’t have to shop there yourself, but what’s with your trying to control what other people choose (freedom) to do?
It’s the liberal way… *rolls eyes*
Get over it Maine needs jobs and you complain about this! You are the biggest joke and hypocrite on this site!
Kind of Ironic that Falmouth is NOW deciding what they want, considering that Falmouth Shopping Ctr. was one of the first shopping centers in Maine (I think it may even have been the first one).
I don’t purchase much from non box stores anymore since many small business rape the local people with high prices. Box stores help keep prices low. Sorry, I don’t buy this anymore. You want to compete then do so.
Local businesses often support or even propose regulations like this thinking it limits competition and gives them an edge. Usually the local business is higher priced, even to the point of price gouging. Not to mention the often pitiful selection of brands or products.
The reality is that people just drive out of town to where the big box stores are. Using even more gas, etc.