City officials have promised to consider implementing measures, including impact fees, in response to continuing public concern about the rate of development in Westbrook. They stopped short, however, of supporting a moratorium.

The joint meeting Monday among the City Council, School Committee and Planning Board went past 11 p.m. at the Westbrook Performing Arts Center, with residents repeating previous calls for a 180-day moratorium on residential developments of more than 10 units.

The potential impact of new development, highlighted by a proposed 307-unit second phase of Blue Spruce Farm off Spring Street, has produced a strong reaction from neighbors, who have pressured city officials to consider overcrowding schools, traffic and other infrastructure impacts. On Monday, Aug. 29, the City Council will give first reading to a $27.3 million school expansion project referendum for Saccarappa Elementary and Westbrook Middle schools.

A petition drive to push for a development moratorium is being led by Middle Street resident Flynn Ross and the group, Westbrook Citizens for Sustainable Growth. The group has had the petition vetted by attorney Mary Costigan of Bernstein Shur, who said that, based on Maine law, Westbrook meets the required criteria for a moratorium.

A portion of the listed requirements of a moratorium are “to prevent a shortage or overburden on public facilities that would otherwise occur during the effective period of the moratorium or that is reasonably foreseeable as a result of any proposed or anticipated development.”

However, Mayor Colleen Hilton said emphatically at the meeting that she would not support the moratorium, stating that it would send a damaging message to local businesses.

“That’s not a message I want to send,” she said.

Nonetheless, the council decided to at least discuss a moratorium during an upcoming meeting. The Planning Board will also consider impact fees and take a look at land-use ordinances like minimum lot sizes, density and design standards.

But in response to some comments Monday from residents adamantly opposed to the Blue Spruce Farm project, Hilton said Wednesday, “We’re not going to stop this project. It wouldn’t be fair to the developer or the people waiting to move in.”

McKinley Street resident Kate Bergeron told officials Monday that the project would “forever change my neighborhood,” while Bryan Bozsik, who has been outspoken during previous meetings, argued that other communities such as Scarborough are “aggressive with impact fees.”

Hilton said she’s told concerned residents to push for larger buffers and other measures that can limit the visual impact, but said she has concern that impact fees could only raise prices for those purchasing or renting new units.

Local real estate agent Tim Flaherty said Monday that Blue Spruce Farm developers Risbara Brothers Construction is in a “perfect storm” of a high demand for rental units and low interest rates.

“A lot of jobs are at stake,” he said, referring to a moratorium. “It would be affecting a lot of the small guys.”

Hilton said she’s talked to a number of senior citizens who said the moratorium discussion is the same that was brought up during other development booms in the city, such as when the Westbrook Pointe complex was built and when the large neighborhood off East Bridge Street was built in the 1970s.

Chris LaRoche, the executive director of Westbrook Housing, said during the meeting that a moratorium would also impact senior housing projects that are in the pipeline for the community now.

Many councilors echoed similar concerns for the measure, including veteran Councilor John O’Hara, who said the council has discussed a moratorium before during periods of growth. There was also confusion over the specific language of the measure, which the petition says is aimed at residential developments of more than 10 units. However, some councilors said they were concerned for “unintended consequences,” possibly prohibiting homeowners from building additions or hindering commercial development.

“The petition clearly calls for a limited moratorium on residential subdivisions of 10 units or greater so it will not have the effects Councilor O’Hara was misrepresenting by saying people won’t be able to put in a garage,” Ross said in an email Wednesday.

Attorney Sandy Guay, who discussed the option of a moratorium Monday, described the strategy as a temporary measure, or “timeout,” for the community. But she also said they are also generally used in “emergency” situations.

According to City Administrator Jerre Bryant, the implementation of impact fees would require an amendment to the city’s code of ordinances, which only the council can approve.

Of the more than 20 residents that spoke Monday, many accused the city and school department of poor planning, referring to the closure of Prides Corner Elementary School in 2012. A year later, a portable classroom was placed at Saccarappa Elementary School. For the upcoming school year, there are five portable classrooms at the city’s three elementary schools.

Hilton said Wednesday that there are many positive impacts that come from development that are being overlooked, such as an increased population that will shop and dine at local businesses, more jobs, and the addition of public open space.

“We are getting community benefit that doesn’t necessarily get reflected in some of this discussion,” she said.

Roughly 70 people attended Monday’s meeting. Risbara, who spoke about Blue Spruce Farm, said Wednesday that he was “pleasantly surprised” to see how few members of the public attended given the city’s population.

“It was very evident that those who attended and spoke, were for the most part, neighbors who opposed certain proposed developments that would be built in ‘their’ neighborhood,” he said. “Allowing growth to occur as planned, when there is demand for growth, is the right thing for the city to do.”

There are currently 370 units under construction in Westbrook – 189 at Blue Spruce Farm. A potential 412 units are within the planning pipeline now. Of those projects, residents have also criticized a proposed 96-unit condo development on Austin Street.

Ross said she hopes the petition and continued public feedback can further push officials to consider the impacts of large-scale development.

She called Monday’s meeting a “success,” and said it’s evidence that public officials are listening.

Rocco Risbara of Risbara Bros. Construction discusses Phase 2 of the Blue Spruce Farm subdivision Monday during a joint workshop on development growth in Westbrook.