The Westbrook Planning Board will not get its first official look at the revised plans for Phase 2 of Blue Spruce Farm until October, but in the meantime, city officials will discuss growth issues like impact fees and a possible development moratorium during a meeting next week.

Risbara Bros. Construction, which is developing the 189-unit residential subdivision off Spring Street, withdrew plans for a larger Phase 2 project in August, after a landowner refused to close on a sale of 28 acres between Spring and Saco streets.

The development, under construction since last year, has been at the center of a public outcry over the perceived pace of housing development in Westbrook and worries about the impact on infrastructure.

Rocco Risbara told the American Journal in August that his company has filed a lawsuit against the landowner, Westbrook Land Co., LLC, for breach of contract. He said the two parties had a written agreement stipulating a set price and timeline for purchasing the property, and that Westbrook Land Co. failed to show up at a closing meeting. According to its 2015 filing report, Westbrook Land Co. is based in Auburn, Mass., and operated by the Spear real estate group of Florida. A call to the company was not returned by the American Journal’s deadline Wednesday.

Risbara sent a letter to Westbrook planning officials Aug. 26 explaining that the landowner refused to close on a portion of the property. The dilemma has forced Risbara to significantly downsize the project, but he believes the revised plan “does several things that we think the neighbors will be receptive to.”

A new sketch plan dated Sept. 7 depicts 110 units of market-rate apartments, and eliminates a road connecting the existing development to Prospect Street.

The new Phase 2 will include nine, 12-unit apartment buildings on a 13-acre parcel formerly owned by resident Daniel Chick. Two units will also be located in Chick’s former home and adjacent apartment. The plan also includes four, five-bay garages for apartment tenants.

The Planning Board will get its first look at the new plan on Tuesday, Oct. 18.

Risbara said Wednesday that the smaller Phase 2, with almost 200 fewer units than originally proposed, will have significantly less impact on traffic, abutting properties and schools.

“We met with the city staff yesterday to discuss our plans for development of the Chick parcel. They were generally receptive to it and didn’t see anything major that they felt didn’t work,” Risbara said.

A major complaint from residents was a proposed connection to Prospect Street that would have created a cut-through between Spring and Saco streets and also was a safety concern for the Westbrook Pointe neighborhood.

Now, all traffic would access the development from Blue Spruce Farm Road, except for the existing Chick home and two-bedroom apartment, which would be accessed from Maple Street. Risbara also said the buildings have been pulled back from the abutting property lines of the existing neighborhood, “allowing us to maintain almost all of the existing tree lines and a large green space in those areas.”

In August, while the original 309-unit Phase 2 plan was in the pipeline, city officials hosted a joint meeting and community forum in the wake of pressure from residents to consider changes to the city’s land-use policies. In response, the City Council’s Committee of the Whole will discuss impact fees and the possibility of a moratorium at a meeting Monday, Sept. 19, at 6:30 p.m., in Room 114 of Westbrook High School.

A number of Westbrook residents, including immediate neighbors of the Blue Spruce Farm project, have been active in a petition process and social media campaign to slow the pace of development. A new community group, calling itself “Westbrook Forward,” was recently formed to continue that work in a more comprehensive way.

Bryan Bozsik who is closely involved in the group and has been outspoken during previous public meetings, said Tuesday that he believes there is still “extremely little” support for Risbara’s new proposal.

“We expect them to propose large three- or four-story architecturally devoid buildings, 12 units per building, placed literally right next to established neighborhoods of mostly single-family detached housing,” he said in an email.

Bozsik said Westbrook Forward, which now has a website, evolved from backyard discussions between a group of citizens over the last few months, many of whom have spoken during public meetings.

“During our discussions, we realized there is a fairly widely shared sentiment that Westbrook has a lot of opportunity for growth and development, but that it was challenging sharing that vision with city officials and administrators in a way that we felt was acknowledged and listened to,” he said.

He added that most of the group is in favor of growth and development, but at a pace the city can handle. He said many would have been in favor of the mix of housing (single-family homes, apartments and condos) that was originally proposed in Phase 1, but with more emphasis on single-family homes.

Lynda Adams, a former city clerk and City Council candidate for Ward 5, told city officials Monday that the group is continuing its petition process to urge changes to the city’s planning process. She also urged the council to move ahead with its plan to discuss impact fees, which had not yet been scheduled Monday.

Meanwhile, on Monday the City Council approved the final reading of the $27.3 million school expansion project for the nearby Saccarappa Elementary School and Westbrook Middle School that will appear on the Nov. 8 ballot.

A CLOSER LOOK

The City Council’s Committee of the Whole will discuss impact fees and a possible development moratorium during a meeting Monday, Sept. 19 at 6:30 p.m. in Room 114 of Westbrook High School.

Blue Spruce Farm Phase 1.