BIDDEFORD — The Planning Board on Wednesday voted to recommend a zoning change to an Alfred Street property to allow for a proposed Starbucks coffee shop at the Five Points intersection of Alfred Street (Route 111) and U.S. Route 1. 

Father-son developers Bill and Patrick Donahue, of Five Star Holdings, LLC, submitted plans to construct a 1,750-square-foot Starbucks at 352 Alfred St., in the location of the former D’Angelo’s sandwich shop, in late October. 

In addition to the D’Angelo’s building, the developers also purchased two abutting properties, both currently residential, for use as other retail establishments. One of those establishments may become a financial institution, according to city documents. 

The Donahues are seeking a zoning change because the secondary properties are currently zoned as R1-A residential, and commercial projects by ordinance are required to maintain a 30-foot vegetative buffer between residential properties. 

However, the space is not adequate at the development area to do so, and the developers are exploring using other forms of buffers such as a stockade fence. 

The board’s decision to recommend the zoning change to the City Council followed a tense public hearing on the matter. 

Several residents of the abutting neighborhood on Summit, Round Hill and Harvard Streets voiced their concerns about rezoning their properties, citing declining property values and the potential for increased traffic congestion. 

“The traffic is very heavy just getting out of my driveway. I realize living on a main road comes with the turf, but I’m very worried to see what’s going to happen,” said Julie Gagne, who lives on Alfred Street neighboring the properties in question.

City Councilor Michael Ready also spoke publicly on the issue. Ready said he felt the tightly-packed community could see increased instances of people using the small residential roads to cut through to the new coffee shop and existing McDonald’s restaurant.

“All the houses are close by. It’s not like some of the new developments where, if you put something there, there’s space,” Ready said. “My concern now is people are going to be cutting through. It’s a bigger neighborhood area than just that property.” 

“Typically we don’t have the kind of plans Mr. Donahue has. I would have a real difficult time voting to rezone on either one of these,” Ready added. 

City Planner Greg Tansley said the purpose of buffers is to limit impact to the environmental or aesthetic qualities of abutting properties, and that the definition is, “not proposed to be changed.”

“The consideration of property values would still be in consideration of the board,” Tansley said. “If all of this went through, the intended purpose … certainly does talk about minimizing adverse impacts on adjacent properties.”

Tansley also addressed traffic, saying the Maine Department of Transportation — which has yet to return a traffic movement study — is primarily concerned with main roads, such as Routes 1 and 111, and that the city is responsible for looking at traffic locally. 

Several residents expressed concern that the developers would ask for a zoning change at all. Tansley quelled the concerns saying all it takes to propose a zoning change is right, title or interest such as a valid purchase or sale agreement, which the applicant has. 

Five Star Holdings purchased the vacant D’Angelo’s at the end of last year for $600,000, according to city records, and Starbucks has signed a lease with the developers.  

Moving to vote on the issue, Board Member Richard Potvin said the City Council would be handling the matter further. 

“If it goes through tonight to the council, the council will basically take it from there and there will be more discussion on it,” Potvin said, silencing protesting members of the public. “There’s still a long way to go for anything to happen out there.”

If the developers’ plans are approved by the City Council, work on the properties could begin by the end of March, Tansley said in October.

Board Member Jennifer Burke motioned to rezone the property at 360 Alfred St. but not to rezone 4 Summit St., eliminating a possible entryway to the development at that point. 

The motion passed with three votes. Residents will again have the opportunity to weigh in at the City Council’s Dec. 6 meeting. 

— Staff Writer Alan Bennett can be contacted at 282-1535, ext. 329 or [email protected].