SACO — A contract zone has been approved that will allow a developer to pursue a proposed urgent care facility on Route 1.

The City Council voted four to three, with Councilors Roger Gay, William Doyle and Alan Minthorn opposing, to grant Mammoth Acquisition Company a contract zone that would allow the company to tear down the Rosa Linda’s Family Restaurant building at 506 Main St., U.S. Route 1, and build a proposed ConvenientMD facility.

ConvenientMD is a growing, for-profit chain of urgent care clinics based in New Hampshire. The company currently has 14 facilities throughout Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Maine, with more opening soon.

A contract zone is needed for the proposed facility to move forward, as the proposal does not meet current requirements in the city’s zoning ordinance.

Under the terms of the newly approved contract zone, the proposed health care facility will be allowed 325 square feet of collective sign space in a zone that limits signage to 150 square feet and a front setback of 15 feet in a zone that requires a 40-foot setback.

The developer had originally also asked for leniency on height requirements, but withdrew that request after discussion with the City Council.

The proposed health care facility will be located on Route 1 about one-third mile off an exit ramp of the Maine Turnpike’s exit 5, near fast food chains, restaurants and a shopping plaza with a grocery store.

Minthorn said he had heard from a number of constituents and had wrestled with the decision.

“Unfortunately, I think great business, wrong place,” he said.

Councilor Marshall Archer said he thought the project would benefit Saco and add needed economic diversity. He said one of the reasons he approved the project was that the developer had made significant changes to the original proposal after receiving feedback from the city.

Councilor Doyle said he didn’t think the proposal meet the four criteria of a contract zone, one of which is that the piece of property must have an unusual nature or location.

“There’s nothing unusual about that parcel of land,” he said.

Councilor Nathan Johnston argued that the property is unique in that the proposal calls for a 15-foot setback, an increase over the existing building which has only a 5-foot setback. He said it would be difficult to find a restaurant that would want to open a business in a building with the current configuration.

“If you ask me, it’s an improvement to the overall area,” said Johnston, of the health care facility proposal.

Rosa Linda’s Family Restaurant remains open at 506 Main St.

Michael Coffman, with Mammoth Acquisition Company, said in a phone interview on Tuesday that the contract zone was just the first step in the process, and the proposal still had to go before the Planning Board and obtain the necessary permitting and approval. He said property ownership will not be conveyed until all necessary approvals are met.

Coffman said the development company would like to see the new urgent care facility open by the end of the year, but he did not have a definitive date.

— Staff Writer Liz Gotthelf can be contacted at 780-9015 or email [email protected].