BIDDEFORD — A request for a zoning amendment has the Downtown Development Commission doing a deep dive into the full potential of Main Street in Biddeford.

The property in question is a building located at 148 Main St., where the “first floor” on Main Street is the second floor from the back entrance of the building on Laconia Street. The owner is requesting a change in zoning that would allow two units in the first floor, something not allowed by downtown zoning ordinances as public facing ground floor spaces are reserved for commercial use.

The issue has been twice brought before the Planning Board before handed off to the Downtown Development Commission for members to examine the impact that such a decision would have on the downtown district.

Economic Development Coordinator Brad Favreau compiled information from Esri, a program that takes census data and breaks it down into statistical estimates per household. For example, when considering the downtown tracts of the census, Esri breaks down how much spending power each family has, as well as where they spend it.

Favreau walked the committee through the different options available for expansion.

One set of statistics give insight as to how people spend their money downtown, and how much supply is needed versus how much is offered. On the sheets provided, statistics in green showed where the downtown could stand to grow, whereas statistics in red showed where the city has enough of an option. The green statistics portrayed areas where residents are leaving town to shop, which means that having a store downtown with needed items could provide a viable business option for a storefront.

“The green shows opportunity,” Favreau said.

Stores considered in the worksheets were all assigned a specific classification, a North American Industry Classification System code, which shows exactly what the business is used for.

There was concern in the March 14 meeting of the DDC as to what stores were classified correctly. For example, as pointed out by committee member Stephanie Edwards, convenience stores can be classified as grocery stores because both sell food.

Committee Chairman Julian Schlaver said he was concerned over some of the numbers presented for consideration, as some seemed to be too high for the area.

“Before we move forward with any decisions, I’d like to make sure that all this information is correct, because I’m having trouble believing our food sales were this high downtown,” Schlaver said. “I just want to make sure we’re making informed decisions.”

The information provided will help the commission decide whether allowing a first-floor residency is the best choice for downtown. While having a unit on the first floor may be profitable for owners of the buildings, the commission considers the best interest of the downtown and wants to ensure that storefront space is being used to its optimal purpose.

The commission is in a particularly precarious situation with its decision as granting this amendment will set a precedent that other business owners could one day ask for.

“The ideal standard is that when you visit a town, there should be 10 things to do within walking distance, be it restaurant, store, etc.,” Schlaver said. “Our job when looking through these is to make sure we’re making the best decision.”

Moving forward, city staff, lead by Favreau, will complete their work in taking an inventory of the downtown and assigning each with its own North American Industry Classification System code to give the commission a better scope of businesses. Favreau told the board that this undertaking should be completed by April.

“This decision is problematic when you think of all the buildings it could apply to,” Schlaver said.

Ward 5 Councilor Amy Clearwater wanted to look over the extended research before coming to a decision.

“I think there is a higher use for Main Street,” Clearwater said.

— Biddeford-Saco-OOB Courier Staff Writer Abigail Worthing can be contacted at news@inthecourier.com.

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