Portland International Jetport in October 2023. Ben McCanna/Portland Press Herald, file

Portland International Jetport won reluctant planning board approval Tuesday night for a controversial $8 million proposal that would add 265 long-term surface parking spaces in a wooded area at Maine’s largest airport.

Jetport officials returned to the board to address environmental concerns raised at a November hearing on their plan to build a 667-space lot on 13 acres along Jetport Boulevard and Loop Road, near the airport’s existing parking garage.

The project would reconfigure and improve 402 existing paved and unpaved spaces, including a long-term valet parking lot and the so-called cellphone lot, which is a short-term parking area where family members, friends and Uber or Lyft drivers wait for imminent arrivals.

Board members voiced lingering concerns but acknowledged the city-owned jetport’s importance to travelers across Maine and the limits of their purview in judging whether the project meets site plan standards.

Board members were especially troubled by a requested waiver that would allow the jetport to fill about 11,000 square feet of wetlands when many neighbors and others dispute the need for expanded surface parking in light of the city’s sustainability goals.

They continued to question whether jetport officials had fully considered alternative solutions to growing parking demand and whether it made more sense to build another parking garage now instead of later.

“I’m disappointed,” said Chairman Brandon Mazer. “I would rather see a garage built before we build in a wetland. We need to do better and hold ourselves to a higher standard.”

Ultimately the board approved the project 4-1, with member Marpheen Chann opposed.

Chann criticized the jetport’s last-minute offer to add a conservation easement to prevent development of other wetlands on airport property, saying the board and the public didn’t have a chance to fully consider the proposal. The board included the easement as a condition of receiving a building permit, with details to be worked out with planning staff.

In a Jan. 22 letter explaining the jetport’s easement offer to planning staff, Sebago Technics engineer Owens McCullough described the wetlands in the project area as having “lower ecological value.”

“Recognizing the city’s desire to conserve wetlands, the jetport is agreeable to placing a conservation easement over an equivalent wetland area north of Jetport Boulevard,” McCullough said. “This approach removes development pressures on these wetlands of interest.”

Several residents submitted written testimony outlining reasons to oppose surface parking expansion, including the jetport’s master plan goal to address long-term parking needs by expanding the existing parking garage.

“Permanent decisions made hastily can result in projects that cause irreversible harm to our city, as seen with the destruction of the historic Portland Union Station,” said Deborah Napier, a leader of the Stroudwater Neighborhood Association. “The entrance to our jetport is a beautiful and unique feature, setting it apart from airport entrances nationwide. Replacing it with pavement and parking as proposed is not only unnecessary, but also financially, ethically and environmentally irresponsible.”

The Maine Department of Environmental Protection is reviewing the project. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has already authorized filling the wetlands.

The Portland City Council also must vote on the jetport’s plan to spend $8 million from its $39 million unrestricted cash fund balance.