WESTBROOK – A revised $650,000 deal between the city of Westbrook and developer V&E Enterprises for the sale of the former Prides Corner Elementary School will be back on the table Monday, Jan. 6, during the first public hearing on the development proposal.

Following concerns from local residents at a neighborhood meeting on Oct. 30, the City Council postponed a vote on the initial proposal, which seeks to develop a 98-unit apartment complex on the site of the former school.

In the weeks following the meeting, Jerre Bryant, Westbrook’s city administrator, and Vincent Maietta, president of the South Portland-based V&E Enterprises, collaborated on updating the sales proposal to meet neighborhood concerns of building height, property setbacks and vegetative buffers. The new proposal specifies that the one-, two- and three-bedroom apartment rentals would be limited to unsubsidized, market-rate units.

Under an earlier proposal, the project could have included a number of buildings scattered throughout the lot. However, due to terms and conditions added in the contract, Maietta may be more likely to develop taller buildings in a more centralized location on the property to maximize vegetative buffers, something that was brought up by residents in October.

During that meeting, Kathy Bither, whose property abuts the Brydon Farm condos and the Prides School parcel, was critical of the small buffer zone (15 feet) between residential and commercial properties.

“What is 10 feet as a setback?” she said. “That’s just not enough.”

Bither asked the city and developers to cluster the buildings to try to keep as much open space as possible, which was eventually added into the language of the contract.

“I would hate to see all the trees cleared to our property boundary. It would have a dramatic effect on our property value,” she said.

The updated property setback condition states that the current maximum building height allowed, 35 feet, “can be extended to 40 feet (three stories) provided the building is set back a minimum of two times the height of the building from the property line.”

This means that if Maietta is allowed to extend the maximum height of the buildings to 40 feet, he must keep a buffer of no less than 80 feet from the buildings to the property line.

Maietta said last week that he agrees with the conditions that have been settled on. “We’re trying to build fewer, larger buildings to preserve the buffering that exists there,” he said. “We think that addresses some of what we heard.”

Also added to the agreement was language to limit the housing development to “unsubsidized, market-rate units,” which was the subject of an Election Day sign and phone call controversy in the neighborhood, as well as concerns that it could add to the issue of overcrowding in Westbrook’s schools.

On Nov. 5, elected officials in Westbrook’s Ward 5 voting location at Prides Corner Congregational Church began receiving reports from voters, who said they had been called and told not to vote for Mayor Colleen Hilton because she would bring a 98-unit, low-income housing project to the Prides Corner neighborhood.

It was never determined who made the phone calls, or even if the phone calls were actually made.

Maietta feels that while the language may make it appear that the city doesn’t welcome subsidized housing, it was added to address another neighborhood concern.

“The city does welcome subsidized units, but in this particular case, they want to assure the neighborhood that the project will generate good tax revenue without a lot of burden on the school system,” he said.

In preparation for the Jan. 6 meeting, the city sent notices to residents of the Prides Corner neighborhood, informing them of the public hearing.

If the contract is approved by the City Council, the plan still faces hurdles, which include public hearings within the Planning Board, resulting in a recommendation to the council on whether to approve a new contract zone for the school property.

Bryant said last week that because the property is city owned, the sale process is lengthened because it requires the extra step of City Council approval. However, he said that it also works in favor of many area residents who are concerned about the project.

“There are multiple opportunities for residents to voice their opinions,” he said. “It’s very possible that the council could approve the purchase and sale agreement, but not get the contract zone.”