WESTBROOK – The Westbrook City Council voted 4-2 on Monday to deny a developer’s request to dig up a portion of the recently paved Saco Street for utility work, effectively blocking a proposed development of four duplex apartments.

Patrick Kelley of Westbrook, who owns two rental properties in the city, including one on Saco Street, first approached the council in November with the request.

Upholding a city ordinance that places a five-year excavation moratorium on newly paved public roads proved to be the deciding factor for the majority of councilors.

Saco Street was paved in 2011 for $280,000. Westbrook paid $66,000 toward the project, with the rest coming from federal and state funds.

Councilors were concerned with preserving the recent investment in the road, especially as the project came from mostly federal funding.

“There’s no guarantee that the city will get state or federal funds to repave the street again,” Councilor Victor Chau said. “If the repair doesn’t last after we open the road, and water and ice gets in the cracks, it will cost us quite a bit more than $66,000 to repave the street.”

Kelley said Tuesday that he was surprised that the council denied his request. He said that the apartments, which would have been set back from his current building at 127 Saco St., would add to the city’s tax base and would serve a real need in the community, especially since Idexx Laboratories, which is nearby, is expanding and hiring more employees.

“Anybody who lived there would obviously be doing business with the city and adding to the tax base,” he said.

During Monday’s meeting, Bill Baker, the assistant city administrator for business and community relations, encouraged the council to consider the proposal on the basis of economic development.

“I think the economic conditions are such that people are starting to invest here in Westbrook,” he said. “Three years (remaining in the five-year moratorium) is a long time, and if a reason like this prevents someone from developing a proposal like this, chances are they will take their money and go someplace else.”

Kelley said prior to the vote on Monday that if denied, he would look elsewhere for development opportunities.

City Engineer Eric Dudley said Wednesday that while the city has had a five-year, road-excavation moratorium following road resurfacings since the 1970s, updates to the city’s excavation ordinance were put in place in 2009 to ensure higher standards for repairs following a road cut for utilities, and created specific standards for a road cut that is approved while under the five-year moratorium.

Dudley said the repairs require grinding the surface pavement to a depth of 11?2 inches for 25 feet in both directions from the edge of the trench allowing utility access. The road is then resurfaced. He said that in previous years, some projects would only repair an area as small as 8 feet.

“When you widen out the area, it allows you to use mechanized equipment, and you get a better repair,” he said.

Kelley said prior to the vote that while he understands why the ordinance is in place, he would put his faith in city workers to repair the road to the high standards required.

“The integrity of the road I’m sure is a concern, but I’m sure the professionals that do this everyday are going to do this to the right standards,” he said during Monday’s meeting.

Baker said prior to the vote that he thought the new higher standards required in the ordinance would have resulted in more approvals from the council going forward.

“I think the reason this was put in place was to make sure that the road didn’t fail from a road opening like this,” he said.

Prior to the work in 2011, Saco Street residents were informed of the moratorium and were asked that any potential development area be “stubbed off,” which means that a cut in the road would be made, allowing for utilities to be connected.

When asked why he didn’t move forward with the project prior to the Saco Street construction, Kelley said the economics during that time didn’t look favorable. On Tuesday, Kelley said that during the time frame prior to construction on the street, his wife was battling cancer, and his development plans were on the back burner.

“It really wasn’t something I could focus on at the time,” he said.

Leading up to the council vote Monday, records of prior votes on street-opening requests were looked at and shared with city councilors. In the last 10 years, starting in 2003, there were six denials and 10 approvals. However, after the updated ordinance was implemented in 2009, only one request had been approved, while the last four were denied.

Councilor Michael Foley said during the meeting that while 10 requests were approved during the last 10 years, some were for emergency situations, while others were for larger projects. However, he added, some were also for single-family homes.

Foley said a major factor in his decision came from the timeline of the request, which comes just after a year into the five-year moratorium.

“If we were at the four-year mark I would consider this request, as we would be nearing the end of the moratorium time-frame, but as of now I have to vote no to protect the integrity of the ordinances that we have developed,” he said.

Councilors Brendan Rielly and Paul Emery voted for approval.