Developer Richard Berman’s proposal for the city to share the $450,000 cost of extending a road near his commercial property on Brickhill Avenue received a cool reception Monday night from the South Portland City Council.

At a City Council workshop, Berman said that linking General Aviation Boulevard with Brickhill Avenue will make the commercial site more viable to businesses seeking office space on the west side of South Portland.

Berman does not have a tenant for the site, but proposes to construct a large office building on land that the former Youth Center occupied.

Berman said that the existing access to his lot from Westbrook Street traverses residential streets in the Redbank neighborhood. He said that potential office users want easier access to the site and do not want to disturb neighborhoods.

Berman noted that Fairchild Semiconductor recently expressed interest in the site for new corporate offices, but had significant concerns about the road access. Fairchild opted instead to relocate to Scarborough. Berman said that his talks with Fairchild’s real estate agent convinced him that a second road is needed to the property, which is in a mixed-use area off Westbrook Street.

He proposed linking Brickhill Avenue with General Aviation Boulevard, near the Portland Jetport. He argued that the street extension would help economic growth around the jetport, including an unrelated proposal to build a hangar for small planes.

The developer proposed to pay $200,000 for the road extension, with the city paying $250,000 through so-called TIF revenues, or tax increment financing funds.

But Mayor Jim Soule and Councilors Kay Loring and Tom Blake objected to his request.

Loring said she opposes private developers seeking city funds to finance their projects.

“This is something that should be between the developer and (office) user to pay for,” she said. “I would not ever vote for this.”

Soule was just as emphatic in his opposition.

“If a business owner wants to add a large office building that benefits him, then he should bear the cost of building the road that benefits him,” he said. “I am somewhat offended that the city is being asked for money to finance an individual developer’s personal gain.”

Blake raised environmental concerns about building the road and also said he is not convinced that more business development near the jetport will benefit the taxpayer. Blake said he believes that new businesses will add to the demand for more costly city services.

Blake also said he has serious concerns about destroying wetlands in the area to build the road.

Assistant City Manager Erik Carlson, who has been working with Berman, explained that the developer would contribute to a fund to compensate for the loss of wetlands. That money could be used to protect wetlands elsewhere.

City Councilor Linda Boudreau noted that TIF funds are designated for promoting economic growth, as this project aims to do.

She also said that the second road would protect existing neighborhoods from traffic.

“We have the conflict of commercial business traffic in what is truly a large driveway to residential properties,” Boudreau said. “I just see all kinds of reasons this is a good idea.”

Both Councilors Maxine Beecher and Jim Hughes also said they favor Berman’s plan. “I do think this is a good idea for the city,” Beecher said.

She also expressed support for Berman’s proposal to extend a second water line to the Brickhill development, allaying concerns the fire department has had with providing adequate protection in the mixed-used area.

Soule noted that the City Council seemed evenly divided on whether to help finance the road. He questioned whether the proposal would come up for a vote. Councilor Claude Morgan – who would provide the seventh vote – was absent from Monday’s workshop meeting.

City Manager Jim Gailey said that Berman simply was trying to gauge the City Council’s support at this stage.