So once again it’s parking, parking, parking. You know, it’s always parking as the problem. Currently Coastal Enterprises Inc. (CEI), by all accounts a wanted addition to the Brunswick business community, has a submission before the Planning Board for a new office building on Federal Street. But the Planning Board will have to ignore a clearly written ordinance (read law) in order to allow CEI parking at a proposed on-site location that the ordinance does not permit. With all Maine Street businesses highly concerned about lack of downtown parking, CEI should, without question, be mandated to provide their code required on-site parking.

Here’s a proposal for consideration. Allow the owner of the vacant land across the street from the CEI site to build a parking lot on his property according to the same rationale that the Planning Department is stating as appropriate for the CEI project. This keeps the Town from showing overt favoritism to one property owner and helps existing downtown businesses. If CEI is allowed to break the ordinance because this is “new” construction, the owner across the street could build a “new” booth for a parking lot attendant to be in conformance, too.

Otherwise, what to do? Well, CEI could build at the Maine Street Station site. Isn’t that why the town made the deal? The Council could buy back the 39 parking spaces it sold not long ago to Bowdoin College, remove any remaining buried coal ash, have the Planning Board pass the project quickly, and we could all get some much needed rest.

Bob Kahn

Brunswick