WESTBROOK — The Downtown Westbrook Coalition is working to make the city Maine’s 11th nationally accredited Main Street Community.

The downtown coalition has been working on its application since the beginning of the summer. It recently hosted a meeting to gather the public’s input on the city’s downtown area.

Westbrook is currently an affiliate member of the National Main Street Center and is looking to become an accredited community of Main Street America. Being nationally accredited would allow Westbrook to receive grants and have a more successful downtown revitalization.

“It’s a distinction that sets you apart,” said Downtown Westbrook Coalition Executive Director Abigail Cioffi.

Cioffi said being nationally accredited would make the downtown more appealing to businesses who may want to move to Westbrook.

“It shows that there are groups working on improving the downtown,” she said. “It gives the city a good face.”

Receiving the accreditation could also provide a boost in tourism in Westbrook, Cioffi said.

“There’s a certain group of tourists and visitors that will actually seek out Main Street communities,” she said.

The application is due at the end of the month and the downtown coalition has been collecting data to submit along with a narrative of the downtown. Part of gathering data has included directly asking residents about their perceptions of Westbrook’s downtown.

“We wanted to take an opportunity to get responses from the community itself,” Cioffi said.

The downtown coalition on Aug. 30 hosted a SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats) meeting. Around 15 people attended to talk about “what’s happening in Westbrook,” Cioffi said.

“People are noticing things happening and they want to get involved,” she said.

Strengths discussed included the river and the riverwalk pedestrian bridge, the walkability of the downtown and the free parking. People also said Westbrook has a unique variety of restaurants and that the sense of community is strong.

For weaknesses, residents mentioned the lack of retail options and lack of lighting. Traffic patterns and flow were also discussed as a weakness, as was the lack of a cohesive appearance of buildings.

Residents discussed the opportunities for improvement they see in Westbrook, which included making better use of the river, diversifying retail options, increasing curb appeal by putting landscaping and outdoor dining options downtown, and building up the downtown to create stronger residential density.

A number of threats to this progress were also discussed. People said there’s a lack of funding, a resistance to change, a lack of employees for downtown businesses and no guidelines of preservation. Residents also said that some development downtown isn’t compatible with surrounding businesses and that proposed impact fees may drive people and businesses away.

The general impact fee ordinance amendment, which allows impact fees to exist, was approved by the City Council Aug. 21. The council is expected to discuss school and sewer impact fees on Monday. If approved, the fees levied on developers would be used by the city to pay for new or improved facilities that are needed only because of new development.

The Downtown Westbrook Coalition has also distributed surveys to residents to gain additional feedback and input.

Kate Gardner can be reached at 781-3661 ext. 125 or kgardner@theforecaster.net. Follow her on Twitter: @katevgardner.

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