ROCKLAND, Maine — Ground breaking is expected April 1 for a $6 million five-story downtown building that gained unanimous approval Tuesday night by the Rockland Planning Board.
The five-story building was the latest in a series of projects that have created debate by the planning board members about the vagueness of the city’s zoning regulations for the downtown.
“Everything east of Main Street should be thrown out and started over,” board member Charles Jordan Jr. said about the downtown design standards.
Board member Peta vanVuuren pointed out that the planners urged the City Council a year ago to look at making changes to these regulations but that nothing has been done.
“I encourage the City Council to revisit the zoning sooner than later,” vanVuuren said.
Board Chairman Erik Laustsen agreed, saying the current design standards were of no worth.
The facade of the proposed five-story Starfire building for Winter Street has been an issue of debate by the planning board for the past few months. The Starfire building will have reflective glass curtain wall as its facade.
City design standards call for the buildings in the area to be similar to the architecture of Main Street.
Design standards also were debated when the Center for Maine Contemporary Art went before the planning board last year. The board ultimately voted for the project despite concerns by some members that a 52-foot wall with windows lining the top did not meet city standards. The center’s building, located diagonally across from the proposed Starfire building, remains under construction.
The issue also arose during a June 2014 meeting to review a proposed five-story boutique hotel at Main and Pleasant streets. Some neighbors argued that the building did not fit into the character of the neighborhood.
The Starfire building will be built at 12 Winter St. in what is now a parking lot owned by Winter Street LLC behind the Dowling Walsh Gallery on Main Street. The building will house a gallery at the street level and storage for high-end artwork on the upper levels.
Jake Dowling, owner and operator of the Dowling Walsh Gallery for the past seven years, is the developer.
The planning board required that the glass wall be designed to reduce the risk of birds crashing into it.
The building is expected to be completed in March 2017.