ROCKLAND, Maine — Faced with a shortage of property for city manufacturers to grow, city officials will ask the council Monday evening whether it would consider rezoning land for potential industrial growth.
During their next scheduled meeting at 5:30 p.m. Monday, councilors will be asked whether they might be interested in rezoning two parcels on the south side of Pleasant Street.
Community Development Director Audra Caler Bell said Friday that there are two businesses in the Industrial Park that want to expand but there is no space at their current sites. She declined to name the companies, saying she did not feel comfortable doing so until they came forward.
Caler Bell said she and the code enforcement officer reviewed properties throughout the city to see if there were any that would be suitable for industrial development.
Two parcels being considered by the city are 150 Pleasant St. and the adjacent 160 Pleasant St. The two properties total more than 5 acres of undeveloped wooded area. The land borders the property where Kno-Wal-Lin home health care services has its office building. The land extends as far south as the end of Prospect Street.
The current owner — Everett Mank — has not yet been contacted about whether he would be interested in a zone change, she said. That would occur if the council shows support for a zone change, she said. There is no proposed ordinance calling for any change.
Part of the property is zoned residential, and the remainder is in a transitional business zone.
The city has been constrained by the lack of industrial land for decades. Two recent attempts to attract manufacturers to Rockland were unsuccessful.
In March, local developer Rufus Williams Jr. submitted a bid to buy the city-owned property where the public services garage is located. Williams indicated he wanted to build an industrial warehouse/production and office complex, though he did not reveal publicly what he would be manufacturing.
Caler Bell said Friday, however, that the project will not go forward on the city land.
There were too many moving parts to have the development occur since the city would have had to build a new public services facility somewhere, she said.
And last September, a manufacturer submitted a bid to buy the final undeveloped lot in the Industrial Park. The company had been interested in bringing 40 jobs to start. The nature of that manufacturer also was not revealed publicly.
That proposal did not succeed because the 30-acre lot has so much wetlands that it would make it difficult for that company to build on, she said.