ORONO, Maine — An area car dealership has purchased the old Maine State Police barracks on Main Street and on Wednesday got planning board approval to change it into a used car lot.
Residents in town voiced concerns about adding a 10-vehicle sales lot to town, traffic in and out of the 240 Main St. location, signage and buffers for neighbors.
Planners approved the business site plan submitted by Van Syckle Inc. with conditions that include adding side fencing or trees to create a buffer, according to Code Enforcement Officer Bill Murphy.
“They originally planned to have a vehicle prep center, meaning they bring the vehicles to Orono to prep them for resale. Now they’re applying to have a limited number of vehicle sales,” Murphy said Tuesday.
Ed Viner, Van Syckle manager, represented the company at the Wednesday meeting.
“It was not a change of use when it was a prep area because the state police had a garage to do that,” Murphy said. “Since they want to have car sales, that does require a site plan review.”
Maine State Police Troop E moved into a new home near Bangor International Airport in January 2014, vacating the Orono space after decades of use. The state subsequently sold the property, a 0.92-acre lot, to Van Syckle on June 14, Assessor Rick Sands said in a Wednesday email. He did not know the selling price.
The news that 240 Main St. might become a car dealership upset some residents, including Maggie Tipping, who started an email campaign to get neighbors to attend the meeting. She submitted comments from a dozen neighbors who could not attend.
She said at the meeting that she didn’t believe that having “a car lot at the entrance of the town of Orono” was a good idea, and she suggested town leaders amend the local ordinance.
The parcel is in commercial district two, which allows car dealerships, planning board members informed those at the meeting.
Murphy said public meetings are held to provide residents a way to voice their opinions. He said he had not heard about the email.
“We want the public informed and in attendance to voice any concerns they have or any support,” the code enforcement officer said.
He reminded residents that the planning board is bound by the town ordinance and cannot reject a project just because it is not popular.
During the meeting, planners also reviewed an eight-lot subdivision on Union Street planned by the owner of M & M Truck Sales Inc., considered two land-use ordinance amendments covering self-storage facilities and definitions and districts for travelers’ lodging, and worked on other land-use updates.