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In 2018, Rockland officials took a step toward making a busy commercial section of Route 1 more of a walkable, mixed-use neighborhood.
Like other Maine communities, Rockland approved zoning changes that would require new buildings along the corridor — known as Camden Street — to be situated close to the road and stand at least two stories tall. The city also hoped to encourage new projects to have multiple uses, such as retail on the ground floor and housing above, according to a 2013 document titled “Camden Street Design Principles.”
But only now, seven years since the new zoning was approved, has a project put those standards to the test: a developer hopes to build a new location of Aroma Joe’s, a Maine-based chain of drive-thru coffee shops that caters to caffeine consumers on the go.
The business has proposed a one-story, 1,071-square-foot location on the vacant lot at 182 Camden St., just south of a Pizza Hut. Now, officials have sent the project back to the drawing board because it doesn’t pass the requirement of being two stories.
The development is unique because, while a number of towns in the midcoast and beyond have considered approving similar design standards, those rules can often sit on a shelf for years until they’re put to use for a new project.
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Rockland isn’t the only Maine municipality that has attempted to revive formerly or currently busy commercial corridors into districts that more resemble a downtown, with centrally located businesses and services that nearby residents can easily walk or bike to, rather than getting in their vehicles.
Brunswick is in the midst of pursuing a revitalization plan for its Cook’s Corner area, which would incentivize the construction of more mixed-use buildings, housing and pedestrian-friendly walkways. Gray is attempting to revive an intersection of five highways into a walkable area. Bangor has also tried to make smarter use of its decaying mall area.
The state is trying to encourage those kinds of redevelopment projects through the Village Partnership Initiative it started in 2022, with a boost from federal infrastructure funding approved during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Though there seems to be an increased push in Maine in recent years, the idea of revitalizing declining retail corridors into pedestrian-friendly areas is as old as the early 2000s, according to Jeff Levine, a former director of planning and urban development for Portland who is now an associate professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
“The New Urbanist movement sort of came out around 20 years ago, and it was really based on the idea of making walkable and mixed-use communities out of places that, right now, are just pass-through areas where you might pull into a drive-thru to get a doughnut, but you’re not really going to get out and walk around,” he said.
He added that encouraging more walkable and downtown-like development is more visually appealing for residents, brings in more tax revenue for municipalities and supports community health through public spaces. On top of that, it can help decrease people’s reliance on their cars, bringing additional climate and safety benefits.
“It’s generally seen as good planning,” Levine said.
In Rockland, Aroma Joe’s still hopes to build a location on Camden Street despite the initial setback, according to City Planner Rhett Lamb.
To follow the zoning requirement that buildings be closer to the road, the developers have already proposed a patio that would close the distance from the shop to the street, allowing the building itself to still be setback with a drive-thru, according to the Midcoast Villager.
Aroma Joe’s did not respond to requests for comment.
While there are sidewalks along some of the Camden Street corridor, many people now drive there from outlying areas to reach the establishments that extend along both sides, including a car dealership, a grocery store, a long-term care facility and a Home Depot.
Lamb hopes the developer and city can compromise. The project could come back to the Planning Board later this month or in May.
Lamb is not aware of other businesses that have proposed to build new developments on Camden Street, besides building additions and changes.
Levine said when towns are looking to preserve character and encourage development in the way Rockland is, proposed businesses will sometimes compromise. He pointed to the McDonald’s in Freeport, which is distinct because it’s located in a 150-year-old colonial home, rather than in one of the custom-built commercial buildings that house many of the fast-food chain’s other branches.
“I’m sure Freeport didn’t really want a McDonald’s,” Levine said. “They ended up compromising with the one that they got, which is an example cited all around the country, as, ‘This is how far you can push McDonald’s if you still allow them to go forward.’”
Jules Walkup is a Report for America corps member. Additional support for this reporting is provided by BDN readers.