WATERVILLE — The Planning Board on Monday will consider a request to recommend that the City Council rezone 345 Main St. to allow a 1,700-square-foot Taco Bell fast food restaurant to be built there.
Verdad Real Estate Inc., Vertical Construction Management based in Southlake, Texas, is under contract to buy the property from Bank of America. Verdad wants to raze the building on the site and build a new one. The proposed building does not meet setback requirements, and the board will consider recommending that councilors vote to rezone the property from commercial-C to commercial-A to reduce that setback.
The project also requires that the Planning Board change a section of the zoning ordinance related to the number of spaces required for a drive-up window.
Current rules require that drive-thru restaurants have 11 spaces for a drive-up window with a minimum of five of those spaces used for the ordering station. In addition, wherever possible, there should be an escape lane for those wishing to exit the drive-thru before ordering, according to the city ordinance.
The Planning Board on Monday will consider voting to add language giving the board authority to change those numbers based on project-specific conditions.
The building proposal does not meet the number of spaces required by the ordinance, but the developer says the Taco Bell does not need as many spaces as some other businesses, according to City Planner Ann Beverage.
The meeting will be at 7 p.m. in the council chambers at The Center downtown.
The board also will consider a request by Waterville Redevelopment Co. concerning board revisions to a previously approved site plan to decrease the building footprint for a Woodfords Family Services school to be built at 30 Chase Ave.
Regarding the Taco Bell proposal, the City Council on Dec. 16 voted 7-0 to refer to the Planning Board a request to hold a public hearing and to make a recommendation to councilors on whether to rezone the property so the restaurant could locate there.
It is the site of a former Bank of America and is just south of Dunkin’ Donuts on Main Street. The Planning Board would make a recommendation to the council about whether to rezone the property and the council will make the final decision.
Verdad is under contract to buy the property from Bank of America. Gorrill Palmer of Gray is the consulting firm working on the plans.
There is a Taco Bell off Kennedy Memorial Drive just south of Airport Road, but it has a different owner than the one proposed for Main Street, according to Beverage. The Main Street lot is part of a subdivision that includes Liberty Tax and Sherwin Williams, and both those businesses access their properties through the proposed Taco Bell site, she said.
Amy Calder — 861-9247
Twitter: @AmyCalder17
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