By Kristy Wagner

Staff Writer

The majority of Kennebunk residents present for a special selectmen’s meeting spoke in favor of adding Lower Village parking behind Village Marketplace and opposed proposals to add parking spaces behind Washington Hose and near Emery Lane.

A large crowd of residents and business owners gathered Jan. 17 for a special selectmen’s meeting at Kennebunk Town Hall to learn about five options for adding parking to Lower Village.

The proposals for new parking in Lower Village were unveiled at a Dec. 13 selectmen’s meeting where a few residents said they preferred the proposal that would create 67 parking spaces behind Village Marketplace at the cost of $4,200.

“The purpose of this meeting is to discuss Lower Village parking options and to hear comments from residents and local business owners,” Town Manager Barry Tibbetts said at the Jan. 17 meeting.

He said the parking situation in Lower Village has been “a topic for many years.” Tibbetts summarized each of the five proposals, including which properties are private or town-owned, how much each project would cost and what exactly is included in the projected cost for each plan.

Tibbetts presented each option in terms of its location from Cooper’s Corner, which he said is considered the “centroid” of Lower Village.

Emery Lane offers 59 new spaces at a cost of $4,880 per space. It’s one of the more economical options, but Tibbetts said it is about a half mile from Cooper’s Corner, which could mean up to a 10-minute walk for most people.

“There have been a lot of interesting studies on how far someone will walk from the point where they park their car to the destination they want to go,” Tibbetts said.

He said the farther someone parks from their destination the less likely they are to make the walk there. He also said the Emery Lane location is not under control of the town so negotiations would have to be made with current landowners before the town could go forward. Land costs could raise the cost per space.

Washington Hose has potential for 12 new spaces in addition to 26 that already exist at that location. The plan projects each space to cost the town around $3,700.

Tibbetts said Washington Hose is town-owned but there are restrictions on the land. He said the town accepted a federal grant to construct the baseball field on the location “many years ago” and agreed to always keep the baseball field in place along with the playground located there. Tibbetts said the town could move the ball field to make room for new parking spaces, but special permission is required to completely remove it.

“If you want to take ball field away for a parking lot you have to go to Congress or the Senate to see if we could do that,” Tibbetts said.

The third proposed location would add on-street parking spaces along town-owned Port Road. Nineteen time-restricted parking spaces exist on Port Road and 13 additional spaces could be added at a cost of $13,400 each.

The high price of each space stems from the expansion of the width of the paved road to accommodate a bike lane, parallel parking spots, raised sidewalks and new street lighting, Tibbetts said.

Tibbetts said despite this location being less than a 5-minute walk from Cooper’s Corner, it poses problems the other locations do not, such as drainage and moving the curb line.

“We have to deal with things we normally wouldn’t have to deal with,” he said.

Village Marketplace was the favorite location for new parking based on residents’ comments at the meeting.

The plan would add 67 parking spaces at $4,200 each. The area also connects to Western Avenue and Port Road. Tibbetts said this area poses problems for the town because it is not town-owned land and the landowners would have to be consulted and negotiated with, which could extend the amount of time it would take to get started on construction.

Tibbetts cited the same problem with the proposal to add 24 parking spaces to the 60 that already exist along the Lower Village waterfront. The town would have to meet with the five different landowners of the waterfront land before the construction process could begin.

“What makes the most sense for us to do is to take a look at (Washington Hose and Port Road). Those we can deal with right away,” Tibbetts said.

He said because no landowners are involved the town could see new parking in Lower Village sooner if the Washington Hose and Port Road parking proposals were considered priority projects.

“That could be well over 100 spots that we could pick up, I think fairly reasonably,” Tibbetts said.

Some residents, including Susan Rioux, did not agree that Washington Hose was the best place to construct new parking.

“Washing Hose for me is a special place. My son played there and I just don’t want to see it change,” Rioux said. “It isn’t that big of a space and the road to get in there is not that big either. It’s a fabulous place and I hate to see anything change,”

Selectman John Kotsonis said the town might move the ball field in order to accommodate new parking spaces, but would not remove it completely.

Bill Osborne, a Massachusetts resident who said he lives in Kennebunk nine to 10 months out of the year, said he prefers the Village Marketplace location.

“(Village Marketplace) really gives you the biggest bang for the buck. It gives you the most new spaces,” Osborne said. “This village market spot with growth is really the best option. That’s the heart of Lower Village.”

Osborne said the area along Western Avenue that runs behind HB Provisions has potential for economic growth and parking near Village Marketplace would increase business.

“Don’t we want to help down Port Road toward Kennebooks? Isn’t that where we want to drive people to increase business? The heart of Lower Village is beating nicely. Don’t we want to help those other arteries that are nearby?” Osborne asked.

Selectman Kevin Donovan said to add parking behind Village Marketplace would not provide enough spaces to solve the parking problem in Lower Village. He asked Osborne which of the five parking proposals he would prefer along with the Village Marketplace option.

Osborne said he thought Washington Hose and Port Road looked like cost effective options.

John Everett, district fire chief for Washington Hose, cited safety concerns as a downside to installing parking at Washington Hose.

“It is very narrow and there’s no place for the pedestrians to go getting in and out of there,” he said. “For me it’s a public safety concern.”

Resident Patty Perry said she opposes proposed parking on Emery Lane because it would upset the “pristine” salt marsh in that area.

“When I looked at the aerial view it was very obvious that this parking lot is going to be sitting in the middle of one of really the last remaining stretches of forest land that is in the Lower Village,” she said.

Perry likened the idea of “deforesting” the Emery Lane parcel to the Joni Mitchell song lyrics that describe “paved paradise and put up a parking lot.”

“That’s exactly what would happen if you even considered the Emery Lane proposal,” Perry said.

She said she supports new parking behind Village Marketplace because it is already a commercial area and would not require the removal of any forestland in Lower Village.

Jim Fitzgerald, president and chief executive officer of the Kennebunk Chamber of Commerce, said Lower Village continues to gain popularity each tourist season and needs parking.

“I can understand everybody’s need to voice their resident opinions. The worst thing we can do is impact some of our residents and the quality land that we have. On the other hand, we are in need of supporting businesses to a huge degree by making sure people can get to these businesses,” Fitzgerald said.

He said the town has the opportunity to make “a lot of money in parking.” He also suggested it seek an investor to buy the land and build parking lots needed in Lower Village.

Tibbetts and Chairman of the Board of Selectmen Albert Searles said once the board decides which proposals are the most suitable options for parking residents will have the opportunity to vote on the matter through referendum.

Tibbetts said new parking facilities in Lower Village could be funded by the regular budget or maybe by a tax increment financing district depending on where the residents and town officials choose to place new lots.

Staff Writer Kristy Wagner can be reached at 282-4337, ext. 233.