LEWISTON – Neighbors of a proposed Bates College dormitory project mounted strong opposition at a Planning Board public hearing Monday night.
After more than two hours of presentations and debate, the Planning Board voted unanimous approval with some conditions.
The principal issues of concern from residents included pedestrian safety on Mountain Avenue and preservation of public access to Mount David. Speed tables would be constructed on College Street at Mountain Avenue, and Bates representatives agreed to a new condition which focuses student crosswalk traffic down the street nearer Rand Hall and the Bates Chapel where sight lines are better. There is also a condition prohibiting any further construction in a green space behind the new dorm and at the foot of Mount David.
Philip Isaacson, a noted art critic and expert on architecture, and a longtime resident of the neighborhood, challenged the project on grounds that it consists of three buildings rather than one, and he said that would constitute a subdivision.
“You’ve gone beyond the purpose of this meeting,” which is to consider a conditional use permit, Isaacson told the board members.
Planning Board staff countered his arguments with a determination that it is not a subdivision, and they noted further that even if it were a subdivision, all appropriate requirements would have been met.
The Bates proposal calls for construction of a 21,376-square-foot, three-story, 150-bed residential building at 270 College St. adjacent to Rand Hall and near the intersection of College Street and Mountain Avenue. The structure would consist of three units that are joined so there is residential space on the two outside structures and a center structure for common uses including a lounge.
The Bates plan refers to the campus dormitory concept as “residential villages”
Hedge Hall and Roger Williams Hall, two other longtime residential buildings on the campus, would be “decommissioned” as dormitories when the new building is completed.
Carl Straub, a former dean of faculty and retired professor of religion at Bates, spoke in opposition based on his opinion that neighborhood values would be lost. He urged the Planning Board members to “broaden your views.”
About two dozen residents of Mountain Avenue and adjacent streets attended the meeting. Most are members of the Mountain Avenue Neighborhood Association, a 30-member group formed last March. Several of them voiced doubt that Bates College would maintain public access to Mount David trails behind the new dorm on what is known as Rand Field.
Dr. Richard Wagner, who is president of the group, said, “All of us are in agreement that we consider the plan unwise.”
He called Mount David “a city treasure.”
Other area residents spoke in opposition to the proposed dorm and voiced fears that the historic character of Mount David, an important green space in Lewiston, would be lost.
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