FARMINGTON – A proposal to have the University of Maine at Farmington and the new W.G. Mallett School share parking spaces was approved by the Planning Board this week.

With plans to build an arts center next to Merrill Hall on the UMF campus, the university sought approval to share 25 spaces for visitors to the 100-seat performing arts center after 3 p.m. with Mallett School, said William Geller of UMF.

After a lengthy discussion, planners voted 5-1 to back the concept, said Code Enforcement Officer Steve Kaiser. That allows UMF to continue negotiating with SAD 9 about the parking lot.

The lot was developed in 2005 when the schools and town worked to create 147 spaces for parking behind Mallett. The space was provided by SAD 9 while the university constructed the lot and the town agreed to multiple use of the space, Geller stated in a memo to the board.

Now, with SAD 9 planning to build a new Mallett School on the lot, the schools are working to find an arrangement that will benefit each of them.

Sharing spaces would also translate into less paving for parking lots, he said.

Voters in March changed the parking ordinance by adding a provision for alternative parking, Kaiser said. The town is willing to listen to proposals such as sharing.

The 25 spaces would meet the town’s requirement for the 100-seat art center, which has yet to go before the Planning Board. The proposal is based on the existing plans for the center but if those change, more parking would have to be found, Kaiser said.