LEWISTON – Plans for a new $21 million dining hall at Bates College received unanimous approval from the Planning Board on Monday night.
In a related but separate vote, the Planning Board also voted to turn Andrews Road at Bates College into a pedestrian way.
The 47,800-square-foot two story dining facility on Central Avenue will be built between Garcelon Field and the Alumni Gym. The project also includes a 70-space parking lot adjacent to Merrill Gym with access to Campus Avenue. It will result in a net gain of 23 parking spaces for the campus.
The dining hall site currently consists of a small grassed area, 24 parking spaces and a pedestrian path. The dining facility will have a capacity for 1,700 students. The college’s present dining facility in nearby Chase Hall can accommodate only 500 students.
Only one opponent of the dining hall spoke at the public hearing before the vote. Mark Duchette, owner of Russell Street Variety, argued that a convenience store for prepackaged foods at the new dining hall would hurt his business.
Duchette told Planning Board members that Bates College pays no taxes, yet the dining hall proposal competes with his private business.
“Do they really care about local businesses?” he asked. “I’m just a little business trying to make a living.”
Duchette pointed out that he will lose a lot of business from fans at Garcelon Field football games. Rather than come to his store, they will go the short distance to the new hall, he said.
Board member John Racine told Duchette the Planning Board has no jurisdiction over what products the dining hall might sell.
Gil Arsenault, director of planning and code enforcement, said the same argument about a college’s sales affecting a private business might also be made by a bookstore.
Duchette first voiced opposition to the project nearly a year ago when he said, “Every year they’ve done a little bit more to keep kids on campus and not help out the little stores around here.” Duchette, who bought the business about eight years ago, said his business from Bates students and campus activities has declined.
Other discussion on the dining hall concerned a proposed “speed table” to be placed near the busy student crosswalk on Central Avenue. Board member Tom Peters urged that the speed table be constructed only after the city has repaved that part of Central Avenue. Peters said the street is in terrible shape. A speed table is constructed across a street with ramps and a flat top; it’s meant to slow down traffic.
A condition was placed on the project approval; it instructs Bates College to coordinate the speed table work with the Department of Public Works.
The decision to close Andrews Road to traffic and to eliminate parking there was also unanimous. It was explained that the road, which comes off College Street near the end of Mountain Avenue, would become landscaped green space.
Cost of this project is estimated at $500,000.
Planning Board Chairman Jeffrey Gosselin recused himself from participating in discussion and the vote on the Bates College issue. He appointed Racine to fill in as chairman for that part of the agenda.
In other Planning Board business, a four-lot residential subdivision called Blackberry Knoll at 1046 Main St. was approved unanimously. There was no opposition to the subdivision at a public hearing.
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