After the battles that preceded the opening of Stop & Shop’s supermarket in Kennebunk two years ago, wouldn’t you think that the grocery chain intended to settle in for the long haul?

But the Massachusetts chain has given up on its plans to expand into Maine and will soon close the Portland Road store. By the end of the month, the 60,000-square-foot market, built in an old farm field at the edge of town, will be vacant.

This is a bad outcome that planners and town officials did not foresee as they were weighing arguments over traffic, drainage and road access. The project was reviewed at length, but town boards and the courts were in no position to make judgments about whether the ambitious business plan might flop.

Perhaps the only chance to avoid the Stop & Shop debacle came early in 2004, when voters had a chance to weigh in on the concept. Citizens challenged the project in a referendum seeking to block “big box” stores in Kennebunk, but the proposal was soundly defeated. The developer promised that the project would be an economic boon to the town.

Supporters of large-scale development invariably point to economic development as a prime selling point, and planners and critics generally put little effort into weighing such claims.

But since developers so often make this kind of sales pitch, and since cities and towns have a clear interest in the success of these projects, shouldn’t their prospects be checked out? Independent experts are often brought in to review drainage calculations, landscaping plans, wildlife impact and traffic issues. Perhaps if a retail consultant had taken a hard look at expectations for the Stop & Shop complex, voters and boards would have had a clearer understanding of the risks of this venture.

After the 2004 referendum, the battle against Stop & Shop was primarily waged by its competitors, Hannaford Brothers and Garden Street Market. The market, which is supplied by Hannaford and does business in the heart of the village, reportedly had its own plans for expansion on Portland Road. This ambition was apparently thwarted by Stop & Shop’s decision to make Kennebunk the site of its first store in Maine.

Supermarket business has held up rather well during the recession, compared to other parts of the retail sector. Now that Stop & Shop is retreating, it will be interesting to see whether the unexpected vacancy at Kennebunk Marketplace captures the attention of Garden Street Market, or any other grocers.