BRUNSWICK

The Town Council on Monday took another step toward acquiring property at the corner of Pleasant and Stanwood streets, where a project to build a new police station is moving forward.

Earlier this month, the council unanimously approved the town borrowing $5.5 million for construction of that 20,000- square-foot project, and on Monday recommended in a unanimous vote that the town’s Planning Board review zoning restrictions on its current offices at 28 Federal St. and consider changes that would allow continued use of the building as office space after the town leaves the property.

Town Manager Gary Brown, who is an ex-officio member of the Brunswick Development Corporation, said Monday that the BDC requested the zoning changes occur prior to a pending deal that would exchange the building at 28 Federal St. for the property destined for the new police station at the corner of Pleasant and Stanwood streets.

Late last year, the town inked an agreement with Bowdoin College to exchange the formerly town-owned Longfellow School for the downtown McLellan Building, where the town plans to move its offices in 2014.

According to a memo from Anna Breinich, the town’s director of planning and development, the town now has a few options for accommodating the BDC request to amend the Zoning Ordinance as it pertains to the building at 28 Federal St.

Breinich wrote that the town can either rezone the west side of Federal Street, between Mason and Center streets, to what is known as TR-1 zoning, allowing some non-residential uses. The Town Council could also amend the facilities standards to allow the current use of the municipal facility to be extended as “a legally-established nonconforming use.”

Monday’s council vote directs the Planning Board to study those possibilities, though that process will be on hold for the month of August as both the Planning Board and the Town Council do not have meetings scheduled.

The Town Council voted on Monday 8-1, with councilor John Perreault objecting, to cancel one meeting previously scheduled for August and reconvene in September.

Brown said that an appraisal to determine the market value of the building at 28 Federal St. is still in progress and will aim to determine the value of the building both if the zoning changes are not made and if they are made.

Brown said he expects that appraisal to be completed by the end of July.

dfishell@timesrecord.com