WESTBROOK – The Maine Rubber building is one step closer to being demolished after a Planning Board meeting this week gave a favorable recommendation to the City Council that tearing it down would improve the downtown.

The Planning Board said Tuesday that changing the zoning on the Maine Rubber property to allow for a new bank building with a drive-through was a step in the right direction for the downtown, although members indicated they would prefer to see a mixed-use, multi-story building instead of a bank.

“If I see a glimmer that the building could come down, I’m going to put my faith in the administration and staff. It might be the kick in the pants the city needs,” said Rene Daniel, vice chairman of the Planning Board.

Bill Baker, Westbrook’s assistant city administrator for business and community relations, said the owners wanted to include a drive-through option in the zone because a bank interested in the property had contacted them. He said the seller also was open to other kinds of businesses.

Dennis Isherwood was the only member who did not recommend moving forward with the project.

“I’ve been looking at that property for a long time. It’s been there for as long as I could remember. If it went away today it wouldn’t hurt my feelings,” said Isherwood, expressing his reservations, “I OK’d the demolition of a property on Main Street years ago thinking they’d improve it. It was a dirt mess and it’s still a dirt mess.”

Isherwood said for now the city was collecting taxes on the Maine Rubber building, but once it was torn down, it “might not get anything but a dust bowl for the next 10 years.”

Once the building was demolished, the property owner could sell to almost anyone, but if no buyer comes along, the property could sit vacant.

Westbrook officials and the property owners, the Elowitch family, are working together on the project. The proposed new Gateway West Contract Zone would allow for a drive-through bank and use a portion of Saco Street in exchange for the demolition of the dilapidated building. The city would receive some of the land on the Maine Rubber property to construct an additional westbound lane on William Clarke Drive.

In 2011, the city received a $125,000 Community Development Block Grant to help pay for the cost of the demolition. While there is no firm time limit on when these funds must be used, Baker said they are under pressure to get the project moving.

Traffic patterns were another concern for members of the Planning Board. Jerre Bryant, city administrator, said a traffic study would be done on the existing traffic patterns before the Gateway West Contract Zone went to the City Council. It is not known if the traffic study would be completed in time for the next scheduled council meeting, March 4.

“Even though the bank is not ideal, this is a step forward,” said Rebecca Dillon, Planning Board alternate.

The Westbrook Planning Board has approved the proposed new Gateway West Contract Zone, which would allow for demolishing the Maine Rubber building. A bank with a drive-through could take its place on the downtown site. File photo