SOUTH PORTLAND – A routine liquor-license application by The Portland Players almost exited stage-left Monday when neighborhood residents used it as an opportunity to complain about recent business growth in the area.

However, after listening to concerns, the City Council unanimously approved the application.

According to Players trustee Jeff Campbell, the license is for wine only, and service, will be limited to the lobby area of the 350-seat theater during shows.

“We will provide training for all of our servers, and everything will be all locked up when not being served,” he said. “We will do our due diligence in taking care of this.”

Neighbors say they have no problem with the theater, and ordinarily would support its application. However, they contend that one more new place serving alcohol is one too many.

“We would support this in any other normal circumstance,” said Cottage Road resident Joe Mokry. “We’re happy to be neighbors of the Portland Players. It’s a jewel in the crown of South Portland. But we are in a crisis in our area.”

“It’s not a safe situation,” he said. “To add another outlet that’s serving alcohol is not going to do the neighborhood any good.”

“I have really enjoyed being a neighbor of the theater,” said Melissa Denick, who also lives on Cottage Road. “But I’m really concerned about what has happened to what was once a lovely neighborhood.

“I picked a neighborhood to live in,” she added. “I know it’s a mixed residential and business zone, but it’s not a neighborhood anymore.”

Although residents stressed that their concern is about the entire area, problems really got out of hand, they claim, with the opening last year of Elsmere BBQ & Wood Grill, at 448 Cottage Road.

“There have been three incidents since the barbecue opened with intoxicated patrons entering our home,” said Pamela Jordan, a 20-year resident of Elsmere Avenue. “This was a community that we never feared at all. We never locked our doors during the day and evening. But it’s come to the point that we feel unsafe.”

The barbecue continues to create a safety issue in the area, its neighbors claim, especially during the winter months, when parking is at a premium.

“Saturday night, you could not have got a fire truck or a rescue [vehicle] down Elsmere, because of all the traffic. They were parked down both sides of the street,” said Jordan. “I have no problem with the theater expanding their business, but I really think we need to have some community meetings to really decide what we want in this area.”

The residents asked the City Council to table the food-service license application, or at least the alcoholic beverage portion of it, until a community dialogue could be organized.

However, councilors said they had no choice but to act on the application, which they approved.

“The problem is that we are dealing with one particular piece here,” said Mayor Jerry Jalbert. “This is not an application that deals with a traffic analysis, or a parking analysis, or any of those things. This unfortunately doesn’t really address the needs of what the neighbors have come forward with.”

Councilor Tom Blake, who called the issue a “delightful dilemma,” lives in the nearby Ferry Village neighborhood. Recent growth on the city’s east end, he said, has complicated life for everyone in the area.

“It’s become an extreme problem, and all of us are paying the price,” he said. “And we’re not done yet. We will see additional applications, and we will see additional complaints.”

“That side of South Portland has changed very dramatically in the last couple of years,” agreed Jalbert. “That represents a lot of success, but with success comes problems. It’s great that it’s popular, but it looks like these problems could even increase in the future.”

One councilor offered a potential solution, at least in the short term, for the reported multitude of illegal parking.

“If we don’t really start handing out those tickets, or at some point start hauling cars, then we are not doing our own due diligence,” said Councilor Maxine Beecher.