Residents “wholly against” a proposal by Martin’s Point HealthCare to purchase and redevelop the city-owned lot at the corner of Ocean and Sawyer streets presented a petition containing more than 200 signatures to the South Portland City Council last week.

In presenting the signatures at the April 22 council meeting, resident Adam Lampton said concerned neighbors “felt compelled” to band together to oppose the project and to “better articulate our concerns” following a workshop Martin’s Point held with councilors in early March.

The idea is that Martin’s Point would demolish the current building, which is the former Hamlin School and which now houses the city’s planning and codes department, and replace it with a new facility between 11,000 and 15,000 square feet in size.

In addition to the planning office, the Hamlin School site also includes a popular community garden, and although Martin’s Point has said it would like to retain the garden, that assurance is not enough for residents, who don’t believe such a large commercial building belongs in their neighborhood.

Dick Daigle, vice president of support services at Martin’s Point, was not available for comment prior to the Current’s Tuesday deadline, but in a prior interview said Martin’s Point plans to hold neighborhood meetings to see if consensus can be reached on the redevelopment proposal.

In March, Daigle told the Current that Martin’s Point, which has nine health-care centers in Maine and New Hampshire, has outgrown its building in Knightville, which is one reason the group is looking for a new location.

He said the Hamlin School lot is attractive because of its high visibility and the opportunity it provides for the health center to expand its operations.

The proposed sale of the Hamlin School lot to Martin’s Point is still in the early stages and the ball is now in the agency’s court, according to City Manager Jim Gailey.

In March Gailey said that in order for the city to sell the school Martin’s Point would have to find an alternative location for the planning department and agree to preserve the community garden.

At last week’s council meeting, Lampton said neighbors have “no desire to prohibit business development” and that they have no specific objection to Martin’s Point or the services it offers.

On the other hand, he said, residents don’t want to see a large commercial development at the Hamlin School site, which he described as a “unique green space” that’s worthy of being preserved.

Specific objections to the redevelopment proposal include light pollution, increased traffic and pedestrian safety, Lampton said.

“There are better ways to develop this site to serve our neighborhood,” he told the council last week, while also requesting a workshop on the neighborhood’s goals.

Lampton added that preserving the site as green space is a “more sensible and appropriate plan.”

Councilors did not respond to his comments, which came during the time that residents are allowed to speak on any issue, whether or not it appears on that night’s agenda.

In addition to Lampton’s comments to the council last week, the Current published a letter by resident and concerned neighbor Cathy Chapman in the April 23 issue that also expresses concerns about the Martin’s Point proposal.

This week Chapman told the newspaper that neighbors are committed to working together to present a plan that both supports keeping the Hamlin School site as green space, while also allowing for appropriate development, on the scale of the businesses already established in the neighborhood.

Chapman, who signed the petition that was presented to the council, said, “We would like a neighborhood center such as Willard Beach or Knightville” adding, “we envision a place where neighbors could meet.”

In her letter to the editor, Chapman described the neighborhood around the former Hamlin School as “quiet (and) residential with little or no traffic. Every morning and evening the streets are filled with neighbors walking their dogs and parents and grandparents pushing strollers.”

The letter goes on to argue that there are many other locations in South Portland that would better suit Martin’s Point and its business plan.

“Let us all work together to find the best solution for both the Meetinghouse Hill neighborhood and Martin’s Point,” Chapman’s letter concludes.