BIDDEFORD — The City Council has granted final approval for the rezoning of a residential property on Alfred Street, allowing for the development of a commercial business near the Five Points intersection.

In a 6-2 vote on Tuesday, the council upheld their decision to rezone the property at 360 Alfred St. from R1-A residential to a B-2 business zone, allowing for the construction of a retail establishment on the property.

Councilors Michael Ready and Marc Lessard voted against the decision.

The property was purchased by father-son developers Bill and Patrick Donahue, of Five Star Holdings, LLC, as part of a larger plan to construct a Starbucks coffee shop in the adjacent former D’Angelo sandwich shop building at 352 Alfred St., which sits at the intersection of Alfred Street (Route 111) and Elm Street (U.S. Route 1).

The developers, who submitted their plans to the city in late September, originally asked to rezone both the 360 Alfred St. property to allow for retail development.

City documents originally said the property may become a financial institution, but Project Manager Bill Thompson said at a Dec. 6 council meeting the developers are still seeking an applicant for the space.

Having approved a first reading at that meeting, the council upheld its previous vote Tuesday.

The decision to rezone the property has raised the issue of buffers between retail and residential properties, an issue the council also took up on Tuesday.

The council voted 6-3 to approve a provision to allow the Planning Board to waive a required 30-foot vegetative buffer between commercial and residential properties.

Commercial projects by ordinance are required to maintain a 30-foot vegetative buffer of coniferous or deciduous trees between residential properties to minimize adverse effects on the environmental or aesthetic qualities of abutting residences.

The issue has come to a head in recent months because the Donahues had also purchased a property at 4 Summit St., which would have served as parking for the 360 Alfred St. establishment. However, there wouldn’t have been space for a 30-foot vegetative buffer between that property and abutting properties.

The board ultimately decided not to rezone the 4 Summit St. property, but did approve a provision to waive the buffer requirement in cases where it can be demonstrated that the waiver is warranted or necessary due to existing conditions, such as space limitations, or where other measures can provide the same effect.

Those measures may include the installation of stockade fences or noise barriers.

The City Council upheld the Planning Board’s decision Tuesday, although some councilors voiced their concern.

“It’s very beneficial and helpful to make sure you have black and white rules you make sure you abide by, and manage the work for the city,” Lessard said. “In this case, it gives the opportunity for a waiver depending on the applicant depending on the situation. I don’t think that works on trying to providing a black and white scenario.”

Ready disagreed with Lessard, saying the provision more or less allows the Planning Board to continue with the process it already uses to make decisions regarding new construction.

“I think it’s important to have that option for the Planning Board when they’re looking at projects to say this is a situation where a 30-foot vegetative buffer isn’t the only thing that’ll work,” he said. “There is the opportunity, I think, for the Planning Board to look at individual projects — like they do now — but this is another tool for them to be able to access, and I’m supporting this.”

Ultimately the council voted to approve the provision 6-3, with Councilors Lessard, Laura Seaver and John McCurry dissenting.

— Staff Writer Alan Bennett can be contacted at 282-1535, ext. 329 or abennett@journaltribune.com.