BIDDEFORD — As the city wades through the waters of a new parking policy, the Downtown Committee continues to try and resolve small problems as they arise, this week adding more free spaces to the Franklin Street Lot in Biddeford.

The concern put before the board at a Jan. 10 meeting was the effect parking restrictions are having on abutting businesses, specifically the spaces directly in front of Louis Pizza.

Mayor Alan Casavant requested the item to be placed on the agenda and said he drove through the parking lot during the last few weeks and now understands the confusing nature of the lot, and “signage issues.”

“It makes zero sense to charge for parking right outside their building,” Casavant said. “Especially because they’ve spent thousands of dollars renovating it.”

Casavant stressed the urgency of the situation, adding that the Downtown Committee was created to be a “rapid-response committee,” and that he hoped it would be dealt with that evening.

“Abutting this business is a detriment to them, and we need to remedy this immediately,” Casavant said.

The conversation between board members flipped between rearranging time-limited free spaces, of which there were six, or adding more spaces.

Ward 7 Councilor Michael Ready said he would support rearrangement of spaces, suggesting that they be placed directly in front of Louis Pizza. Throughout the meeting, Ready urged caution. Too many changes made too fast in the parking plan’s formative stage will need a longer adjustment period to know long term effects.

Ready also voiced concern over taking away spots that were currently paid, he worried about the potential loss of revenue for the city. Prior to making any decisions, Ward 5 Councilor Amy Clearwater asked for confirmation that there were indeed spots available for reallocation within the lot. Chief Operating Officer Brian Phinney said there were unsold spots that could accommodate the desire for more free spots.

Of the 369 parking permits sold from Nov. 1 to Jan. 4, 229 were for the Federal/Franklin Street Lot, according to data obtained through a Freedom of Access Act by the Courier. Of those 229, which are paid for on a monthly basis, 183 are 24/7 permits, which sell for $40, 10 are overnight permits that cost $20, and 36 are workday permits for a fee $30. According to Jan. 4 totals, the monthly revenue for parking permits was $13,360, with $8,600 from the Franklin/Federal Street Lot.

Councilor-at-Large Marc Lessard said from the beginning he always thought that the city had not budgeted enough free spots.

Louis Pizza proprietor Ricky Robitaille spoke on behalf of his business.

“I would not be here if (lack of free parking spaces) was not affecting my business negatively,” Robitaille said.

Robitaille said while he has trained his staff to inform patrons of the new parking policy and where to find kiosks, many still are not paying to park. While Robitaille, his wife and three delivery drivers all pay $40 monthly for parking passes, patrons are deterred by the new plan and the possibility of a ticket.

Louis Pizza runs a Tuesday special of a small cheese pizza for $3.10, which Robitaille said has always been draw for the business. He told the board that prior to the parking plan, he would sell between 400 and 500 pizzas on Tuesday evenings. On New Year’s Eve, the business sold 150, and on Jan. 8 he sold about 200.

“That is a significant decrease,” Robitaille said. “My family and I have put half a million dollars into this business. It is our dream, it is our place. I don’t want it to go under.”

Robitaille added that he did not want to be greedy with the number of spaces potentially allotted, and that even just the relocation of the spaces to the front of his building would help. While he understood that the issue would probably not be resolved that evening, Robitaille asked that the board would not forget this issue completely.

“Please look at this, because business is not good and my dreams are not there,” Robitaille said.

Following a suggestion from Lessard, Casavant amended the motion from having staff look at the issue and come up with a plan, to adding an additional six 30-minute free parking spaces directly in front of Louis Pizza to the six existing in the Federal/Franklin Street lot, creating a total of 1 free short-term spots.

When Ward 6 Councilor Norman Belanger asked if there was comment from the public, Robitaille called out, “That would be great, thank you.”

The amended motion to add six additional time-limited spaces passed 4-1 ,with Ready in opposition saying that he would not support the addition of spaces without first having a study into the financial ramifications.

The team at Louis Pizza has since announced the change on its Facebook page, writing, “I am so excited as business has been hurt tremendously. Feeling thankful that I can rest at night better.”

— Staff Writer Abigail Worthing can be contacted at at news@inthecourier.com.