City of Belfast
Retail Review Commission
Executive Summary and Central Recommendations
October 2006

          The Retail Review Commission has met since December 2005 on a monthly or weekly basis.  The public was invited to attend each and every meeting.  We must have thought when we were determined to have a recommendation for the Council by March that this would be an easy task and left little room for research or contemplation.  Things seemed to move very slowly and without much direction at first.  We did, however, decide to listen to developers, review already researched information, and ask community members to help before deciding on any recommendation.  

We listened to big developers tell us that no developer would be interested in placing a 75,000 square foot retail store in Belfast and that all developers know the Belfast market.           

We listened at the library when Jane LaFleur told us that communities are making choices about what changes may or may not come to their community.           

We listened again at City Hall when Jane LaFleur and Stacey Mitchell discussed problems big box and particularly Wal-Mart brings to a community.        
            We sent letters to a group of national retailers doing business in Maine inquiring about their interest in Belfast.  Retailers and shoppers were asked to help with questionnaires to determine a clearer picture of community retail behavior and opinion.           

A shopping list was made of necessary items and volunteers went shopping in Belfast to see what we were really missing in our retail stores.          

We listened and viewed a video presented by three students from Belfast who depicted what can happen, from experience, when big box moves into other cities.  It is a video created as a class project at BAHS.

            The Commission recommends that a single area west of the river be designated as the site of any future intensive retail store development.  The commission has not considered carefully where that area should be sited, but it notes that the Comprehensive Planning Committee has been working on a site recommendation.  The Commission urges the Belfast City Council to assist the Comprehensive Planning Committee to expedite the process, including a public hearing that could bring its work to completion in this regard.    

The Commission recognizes that the current mix of retail stores in Belfast may not fully address the shopping needs of all citizens, particularly the lack of a department store similar to the former Ames store.  More specifically, many local citizens have cited the need for additional affordable clothing and food choices.    

The Commission favors future retail development that would be similar in scale to current development in Belfast, and believes that this type of development would be acceptable to most Belfast citizens.  The Commission is concerned that retail stores that dwarf the size of current retail stores could adversely impact the character of the community.     

A 75,000 square foot "cap" on store size is now in effect in areas of the west side of the city that might be selected for intensive commercial development.  The Commission, however, recognizes that this cap, adopted 6 years ago, may now unnecessarily limit opportunities to attract retailers to Belfast that fit the city's needs and scale. If the city were to receive a proposal for a retail store that fits its needs but exceeds the cap size somewhat, say a proposal not to exceed 100,000 square feet, the council should consider
adjusting the cap.  The commission notes that the combined area of Hannaford and Ocean State Job Lot building is about 100,000 square feet.    

The Commission recommends that the city take steps to actively seek proposals for a new retail store.  The Belfast City Council should be flexible in any negotiations regarding stores that meet local needs and are consistent with local values.  It should ask appropriate committees, boards, and city staff to join in a vigorous effort to solicit acceptable proposals.    

The Commission is not recommending any single method to achieve this goal, and believes that all reasonable methods should be explored.  These could include:

* Issuing a formal Request for Proposal for retail development in the area;

* Hiring a firm/individual to market Belfast to potential retailers, and then working to attract desired stores to locate in Belfast.  This could include identifying approaches/trends that other communities have employed to address retail needs, and determining if such approaches could work in Belfast;

* Revisiting current land use/zoning regulations and implementing appropriate standards that would ensure development looks attractive, functions well, and that it is an asset to the community.  Contract rezoning is a tool that could help achieve the desired results.

            Even before any proposals were received, the Commission believes that the City of Belfast should commission a study, as other communities have done, of the potential impact, broadly defined, of substantial new retail development.  Based on a range of scenarios provided by the City, this study would assess, based on experience elsewhere, the likely impact on such matters as the viability of existing stores, the City's budget and the mill rate, traffic, property values, the environment, and any other matters of significant impact.

            Upon receipt of a specific development application, the City should augment the impact statement that the Planning Board can require from the developer with a cost benefit analysis of the proposed project.  The City should also bring to bear at this point a fully developed set of mitigation standards that clearly define the developer's financial and other obligations.

            The Commission members have now devoted nearly nine months worth of their Monday evenings to consider retail development issues in Belfast.  Commission members have often been passionate in their opinions.  We recognize that the approach suggested in the recommendation may not be favored by all but we believe it could lead to results that would benefit the community and which could be embraced by many of our citizens.  We recommend that the Council devote adequate staff and financial resources to implement these recommendations.

The Commission has explored measures to improve the shopping and marketing experience for local residents and merchants.  These include:

1. Buy Local Campaign

              The Chamber, the Downtown Business Group, and the Bridge-to-Bridge Committee are working together on a "buy local" campaign, with a focus on upcoming holiday shopping, possibly starting with Halloween.

Campaign elements will likely include:
. notices in print and broadcast media;
. use of the city's or chamber's website;
. special (additional) hours for stores;
. special holiday decorations by student and adult volunteers

2. Shopping Guide and Map

Merchant groups are in the first stages of planning to produce a guide to shopping opportunities in the area.  A map showing store locations would be included.  All clothing and household goods retailers would be included, not just those belonging to the Chamber or downtown groups.  The guide would list hundreds of clothing and household items (not grocery store products) and list alongside them the stores that carry them.

3. Finding and Filling Local Retail Gaps

The Chamber is considering serving as a clearinghouse of information about clothing and household items that shoppers can't find in our area.  Shoppers would be encouraged to report by phone any "missing" items.  The Chamber would then alert appropriate retailers here about verified gaps and encourage them to carry items not found.

4. Transportation to Area Stores

            WCAP now provides scheduled minibus runs to local shopping areas.  These are substantially underused.  The agency is set to receive four new vans and, with this new capability, can restructure its local service.  It is weighing plans to discontinue the scheduled runs and instead offer residents rides to and form a local destination of their
choosing, much like a taxi operation.  The fee would be about $1.50 (no cost to low income rides).  This shift in approach must work its way through the agency's regular planning process, and so could not be implemented for several months.

5. Internet Shopping

A small group of volunteers is thinking through ways to help people shop on the Internet.  The approach under consideration is to start with an invitation carried by the media to a meeting that would serve as an introduction to the process.  The invitation would briefly describe how Internet shopping works.  If the meeting were held, say, at the high school gym, stations could then be set up around the edge, equipped with laptops, where experienced people could walk participants through the process and deal with special subjects like shipping, sales taxes, safeguarding identity, returns, and the like.  Participants would be paired with volunteers for follow-up, one-on-one instruction.

Another type of follow-up is a course on Internet shopping provided by MSAD 34 Adult Ed that starts on October 25.  That 2-week course can only enroll 10 students at a time.  It could be augmented by a winter Senior College course with a larger capacity for those over 50 years old.

            The volunteer planners have found that a program called "Bill Me Later" might be used by people without credit cards to establish their credit status with retailers.  Catalogue shopping could be included in this or a supplementary process.

In addition, the Commission recommends the following steps to improve the retail climate in Belfast.

1. Establish a Schedule of Multiple Fairs, Festivals, Exhibits, and Conferences in the City

 * Bring back the Bay Festival-to the downtown waterfront
 * Ask the Penobscot Community Arts Center Inc. to work with other arts Organizations to hold a spring or fall festival of arts

2. Improve Recreational and Entertainment Facilities

* Repair the skateboard park
* Support the YMCA's pool campaign
* Support the Game Loft

3. Add to Facilities for Performing and Visual Arts

Ask Mayor Hurley to consult with NTWH about ways to make the under-utilized Crosby school more available for community use (and ask the Penobscot Community Art Center corporation to take the lead in any fundraising that might be needed) 

4. Aggressively continue to implement the Downtown Waterfront TIF

5. Bring Back the Bears (or their successors)   

We might suggest a limited number of larger displays or attractions placed in different locations throughout the city.   

            The commission recommends there be a program of discussions of retail
issues throughout the city.  This program began this summer with the Council, the Comprehensive Planning Committee, the Planning Board, and the Retail Review Commission.  The continuation of this program is the public meeting to be scheduled soon by the Comprehensive Planning Board and then an even broader meeting with the Chamber, the city's Economic Development Committee, the Vibrancy Project, the EMDC (Eastern Maine Development Corp.), the Belfast "Bridge to Bridge" and the Gateway One efforts should follow.  The program also insures neighborhood meetings and if participants in the neighborhood meetings feel that a professional facilitator is needed, we would recommend this action be taken.