The City of Biddeford Planning Board approved preliminary plans for a food truck and community co-op park near the city’s downtown, however there were concerns about the project.
Applicant and property owner, Steve Liautaud, and agent, Leah Schaffer met with the Biddeford Planning Board to present their preliminary site plan application to put in two food trucks and have a place to host community events at the property at 64 Alfred St. on the corner of Jefferson Street and Alfred Street, on July 26. The lot, which has been empty since a 2006 fire, is a walkable distance from city parking lots and the downtown. The property hasn’t been used for anything in years and has become something of an eyesore in the downtown area.
The plans for this site included the construction of two pads for the food trucks with electrical hookups, a short wooden fence surrounding the property, a seating area with tables and chairs and a storage shed to keep them when not in use, and a porta-potty.
While the main attraction for this site would be the food trucks, the community co-op park, Schaffer explained, would be hosting pantry food drops with Youth Full Maine, a nonprofit organization that manages food pantries in schools for students pre-K through 12th grades, and other community events.
Liautaud said he began discussions with Heart of Biddeford, a downtown development organization
“We don’t have any concrete plans at this point,” he said. “We’re kind of letting it go and grow organically.”
Liautaud’s main interest in going forward with this project was to create an engaging part of the community. Although he doesn’t plan to make it a permanent endeavor. In the case that the site could become something else later down the road, he explained that this could be a starting point.
Therefore, the plan is to leave the land flexible with no building foundation in terms of the storage shed, fencing, porta-potty, etc.
They also don’t intend for the food trucks to be a year-round event and would strictly be open from April to October. There are plans to serve breakfast, lunch and dinner. The storage shed would remain there year-round.
While a few of the board members were in favor of the idea and thought it could be a nice addition to the community, some were skeptical.
One argument against the project was that it didn’t match the aesthetic of Biddeford. Some board members said it was inappropriate as gateway to the city,
“Certainly during the summer, what type of message are we sending?” one board member said. “It worries me, I’m not really keen on the fencing and having a shed there … I’m really worried about the porta-potties in the sun … what type of security would there be in order to make these things happen? … Where it’s gonna be, I have a hard time with it. … Do we want something of this nature (on this property), I don’t know. I’m not convinced.”
The wooden fencing, storage shed and porta-potty were areas of concern, said some board members, due to a growing population of unhoused people; they worried about the unhoused population using the porta-potties, breaking into the shed and the trucks and destroying or vandalizing the property. Some board members said the fencing didn’t fit the rest of downtown.
Some board members also questioned where the food trucks would be stored during the off-season. That question wasn’t clearly answered. Some questioned how the food trucks would be publicized, and whether social media would be a large part of the publicity.
The board approved the motion on the preliminary site plan application three to two. Board members voting for the plan said they felt the positives that this site would bring outweighed the negatives, but advised Schaffer and Liautaud to take their comments and concerns into consideration. With the preliminary plans approved, Biddeford’s downtown may be home to two new food trucks soon.
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