STANDISH PLANNING BOARD MEETING MINUTES

Meeting date: 
Monday, January 8, 2024

                                                   Standish Planning Board

                                                      Meeting Minutes

                                                      January 08, 2024

 

The meeting of the Standish Planning Board was called to order by Chairman Charles Brown. Present were Derek Wright, Deb Boxer, Frank Nappi, Patrick Gere, Andrew Walton, Carolyn Biegel, Town Planner Scott Hastings and Jackie Dyer, Admin.to Town Planner and Planning Board.

Open Meeting

           a.        Call to order-Chairman Brown

           b.       Opening Statement from Planning Board Chairman Brown

           c.        Declaration of a Quorum- 7 Board members present.

Approval of Meeting Minutes from November 06, 2023/December 04, 2023

A motion to approve the November meeting minutes was made by Mr. Walton and seconded by Mrs. Boxer with one minor correction asked for by Mrs. Biegel. All in favor.

A motion was made by Mrs. Boxer and seconded by Mr. Nappi to approve the December meeting minutes. All in favor.

Old Business:

  • Patrick Michaud and 5 Brothers Development, Cider Mill Lane, Map 35, Lot 34 11-Subdivision Application to build Brookstone Condominiums at Cortland Place-10 Units

Dustin Roma from D.M Roma Consultants was present to represent the applicant. He said that he doesn’t really have a presentation for the project. He said they are waiting for the required permits to be sent. He said that there was a big rainstorm, and a complaint came in from a homeowner about some silt and runoff that came into their driveway. He said there was some flooding in an area and in looking at the photos sent, this was a testament to the project as how the water runoff went where it was supposed to and what he saw was that the infrastructure was able to hold up like it did. He said the area is a low one and elevation plays a big role in what happened. He said he is confident in the design. Dustin said they are here tonight for final site plan approval.

Mr. Hastings said the DEP approvals and the road impact fees are really the only outstanding items. He said the road impact fees will be in the approval and that is something that is decided by the Town and the Public Works Director. Mr. Hastings said the plans for approval he has. Dustin said there will be two sets of plans to be recorded: one set will be the final plans and the other set is with the additional lots added and to further expand the subdivision. Mr. Hastings said this is a set amount that is paid before they are issued any building permits. Mrs. Boxer asked if they were required to have an Army Corp permit. Mr. Gere said if they impact any wetlands there is a form for them to fill out and submit. Dustin said it’s a self-verification form and they have received responses back from them with feedback and suggestions. He said they will provide those to the Town. Mrs. Boxer asked about the pictures they were given and the silt, she asked if this is okay. Mr. Roma said there are things done on sight to stabilize mulch and dirt areas, but with the last storm we had and so much water, this is what happens at times. He said they can only do their best, but with exposed soil, this happens and it’s a learning exercise. He said it’s unfortunate, but the storm was an extreme circumstance. Mr. Brown said the erosion and control plans are the job of the Code Enforcement Officer to look at and enforce, not the Board. Mr. Roma said if they seeded it during the fall and the seed didn’t catch, this is what happens to exposed soil.

Mrs. Biegel asked about the building materials being dropped off on Lot 11 of the condos. Mrs. Dyer told her that this had nothing to do with Cider Mill and was for another house being built on Bonny Eagle Road. She said that Tom and Peter Daniels gave the lot owner permission to put the building materials there until the house lot was cleared. Mrs. Dyer said that the Code Officer knew about it, as he had been contacted.

Mr. Brandensteiner- 19 Cider Mill. Asked about erosion control and Mr. Hastings said a plan was put into place through the Code Enforcement Officer. He asked if this wasn’t happening or just not effective. Mrs. Biegel said with all the rain we had and the ground being frozen, this is what happened. There were no other public comments, and the public hearing was closed.

Mr. Brown said a motion was needed to the find the site plan application as submitted by DM Roma Consulting Engineers to be complete. A motion was made by Mr. Gere and seconded by Mr. Nappi to find the application complete, all in favor. Mr. Brown said he had gone through the conditions for completeness and found everything to be in order. He read the following:

“Move that the Board grant final approval under the provisions of the Standish Land Use code for the site plan application submitted by DM Roma Consulting Engineers for Lot 11 of the Brookstone Subdivision in Standish as amended, having found it to meet the site plan review criteria of §181-73, the performance standards of §181-7.1, and all other relevant standards of the zoning ordinance. With the following conditions: “

V. CONDITIONS –

  1. All work shall be in conformance with materials and plans submitted by DM Roma Consulting Engineers which consists of a site plan and supporting application materials.
  2. All new exterior lighting shall be full cutoff as required by §181-7.1 E.5.g.2.b of the Land Use Ordinance.
  3. This approval shall lapse and become void unless the start of construction or operation as defined in §181-70.1.A which reads: “Following the issuance of site plan approval for a specified use by the Planning Board, the applicant shall make a substantial start, as defined in Part 1, §181-3, and determined by the Code Enforcement Officer, on the approved use within three years from the original date of approval. If no such substantial start is made, the Planning Board approval shall lapse and become void.”
  4. This approval is dependent upon, and limited to, the proposals and plans contained in the application and supporting documents submitted and affirmed by the applicant or applicant’s agent (either orally or in writing) and that any variation from the plans, proposals, and supporting documents are subject to review and approval by the Planning Board, except for minor changes which the Code Enforcement Officer may approve.
  5. A road impact fee of $7,433.30 must be paid to the town prior to the issuance of any building permits.

A motion to approve the application was made by Mr. Wright and seconded by Mr. Gere. All in favor.

  • Kenneth & Anthony Grondin, Northeast Road, Map 14, Lot 84-Subdivision Application to build a 69 lot, single family home, subdivision (Woodbrey Heights)

Dustin Roma is here to represent the applicants. Mr. Gere recused himself as he is a direct abutter. Dustin said they were here a month ago and have done a lot since then. He said they met with peer review engineers about the site distance, and they conducted their own assessment. He said they have looked at the ponds, the slopes and runoff and were able to move some of the areas that have less steep ground. They have moved the pipe to disperse the water into a different area and put in a flatter pipe as well. He said the peer review engineers seem satisfied with what they have done. He said their assessment of the site distance was done and he went out and walked this with them. He said they all agreed that the site distance they have exceeds what is required by the Town and DOT.

Dustin said they added a sidewalk onto the plans, and they have surveyed the existing maple trees along the Twedell property. He said they have shifted the road roughly 20-30 feet from those trees and will leave them as they are. He said they looked at different areas for a crossroad connection and they did identify a site. He said this connection has an even block length between the two roads. He said the roadways will be built in a way that they can promote future connections between properties for further development at some point.

Dustin said in the packet is a plan with the cross-connecting road, but they must make it a bit narrower between the curves. He said they took site distance into account with this, and the peer review engineers, public safety and Public Works have all looked at it from a safety point. He said that everyone seems to be okay with it, the engineering and drainage are felt to be adequate, as no one will be driving this road with speed as it’s basically a 15mph road. He said an update on the DEP permit, they have responded with some comments and hoping they are nearing completion with that. He said they are looking at the end of February to receive everything from them.

Mr. Hastings said all the departments are okay with the current proposals that have been made. He said the curves on the road are great for safety and help to keep the speed down. He said Public Works and the Fire Department do not have any current issues with this. Mr. Hastings said that he feels all issues have been addressed. He said that Public Works will be looking closely at the entrances and the water run off going down Northeast Road. Public Works does see some issues in the winter with trucks trying to get up over the hill, but this is nothing new as this has happened for many years. He said there is a potential of this happening more often with the trucks having to slow down for the turning traffic going into the subdivision, but an eye will be kept on it and watched very closely. Mr. Hastings said this is an existing problem and doesn’t feel that this will be exasperated too much with the subdivision. He said with the ditches and drainage of this existing road, this may be something the Board wants to talk about. He said that they may want to look at capital improvements in the future and the increase in traffic. Mr. Nappi asked about a turning lane and Mr. Hastings said with the way it’s graded, that will probably not happen. Mr. Walton thought GPCOG had this on their map for a project and Mr. Hastings said GPCOG has no projects for this area and it’s a compact zone.

Mrs. Biegel said she is glad to see the connecting road as it gives residents options as to what entrance/exit they will use. Mr. Walton said it makes it so they don’t have to go all the way around. Mr. Brown says there is no real grade on the road and Mrs. Biegel said it gives drivers an option. Mr. Brown said if it’s built to Town standards, the Town can always alter it later and make it one way. Mr. Walton said he feels for anything to really be done with this, there really has to be a major accident and for someone to be hurt badly. Mrs. Biegel asked about the connectivity plan, and she sees the second road connecting to the other parcel and she feels if that is identified as a future connection, that is a plan. She asked if an easement was needed. Mr. Hastings said the one by the stormwater is labeled as a connector and a condition can be proposed that this road run to the Walker Trust property and later can be used as a connector if needed. If the Town takes over the roads, they become public roads.

Mr. Roma said that the roads would eventually be offered to the Town to take over. He said the best way is to present roads as public roads and to let people have access to them and to any connectors. Mr. Hastings said it’s always good to leave room for things to be explored later. Mr. Brown said they could do (and he read the following):

“Move to find the application submitted by Dustin Roma on behalf of Kenneth Grondin for subdivision of the property at Map 14 Lot 84 complete for review as presented.

Mr. Brown said we should get DEP permits for final review, management plan for open space and conservation, performance guarantees and the infrastructure. Mrs. Biegel said they should show the roads on it as part of the connectivity plan. Mr. Roma said they have some things to work through. Mr. Brown said that language can be drafted for the conditions of approval. Mrs. Biegel said there should be language about a connectivity plan in place. Mr. Hastings said the ordinances don’t really lay out what a connectivity master plan has to look like, and it’s not defined in a narrative way. Mrs. Biegel said it just should be identifiable and Mr. Brown said it could be one of the conditions in every subdivision. Mr. Brown asked about the road design waiver and Mr. Hastings said its his understanding that the Planning Board has the authority to grant the waiver.

Mr. Brown said he would make the motion to grant the waiver for the road as presented, seconded by Mr. Wright. All in favor with Mr. Gere abstaining. Mr. Brown asked if there was enough information to deem this complete as presented. Mrs. Boxer said she wasn’t sure about the 20% area, the spring by the wetland. Mr. Roma said Ransom has looked at both storm water ponds and there was concern about increased flows to the property line. He said they changed the direction of the pipes on both and will be dispersing water runoff elsewhere. They have rotated the elevation, and they have a different pipe that is flatter, and the land area is flatter as well. He said it goes into a plunge pool and is dispersed through a level spreader.

Mrs. Boxer asked about Lot 41 and Lot 59 as to where the house would go. Mr. Roma said that the areas that have the steeper slopes will have a daylight basement when the new home is built. Mrs. Boxer asked about Lot 27 and how big the building envelope is. Mr. Roma said the lot is about 100 feet wide and 110 deep, this would be the site for a house with a daylight/walk out basement and all looks out into the open space. He said we have preliminary grading plans for those, and they don’t require a lot of extensive excavation. Mrs. Boxer asked about the road being 11 feet from someone’s porch and Mr. Roma said this is the Foster property. She asked about rules as to how close a road can be.  Mr. Hastings said all these conditions exist and under current rules, the existing house is built too close to the property line. He said the right of way is identified as a right of way and is longer than 50 feet can be built as a road. Mrs. Boxer asked about a privacy fence and the road is curbed as well as there is no ditch on the road. Mr. Roma said that they will appear like they have more yard space and if they put up a fence, they would lose the yard space they are using now. Mr. Brown said its no more than 4-5 feet from the right of way line, but due to the curve line of the road, they will gain 8 to 10 feet.

Mr. Brown said he would offer his amended motion to find the application complete for review as presented. Mr. Wright made that motion seconded by Mr. Brown. All in favor with Mr. Gere recusing himself. Mr. Brown said there are no conditions of approval on a preliminary approval and Mr. Hastings said the Board can if they desire to. Mrs. Biegel asked about the sidewalk coming from Northeast Road and Mr. Roma said both roads have sidewalks all the way through.

Anthony Folsom-85 Dolloff Road-asked about an independent road study and was that not going to be done. Mr. Hastings said they had a third-party review done. Mr. Folsom said he was concerned about tractor trailers and if they could stop. He asked about how many trips will be generated per day, as he feels its more than 260 trips per day. He feels that they need to think about this with the hill.

Mr. Twedell Northeast Road- looking at where Eastern Lane connects with Northeast Road and the drainage. Said he feels he will still get a fair amount of run off coming down the ditch and through his culvert. Said he digs out the culvert every year. Concerned about the drainage. Feels there will be a traffic issue as he had one today with a car following too close and beeping at him.

Maurie Hill-Wildridge Road. Concerned about the two lots at the entrance and the abutters already there. She is concerned about the blasting that might happen and people’s foundations. She said there are a lot of rocks there and are they covered with the blasting company. Will the blasting company take pictures before they blast. Mr. Hastings said if they are blasting a certain amount, they need a permit from the Code Officer and if they are blasting over 100 cubic yards, they need to come to the Planning Board. She asked who to speak to about blasting and who is responsible? Mr. Hastings said he is not current enough on blasting and Mrs. Hill said she thought he was saying there is no concern for the abutters. She said she spoke to her insurance company, and they do not have coverage for blasting. Mr. Hastings said the blasting companies have insurance to cover any damage done by any blasting. Mr. Brown said she needs to speak with the Code Officer. Mr. Hastings said the Code Officer just shut someone down from blasting too near other homes just before Christmas, so he does pay attention to what is going on. Mr. Brown said there are alternative methods to removing ledge, not just blasting. Mr. Wright said the Code Enforcement Officer will oversee this and not the Planning Board.

Kenneth Grondin-Owner of Subdivision and Project Manager- he told Mrs. Hill he would check into the blasting and Mr. Twedell that he would be more than glad to look at his drainage. He told Mrs. Hill and Mr. Twedell that he would like their contact info and they can contact him anytime they have any concerns or questions about the project. Mr. Grondin said they want to be good neighbors to all.

The public hearing was closed. All in favor of the motion Mr. Wright made (seconded by Mr. Brown) to find the application complete for review, as presented.

Mrs. Biegel said she is scared about the traffic, and they have heard from many residents with concerns. She said she believes the experiences people have had on this road through the years should be taken into consideration, not just the peer view engineers that are saying the sight distance is okay. She said she asked about other traffic mitigation like signage or a mirror, as she is uncomfortable with the road. She said that everyone’s day to day experiences and the engineers saying it’s safe, just make you really wonder. She said this is a tough conflict to deal with. Mr. Wright said that there are many traffic concerns with projects that come before the Board. Mrs. Biegel said the ditches are a mess, the road is a mess, and the Town has not really taken care of the road. She said there are many emergency vehicles, and she is very concerned about safety as people do not go at the speed of 45 mph on the road. Mr. Brown said the issue is on Northeast Road and Mrs. Biegel agreed. She said that she thinks Eastern Lane is a tricky one as well, when making a left hand turn because of the hill.

Mr. Hastings said what we run into a lot is the difference between what is pleasant and what is safe. He said this can be a rough road to drive on, but that doesn’t mean its unsafe. Mr. hastings said that the data to date shows that it’s not an unsafe or measurable amount of being unsafe in any way. He said there are very few reported crashes and not considered a high accident or an unsafe site by DOT. He said he doesn’t know if we can make it any better, but we don’t want to make it worse.

Mr. Brown said the Board will still be working on items and where this is a compact zone, the DOT is completely out of it. Mr. Hastings said this doesn’t cause much traffic and the amount it is causing doesn’t warrant further study under the Town’s ordinance or if it was a DOT road under their standards. Mr. Roma said he hopes DEP will come across with their report in the next 30 days. Mrs. Boxer asked what he gave DEP and Mr. Roma said they see everything the Planning Board has seen. He said all this information is also sent to the water district.

Mr. Brown said he feels the Board can grant preliminary approval and Mr. Nappi agreed. Mrs. Boxer asked about the drainage easement and was there a problem with it being 15 feet wide instead of 30 feet? Mr. Roma said he had to discuss this further with Mr. Hastings about the grading and the ditching. Mr. Hastings said the area he is most concerned about is in the open space.

Mr. Brown read the following:

“I move that the Planning Board grant preliminary approval under the provisions of the Standish Land Use Code of the “Woodbrey Heights” subdivision of parcel map/lot 14-84 as submitted by Dustin Roma on behalf of Kenneth Grondin, having found it to meet the review criteria of Chapter 181 – Part 3, Subdivision Regulations, all other relevant standards of the local ordinances and the requirements of Title 30-A, Chapter 187, §4404 of the Maine State Statute for Subdivision Review with the following conditions:

  • Final approval must be granted prior to the sale of lots or the issuance of any permits.  Prior to final approval the following items must be submitted:
    • Deed restrictions meeting §181-27.1 F.(1)(c) should be submitted for review by town attorney.
    • Management plan for the open space meeting the requirements of §181-27.1 F.(3) and homeowners association documents meeting §181-27.1 F(4).  These documents should grant explicit permission for a snowmobile trail to cross the open space area.
    • All DEP approvals must be received.
    • A capital improvement fee must be determined.
    • An acceptable form of performance guarantee must be submitted.
    • Any other items needed to complete final review as specified in §181-84.
    • Plans be updated to include a note expressly stating that the Walker property has the right to connect to Eastern Lane in future development.

Mr. Brown made the motion seconded by Mrs. Biegel to grant preliminary approval. Five votes yes, one vote no and Mr. Gere abstaining.

New Business:

  • R.J. Grondin & Sons, 295 Middle Road, Map 9, Lot 15-Blasting Application

Larry Grondin was present to represent R.J. Grondin & Sons. He said they are here to renew their blasting permit from a year ago for their operation on Middle Road. He said they operated all last Spring and Summer under this permit and had no issues. He said there was one time they didn’t notify the Dispatcher for the Town and said it will not happen again as they have policies in place to prevent that from happening. He said he doesn’t see the pit being quite as active as last Winter and sees maybe 5 or 6 blasts to do what they need to.

He said the packet contains all the information and the distances from all houses. He said they are kind of in the middle of nowhere and they put safety first. He said there are some ATV trails and when they are going to blast, they have security set up at each trail, on the ends of the roads and where needed. He said they also use a seismograph and so far, haven’t measured anything that triggers any vibrations or tremors. Mr. Brown asked them if they are going in level or blasting down, and Mr. Grondin told him they are blasting level. He said they did not anticipate the amount of ledge they have come into. He said they have reclaimed Phase 1.

Mrs. Boxer asked Mr. Grondin to point out where the blasting would happen. He said they are progressing away from the big hill that is there. Mrs. Boxer asked how much has been reclaimed and Mr. Grondin said around 4 acres and they have 9 open. Mrs. Boxer asked why they would blast the rock and not go around it. Mr. Grondin said there was some gravel, now they are getting into rock and a lot of sand. He said blasting rock and mixing it with sand makes the gravel. He said they have a big job coming and need the gravel. Mrs. Boxer told him that if he is blasting rock, then he is operating a quarry, not a pit. Mr. Grondin said the rock is needed to make the gravel. He said there is less than an acre of the ledge and they had no idea about the amount of rock when they purchased the pit. He said they dig test pits but had no way of knowing. Mrs. Boxer said he is doing more quarrying than gravel extraction.

Mr. Grondin said at some phase maybe they will not have to blast. He said they go year to year with their permit. Mr. Hastings said he had no issue with this application and the Town has received no complaints at all about the pit or when they have blasted. Mrs. Boxer asked if they were selling topsoil out of the pit and Mr. Grondin said no, they have at least 3 piles of topsoil on the site. Mrs. Biegel said the packet said they have had no complaints, but how do they keep people out that aren’t supposed to be there. Mr. Grondin said they have gates in many access areas. He said their main entrance is off from Pequawket Trail (Rt.113), there is a gate there, two on Middle Road and they have put boulders up in different areas to keep people out of what they feel could be dangerous areas.

Mrs. Biegel said that there was a bunch of shooting in the pit at one time and what can be done to keep people out that don’t belong there. Mr. Grondin said since they have become more active in this pit, there isn’t much of anything that goes on and has not seen any activity there. Mrs. Boxer said these people go in when they are not there, like on the weekends. Mrs. Boxer asked if they had no trespassing signs and Mr. Grondin said yes. She asked about putting cameras up and Mr. Grondin said they did have them at one time but doesn’t think there is enough activity for cameras to be placed now. He said he will go down and put some big boulders at the place where the old access road comes in.  He said the only piece of equipment there right now is a bulldozer.

Anthony Folsom-Dolloff Road…said there is another different ATV trail and people are still shooting down there. He said he has gone down when he hears people shooting. He said they sold enough material from that pit to subsidize two big job sites in Saco. He said there are two more accesses down there and they are not blocked off. He said there is a new house on Middle Road, and he wants to know how far they are blasting from that. Mr. Folsom said he has come across many people down there shooting since they passed the new shooting ordinance. He has told people about the new ordinance, and they have been respectful.

Maurie Hill- asked about spray painting trees with purple rings and Mr. Brown said that has to do with hunting by permission only, which is in the Inland Fisheries and Wildlife manual. Mr. Folsom said those purple lines are hunting by permission only. The public hearing was closed.

Mr. Grondin said they had given no permission for anyone to shoot on their land. He said he would go down tomorrow and look at where they are gaining access. He said they do not condone shooting in the pit, but they do not post no hunting. Mrs. Biegel said she assumed if you are operating a pit, you are doing so to make money to do the projects they are hired for. Mr. Brown said this is very common practice and we all like good gravel. Mr. Grondin said everything they do has certain specifications.

Mr. Brown read the following:

“I move to the find the application for a blasting permit as submitted by R. J. Grondin and Sons to be complete as presented.”

A motion was made by Mr. Nappi and seconded by Mr. Gere to find the application complete. All in favor.

Mr. Brown read the following:

“Move that the Board grant approval of the Blasting Permit submitted by R. J. Grondin and Sons under the provisions of the Standish Land Use code, having found it to meet the criteria and standards of §181-16.1 and all other relevant standards of the zoning ordinance, with the following conditions: “

  1. All blasting must be done in accordance with the performance standards and notice requirements of §181-16.1 C and §181-16.1 D.  
  2. This approval will expire 365 days from the date of approval as specified by §181-16.1 B.7.
  3. All conditions of previous approvals for the gravel pit operating on this site are included in this approval and remain in effect.

A motion to approve the application was made by Mr. Nappi and seconded by Mr. Gere. All in favor.

 

  • Stoneyhill Investments, 63 Chadbourne Road, Map 40 Lot 21-Site Plan Application to build an automobile repair shop.

Mr. Hastings said after the packets for this went out, Mr. Gere had brought it to his attention that an auto repair shop cannot be built on an aquifer. The applicant has asked for this to be tabled until they can get the decision from DEP. A motion to table this was made by Mrs. Boxer and seconded by Mr. Brown. Mrs. Biegel said since this is not going forward, it was suggested to waive the financial capacity for this project. She said she doesn’t think we should waive this. Mr. Brown said we have never waived this requirement. Mr. Hastings said this builder has done other projects before and has always provided the financial capacity; this was never a waiver. Mrs. Biegel said we should be consistent. Mrs. Boxer and Mr. Nappi agreed, and Mr. Hastings said he can push that with other applicants. Mr. Hastings said just a basic letter from the bank of financial institution would be acceptable. The motion to table was voted on, with all in favor.

Public Hearing:

TITLE:  Amendments to Standish Town Code, Chapter 181, Land Use, Part 3: Subdivision Regulations, Article XVII Enforcement and Part 4: Assessment of Capital Impact Fees, Article XXIII Applicability 

Mr. Hastings said that this ordinance is largely bureaucratic and arose from Public Works and Code Enforcement. They are giving developers more options for performance bonds as construction costs have jumped dramatically. This is money on account, and they get it back if they build what they were approved to build. The infrastructure in a subdivision will now have to be completed before any building permits are issued. Roads, water lines, power and everything will have to be built to make sure emergency vehicles can get in and out as well.

Mr. Nappi asked about the road impact fee and how it works. Mr. Hastings said the Board doesn’t make the decision what to charge, it is a staff decision. The impact fees are for roads and a performance guarantee is what is done on the site as it’s built. The impact fees are not something that is refunded. Mr. Gere asked if there is a particular formula used to determine this and Mr. Hastings said there is.

Public hearing closed. Mrs. Biegel asked if the Board is supposed to make some recommendations regarding this ordinance to the Town Council. Mr. Hastings said if he gets public comment, he will send it to the Town Council. He said there was no public comment tonight and the Council meeting is tomorrow night. Mrs. Biegel said the Board should have some kind of recommendation and the Boards understanding of the ordinances. Mr. Hastings said if the Board wants to draft something, he can do it, or the Board can. He said the Council votes on their own public hearing and comments, the Planning Board hearing is a formality. He said the process must go through the ordinance committee and then the Council.

The meeting was adjourned at 8:36pm.