STANDISH PLANNING BOARD MEETING MINUTES
Standish Planning Board
Meeting Minutes
February 05, 2024
The meeting of the Standish Planning Board was called to order by Chairman Charles Brown at 6:00pm. Present were Derek Wright, Frank Nappi, Patrick Gere, Andrew Walton, Carolyn Biegel, Scott Hastings Town Planner and Jackie Dyer, Admin.to Planner and Planning Board. Absent was Deb Boxer.
Open Meeting
a. Call to order by Chairman Brown
b. Opening Statement from Planning Board Chairman Brown
c. Declaration of a Quorum-6 present
Approval of Meeting Minutes from January 08, 2024
Mr. Wright made a motion, seconded by Mr. Walton, to approve the meeting minutes with one amendment brought forth by Mrs. Biegel (Page 9, added comment), Mr. Grondin said that he would place large boulders at the old access road so people could not get through). All in favor with the amendment.
Finding of Fact:
- 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
Mr. Nappi made a motion seconded by Mr. Gere to approve the Finding of Fact as written. All in favor.
- R.J. Grondin & Sons, 295 Middle Road, Map 9, Lot 15-Blasting Application
Mr. Gere made a motion seconded by Mr. Nappi to approve the Finding of Fact as written. All in favor.
New Business:
- Bernard & Brenda Lovering, 2 Glidden Road, Map 52, Lot 11A-Shoreland Zoning Application to demolish existing home and build new home.
Audrey Lovering was present to represent the applicants, her parents, Bernard and Brenda Lovering. She said the existing cottage needed a lot of repairs and it was going to cost more to do those repairs than to add a stick built double wide modular home, which is what they are planning to do. She said they would need to put in a new foundation, and she feels they have done everything they can to move it back as far as possible away from the shoreland.
Mr. Hastings said this is straight forward and there have been some adjustments to the numbers they submitted with the packet, but they are trying to shore those up to exactly what they are going to be. He said they will get firm numbers and they have been given a survey of the property. Mr. Hastings said they have moved this back as far as they can and are still able to use the same septic system and the driveway. He said they can do the 30% expansion and he feels most of the numbers they have submitted are fine. Mr. Brown said the new building will be back significantly more than the existing one. Mr. Hastings said if they moved it to a totally new location, this would entail clearing of more trees and some soil disturbance.
Mr. Brown asked the Board what they wanted to do. Mrs. Biegel asked when final numbers are submitted. Mr. Hastings said the numbers they were given were reasonably concrete and most are fairly accurate. Norman Jewett, contractor for the project, said they will have final numbers that are concrete for the approval, before any permits are issued. Mr. Hastings said the change from what they are removing and what they are building will not change. He said the 28’x56’ will not change. Mr. Hastings said he understands some of the numbers they have been given do not match what was submitted, but if the math is done with numbers they have given, it’s close to being what they will be.
Mrs. Biegel said she is supportive of the project but doesn’t understand her responsibility as a Board member when there are some different numbers. Mr. Brown said they can discuss it as a Board because he was thinking the same thing. Mr. Jewett said that he is doing this on a voluntary basis, and he has cleaned up some of the numbers. He said when they went to Dirigo Homes and told them what they wanted to do, some of the numbers that were submitted changed. He said he has tried to clean those up and has worked with Mr. Hastings to do so and give the Board the numbers they need. He said they worked on the impermeable surface numbers for one and reduced that by 4%. Mr. Brown said that the Board can make one of the conditions that the final numbers need to be submitted before any building permits can be issued. Mr. Brown said he felt the key to this was they were able to move it back more from the shore and they pushed it back significantly.
Mr. Gere asked if there was an erosion and sedimentation plan and Mr. Brown said it’s a narrative and straight forward. Ms. Lovering said that Todd Sharp is in control of that and it’s very important to him as well, as he and his family own the lots just down from them. Mr. Sharp is going to do the demo and the excavation. Mr. Brown opened the public hearing. Bill Caswell spoke and said that he is here and is glad they are going to be doing some erosion control. He asked what a benchmark is from the site plan and Mr. Brown told him it’s used when construction is going to happen, and the surveyor sets something on site for the contractor so they can get the right elevation for the foundation and anything else. He said a benchmark is significant to the individual site. Mr. Caswell asked about an unrecorded survey and Mr. Brown explained it’s a survey that isn’t recorded in the Cumberland County Registry of Deeds. He said the survey might be with the individual having it done, it could be at the Town Hall or elsewhere as a personal possession and it is not a public record.
Mr. Caswell said a couple of surveys were done, with one done with orange ribbons and one with pink ribbons. He said one was correct and one wasn’t. Mr. Brown said the different colors are used for different things like boundary markers, offsets if there are trees in the way, utilities often are flagged but they would have to talk to the surveyor to see what color means what. Mr. Caswell asked if the surveyor must tell them they are coming around and Mr. Brown said they do not have to. Mr. Caswell asked what grandfathered means and Mr. Hastings said it depends on what he is talking about. Mrs. Hastings said that various things like this, that are prior to 1989, and to the way things existed prior to that date. He said patios and other things get grandfathered and a lot of research is done by going through records like building permits, town files and any records and whatever else there may be.
Mr. Caswell asked if they had seen the old patio and foundation on the site walk and the Board said they had. Mr. Hastings said that those two things were calculated on the site plan that was submitted. Mr. Hastings said that is one of the reasons they do site walks. Mr. Caswell asked about hours of operation and Mr. Hastings said the ordinance says 7am-7pm. The public hearing was closed.
Mrs. Biegel said the numbers need to match the general information they have, and Mr. Brown said it’s just a matter of cleaning things up. Mr. Brown read the following staff recommendation:
“I move to the find the application for the reconstruction of a legally non-conforming home at 2 Glidden Road to be complete.”
Mr. Brown said that the applicants have submitted all documents needed plus an erosion and control narrative. He said he doesn’t think the Board is missing anything. Mrs. Biegel asked if this is still within 100 feet from the shore, can they have the crawl space? Mr. Brown said they would still need to have the floor of the crawl space at least 1 foot above the flood plain of the Lake. He said this is any floor in the building including the crawl space. Mr. Hastings said this will be checked by the Code Enforcement Officer. Mrs. Biegel asked if this is a DEP issue and Mr. Brown said no.
A motion was made by Mr. Brown to find the application complete, seconded by Mr. Walton. All in favor. Mr. Brown said a lot of the items in the memo they have already discussed. He said the new building will be the required 30 feet from the sideline and they are moving it back to the driveway. He said the septic will still be intact and there is no clearing of trees that is needed. Mr. Brown said the new building decreases the nonconforming lot. Mr. Brown read the following for Shoreland Review:
§237-16 D. Shoreland Review Criteria.
(a) Will maintain safe and healthy conditions; (This item is met.)
(b) Will not result in water pollution, erosion, or sedimentation to surface waters; (This item is met.)
(c) Will adequately provide for the disposal of all wastewaters; (This item is met.)
(d) Will not have an adverse impact on spawning grounds, fish, aquatic life, bird or other wildlife habitat; (No adverse impact is anticipated).
(e) Will conserve shore cover and visual, as well as actual, points of access to inland waters; (No notable vegetation is being removed as part of this proposal.)
(f) Will protect archaeological and historic resources as designated in the Comprehensive Plan; (The proposal will protect archaeological and historical resources).
(g) Will avoid problems associated with floodplain development and use; and (The structure is proposed to be above base flood elevation).
(h) Is in conformance with the provisions of § 237-15, Land use standards. (The board should discuss if the non-vegetated area is within the grandfathered existing conditions. If it is then this point is met.)
Mr. Brown ready the following:
“Move that the Board grant approval under the provisions of the Standish Land Use code for the application submitted by Bernard and Brenda Lovering, for the reconstruction of a legally non-conforming home at 2 Glidden Road in Standish. Having found the application to meet the requirements of §237-12, §237-15, §237-16, and all other applicable sections of the Standish Code of Ordinances with the following conditions:
V. CONDITIONS –
- All work shall be in conformance with materials and plans submitted by Audrey Lovering which consists of site plan, building elevations, and supporting application materials.
- This approval shall lapse and become void after one year if a substantial start is not made as laid out in §237-16.
- Per standards found in §237-12 C.1.b the Planning Board approval of this site plan is limited to structure setbacks to the maximum practical extent. The new structure will be set back from the apparent normal high-water line by approximately 60’ and this represents a practical relocation as allowed under the ordinance.
- 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.
- Prior to the issuance of any building permits the applicant will furnish the Code Enforcement Officer with a final impervious surface report.
Mr. Walton made a motion seconded by Mr. Wright to approve the application as amended. All in favor.
- Woods Aggregates, LLC, 249 Middle Road, Map 9, Lot 24-Blasting Application
Chris Woods was present to represent himself. Chris said that they are here as there is some rock, they need to blast in their existing gravel pit on Middle Road. Mr. Hastings said this is straight forward and the Board approved an existing gravel pit blasting permit last month, that is close to this pit. He said the Board has a map of the property showing where the closest neighbors are and where they want to blast, plus a full layout of the pit.
Mr. Brown said the blasting permit shows this in the area where there is no grading. Chris said the reclamation plan was drawn up to show everything in pods. He said they can reclaim it to match the plan, but they didn’t want to change anything. Mr. Hastings said they have a renewal every 5 years so they can talk about the changes then. Mr. Nappi asked why they needed to do this, and Chris said they need to flatten the area out where there is rock in it and as they develop the pit, they need room to stockpile materials. Chris said that the blasting will be split up into 3 or 4 times within the year. Mrs. Biegel asked if there are people that go shooting in their pit. Chris said their pit is fairly new compared to the Grondin pit and he isn’t aware of any problems. He said they let people hunt with permission and they have it posted with no trespassing signs.
Mr. Brown asked where the rock was, and Chris said it’s the dark area on the map. Mrs. Biegel asked if they have gates and Chris said yes and they are locked after hours. He said they have put up some big rocks in one area to prevent access. Mr. Brown said they are using the Grondin access road across from the Outpost on Rt.113.
Tony Folsom said that there has been some shooting there, one time and the rocks were not there. He asked the people to leave, and they did. He said Woods is the only one that has cameras up. Tony said that shooting still happens on the Shaw’s Earthworks pit and the Grondin pit. He said Woods has done the best in keeping people out. Tony said there was one incident with blasting that the Town had not been notified of and the Fire Chief was furious. He thinks that they need to make sure the Town knows when they are blasting. Mr. Hastings said there is already a condition there making sure this happens.
Gregg McPherson from Woods Aggregates said they intend to follow all regulations per the ordinance of Standish. Public hearing was closed. Mr. Brown read the following:
“I move to the find the application for a blasting permit as submitted by Woods Excavating to be complete as presented.”
A motion was made by Mr. Walton and seconded by Mr. Wright 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 Woods Excavating 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: “
V. CONDITIONS –
- All blasting must be done in accordance with the performance standards and notice requirements of §181-16.1 C and §181-16.1 D.
- This approval will expire 365 days from the date of approval as specified by §181-16.1 B.7.
- All conditions of previous approvals for the gravel pit operating on this site are included in this approval and remain in effect.
A motion was made by Mr. Brown and seconded by Mr. Gere to approve the application. All in favor.
Meeting adjourned at 7:55pm.