Standish Planning Board Meeting Minutes 09-12-2016
Standish Planning Board
Meeting Minutes
September 12, 2016
The meeting of the Standish Planning Board was called to order by Chairman Brian Libby at 7:00pm. Present were Adam Higgins, Carol Billington, Betty Thompson, Mike Willette, Town Planner Bud Benson and Jackie Dyer, Secretary to the Planning Board. Absent was Cindy Beckwith.
Approval of Meeting Minutes from August 01, 2016
The first item on the agenda was the approval of the meeting minutes from August 01, 2016. Mrs. Billington made a motion seconded by Mr. Willette to approve the minutes as written. All in favor.
Old Business:
Michael Lyons, dba Tower Publishing, 650 Cape Road, Map 3, Lot 20- Site Plan Application
Mr. Libby said that the applicant has asked for this to be tabled until the October 2016 meeting. Mr. Benson said they are going to have a fire pond installed and a dry hydrant, but the work has not started yet. A motion was made by Mr. Willette to table this application, seconded by Mr. Higgins. All in favor.
Suzanne Lacroix & Stacey Anderson, 97 Smooth Ledge Rd., Map 43, Lot 102,- Shoreland Zoning Application
Joe Williams was present to represent the applicant. Mr. Libby said a site walk was done last month. The applicant is looking to demolish one structure and remodel the other. Mrs. Billington asked how many feet from the big lake and Mr. Williams told her was more than a few hundred feet away. He said that they were approx. 68 feet back with the camp closest to the lake and in excess of more than 240 feet from the lake around the back. Mr. Libby said this is a very narrow lot.
There were no comments from the public. Mrs. Billington said she feels that this application is an open and shut decision. She said that most of the things in the approval deal with the CEO. She said she feels that this is moved back to the maximum practical extent. Mr. Willette agreed and made a motion to include all the conditions of approval in the memo, seconded by Mr. Higgins. All in favor. Application approved.
New Business:
Shaw Brothers Construction,(dba S.B. Freeport, Inc.,) Map 20, Lot 57-Route 35 - Gravel Pit renewal with expansion
Jon Shaw was present to represent himself as owner of S. B. Freeport, Inc. He said they are here for their 5 year gravel pit renewal and also an expansion. Mr. Libby said that before they present the application, he is an abutter to the gravel pit but feels he can proceed without a biased opinion. Mrs. Billington said she feels that he has deliberated on this before and should be okay. She made a motion that Mr. Libby can proceed on this issue, seconded by Mr. Willette. All in favor. Mr. Higgins asked Mr. Libby how long he has been on the Board and he told him eighteen years.
Mr. Shaw said that they have bought an additional 25 acres next to them from Mr. Dyer. He said they have no plans to go into that 25 acres yet. He said they have gone through DEP already and have had a public hearing with them. He showed the Dyer piece they purchased and he said the existing pit was approved to go straight back from 35. He also said they have purchased a parcel of land that belonged to Grondin’s and that abuts the pit, but is in Gorham. He said there was an agreement with Peter Busque and Grondins that a line would go straight through the pit and eventually Grondins was going to turn it into a housing project. He said at the last approval, they were going to stay back 25 feet from the line and they will leave that for now, as they have not been back to the Town of Gorham yet.
Mr. Benson said that he feels that the Board should take a site walk. He said one of his concerns is the water table in the pit. He said they are showing a proposed floor of the pit that is flat and he said he feels that there is a slope to the pit floor. He said there is a sand and gravel aquifer there. He said he isn’t in disagreement about the water table, but that there is a slope. He said there is a not on the plan, but he feels that on the Chadbourne Road side of the pit, the water table is below what they have.
Mr. Shaw said they received the comments from Mr. Benson. Mr. Shaw said he went out last week and dug four more test holes. He said he was able to hit the water table with his backhoe in the far right hand side of the pit, which has clay and seems sandy. He said it’s down either eight or nine feet. He said if you come to more of the middle of the pit, he went down twelve feet and hasn’t found water. He said he didn’t see water, but he could see where it began to cave in. He said in the Grondin pit, there are test borings and he said they are deeper than any they have in their pit. He said when the approval was done with Mr. Busque, they were supposed to change the reclamation plan to reflect the water table. He said on the side towards the Standish Neck Road, the water table is much different and seems to go up from the river.
Mr. Libby said that some of the Planning Board members haven’t seen the gravel pit. Mr. Willette made the motion seconded by Mr. Higgins to hold a site walk. All in favor. A site walk was scheduled for September 19, 2016 at 6:00pm.
St. Joseph’s College, 278 White’s Bridge Road, Map 20, Lot 32 - Site Plan Application for change of use(conversion of barn to a social events center)
Jim DeLuca, President of St. Joseph’s College was present to represent the college along with Peter Biegel of Land Design Solutions. Mrs. Thompson said she is an alumni of the College said she thought her opinion of this application would not be affected because of this. Mr. Higgins is also a student of the College and he feels he has no conflict of interest either. Mr. DeLuca said they are intending to add an events center and that’s why they are here. The barn across from the college has been renovated for functions and they would like to begin using this space as a permitted use. He said its part of the plan to be affordable and also sustainable in the future.
Peter Biegel with Land Design Solutions spoke. He said they are talking about the barn on the 28 acre parcel they have purchased, across the road from the campus. He showed a rendering of what the college owns on that side. He said the facility would be used from May through October. It is not heated and also the students would be gone most of the time during that period. It would be held for potential weddings, meetings, etc. He said that the users of the facility would be parking on the campus and then shuttled across the road either in vans used by the function staff, or in motorized golf carts. They would be dropped off at the entrance of the facility.
Mr. Biegel said there would be plenty of parking for those months when students aren’t on campus. When they are, they have worked the parking on campus to accommodate for this. He said at maximum capacity, they would need 98 parking spaces, all of which are available on the campus. He said maximum capacity for the events center is 278 people, per the Fire Marshall’s Office. They are thinking about rentals on Friday evenings and weekends, keeping it open for other potential possibilities.
If people were parked on the campus, there is the new sidewalk and also a footpath to get there, which would have temporary lighting during an event. He said they would also be shuttling, as discussed before. He said they are 300 feet from Westerlea Way and there is a fire hydrant located there and the Fire Department said that hydrant would service them. He said they have already had a traffic study and permit done and have also spoken with their traffic consultant, Diane Morabito. She has already written a letter to DOT to look at and do any modifications, but didn’t feel they needed to amend their present traffic plan. He said there are two driveways to the barn, one being gravel.
Mr. Biegel said that part of the farm is a working farm. He said they have a sheep pasture, which is fenced and some other animals. He said they also have vegetable gardens which are in full production. They are proposing no parking on the farm side at this time and no improvements. They would like to leave it as is. He said there is a patio and a stone wall that contains where the receptions or events would take place. He said the house was beyond repair and was torn down.
Matt Watley, an abutter, said he lives on the border of the field where the events center would be. He asked if there would be a cut off time for the events. He said with the schedule he works, he would need to be able to sleep. He said if the event goes into midnight that might be hard for him. Mr. Biegel told him that they would be adhering to the Town’s noise ordinance’s that are in place. He said they have to be at certain decibel levels and they would be making sure they did adhere to those.
Jim Morris, another abutter spoke. He said the College has a great record and he doesn’t mind hearing the noise of events like baseball games and other events. He asked for the college to keep like they are, cutting off events around eleven or so. He said they have always been great with all the neighbors on all sides. He asked about the use of the space and Mr. Biegel told him because where it is unheated, things would be limited. Mr. DeLuca said this would be used for academic functions also for the students. He said they all take an environmental science course and part of that is spending time on the farm. He said they might be holding conferences, meetings, etc. The weddings and receptions would be the biggest events they would ever be holding. He said they use it now, but the renovated barn before, was used for storage. Mr. Morris asked if the fire marshal’s use applied to using a tent for additional space. Mr. DeLuca said they can use the entire place. He said as far as the strategic plan in the future, they would have an enrollment with a cap of 1200 forever. He said they are trying to generate some revenue, without getting all of it from the students. He said they are trying to be respectful in their uses of the campus to everyone. He said these venues become part of the overall learning experience. He said they have the space they need to move forward in the future to grow, but that growth will happen over a number of years.
Mr. Morris said this is great but it is a bit of a shift for the college as they are now leaning towards generating some revenue. He said this college is a pure academic institution, and deserves a little bit of attention. He said they are great neighbors and the college has gone above and beyond being good to all of the neighbors. Cheryl Munn Watley spoke, she is also an abutter. She said she has been a paramedic for 30 years and is concerned about people crossing the road, as she feels it’s a blind curve. She said they have lost animals there and feels it’s more of a concern at night.
Mr. Morris said they have had accidents on the curb. Mrs. Thompson said she is concerned with things happening on so many campuses and she is concerned about safety. She said if something does go wrong, rescue vehicles would have more than enough room to get in and out. Mr. Biegel told her there are two entrances and exits, one that she did not see until he showed her. Mrs. Billington said she is concerned about an events center there open to the outside public and also the safety of the public with parking across the street. She asked about the impact with providing cars on the site.
Mr. Biegel said it would be pretty significant and with calculations, would take up about a half-acre, which would be part of the working farm that is there now. He said the ground is rough and rocky, which would entail a lot of work and a lot of money, with lights, paving, etc. He said they would have no idea on rentals for the property and they are not ready to invest so much money without knowing rather they are going to have any rental events or not. He said it would be hard to justify the amount of money with all of the parking available on the campus across the street. Mr. DeLuca said when they do the site walk they will see where the parking might be and it’s just as far from the barn as the on campus parking is. He said they have more than enough parking right now on campus without adding any on the farm.
Mrs. Billington said they approved a project years ago that required parking but it didn’t require any paving. Mr. Benson said there is nothing in the code that says you have to do paving. Mrs. Thompson said when they have big weddings elsewhere, people are paid to direct traffic and keep people safe. She said maybe this might be a thought.
A site walk was scheduled for Monday, September 19, 2016 at 5:30pm and then a workshop on Monday, September 26, 2016 at 7:00pm.
Mr. Watley said they might consider having parking on the opposite side away from the neighbors. He said that would still give access to the events center without crossing the road. Mr. Libby said that is why chose to have a site walk and a workshop , both of which the public is invited to attend.
Mr. Libby said there is an upcoming Ordinance Committee meeting on September 20, 2016. The meeting was adjourned at 7:48pm.