Standish Planning Board Meeting Minutes
Standish Planning Board
Meeting Minutes
August 01, 2022
The Standish Planning Board meeting was called to order by Chairman Charles Brown at 6:00pm. Present were Chris Struebing, Andrew Walton, Jolene Whittemore, Frank Nappi, Deb Boxer, Derek Wright, Town Planner Scott Hastings and Jackie Dyer, Admin to the Town Planner and Planning Board.
Open Meeting
a. Call to order -Chairman Charles Brown
b. Opening Statement from Planning Board Chairman Brown
c. Declaration of a Quorum-7 members present
Approval of Meeting Minutes from June 06, 2022
Mr. Brown said he had called Mrs. Dyer with a couple of corrections and those had been taken care of. Mrs. Whittemore asked for a correction also. Mr. Struebing made a motion to approve the minutes as amended, this was seconded by Mr. Wright. All in favor.
Approval of Finding of Fact:
- Highlands Subdivision, Map 10, Lot 11-Subdivision Amendment (Property conveyances to Standish Baptist Church and Leavitt Development, LLC)
- SAD #6, 719 Bonny Eagle Road, Map 3, Lot 59-Site Plan Amendment to add a propane fueling station at the bus garage
- Mark Goodwin, 234 NE Road, Map 10, Lot 48-Site Plan Application for medical marijuana retail sales
- Wood Aggregates, LLC, Oak Hill Rd., Map 9 Lot 24-Gravel pit Amendment to change access from Oak Hill Road to Pequawket Trail
- Mark Floor/Mark Illian, 405 Oss. Trl. W, Map 5, Lot 45B-Site Plan Application for a restaurant at the former Two Trails Diner
Mr. Brown said he had read through all five Findings of Fact and would like to approve them all as written. Mr. Nappi made a motion to approve all, seconded by Mr. Struebing. All in favor.
New Business:
- Earl Aube & Peters Construction, 435 Boundary Road, Map 12, 13 Lots 4,5,42B,42C-5-year gravel pit renewal
Chad Havu was present to represent Peters Construction. He said that nothing had changed since the last operator and they would like to continue as it has been, with no changes. Mr. Hastings said that this is all straight forward, and this is their 5-year renewal. He said there has been an inspection. Mr. Brown said in the southwest area, this is not shown on the plan as being mined. Mr. Hastings said the plan the Board has is not the original, but that is on the plan. Mr. Brown asked if the DEP has sent their letter of requirements and Mr. Hastings said it was on file.
Mrs. Boxer said she would like a site walk as this is the first time Peters is before the Board with this pit. She said she would like to see what reclamation has been done and look at the monitoring wells. Mr. Havu said they are in Phase two of the approved pit. Mrs. Boxer asked about the 75-foot set back from the stream and Mr. Havu said they are not near the stream. Mr. Brown asked for public comment and there was none. Mr. Walton said he would attend the site walk if he could. Mr. Hastings said they submitted their application before June 30th and are actively working on it. A motion was made by Mrs. Boxer and seconded by Mr. Nappi to conduct a site walk. The vote was 5-2. A site walk was scheduled for Tuesday, Sept. 6, 2022, at 3:30pm
- Patrick Michaud, 6 Apple Lane, Map 35, Lots 34-17 & 34-18-Site Plan Application for village housing
Andy Nadeau from Horizons Engineering was present to represent the applicant, Patrick Michaud. Mr. Grysk said that this is Cider Mill and not Apple Lane. Mr. Hastings said that Apple Lane was the initial application as that was where the first lot was purchased. He said this is a multifamily housing project and now on two lots, they would like to build some town houses. Mr. Nadeau said that several houses have been built. He said that when Mr. Benson was the Town Planner, he was the one that recommended they do some village housing within the project. He said that this is within the form-based code that allows for multifamily housing.
Mr. Nadeau said one of the requirements of this project was that it provided different kinds of accesses for traffic routing. He said the requirement was that 50 foot right of ways between the lots be provided. Mr. Nadeau said that the topography is not suitable for this as a lot of it passes through wetlands. He said they are asking to eliminate this requirement between lots 17 and 18, as that is where they would like to do the village housing. He said they have met with Mr. Hastings about this, and he felt they were given good answers. He said in this district they can do single bedroom units or two-bedroom units. He said they opt to do single bedroom units. Mr. Nadeau said they are not age restricted and the plan is to do 10 single bedroom, single story units.
Mr. Nadeau said that Jason Vafiades from Atlantic Resource Consulting did the engineering work but was unable to be here. He said they do have a landscape plan and some architectural drawings so the Board could get a feel of what they are proposing them to look like. He said there will be onsite septic, some grading, and some other needs. Mr. Hastings said that in the memo there are some items missing, but are now in. He said he has not seen the landscape plan nor the septic design. He said they don’t have the financial capacity letter from the applicant and there is some previous work from the other phase that needs to be finished.
Mr. Nadeau said the applicant had submitted a letter and he is a private investor. He said a purchase and sale agreement is in place, but Mr. Hastings said they need a letter from a financial institution stating his financial capability for this project. Mr. Hastings said that the Board may also want a third-party review. Mr. Nadeau said the storm water pond will have plantings in it and landscaped, as it sits in front of the project and on the road. Mr. Nadeau said that he feels it meets the 25-year storm requirement. Mrs. Boxer asked about the 25-foot buffer to the road and Mr. Nadeau said that is met and all you will see will be the vegetated pond, plantings, and trees. Mrs. Boxer said she remembers that the Board was told there might be duplexes and she wonders how the others that bought lots feel about this.
Mr. Hastings said if they are condos, then an association needs to be formed as to how these are going to be maintained and how the stormwater will flow. Tom Daniels spoke and said the other people that purchased other lots, the homeowner’s association document said that they were reserving two lots for this purpose and those opposed, there is one, he felt she didn’t read the document. He said there was never a mention of duplexes ever and these are single bedroom townhouses. He said they are not doing age restricted as he feels that some potential buyers would be younger than 55. He said the Town encouraged them to bring village housing in. He said they would never do duplexes or have them included in the subdivision. Mrs. Boxer said she thought they were going to do different things like a park, walking trails, etc.
Mr. Daniels said he feels they have done what they were asked to do and what they said they would do. He said they kept the snowmobile trails open, and people also use those for walking. He said the subdivision is not done and there is not a lot of land for trails, but they will have the sidewalks. He said they could not put a right of way on everyone’s land but feels the association could do that. Tom said it falls back on the homeowners to make things happen and he feels they will. He said he feels that they have a very good mix of people. He said they have two letters of concern, one from residents on Village View. Mr. Daniels said they were concerned about the mixed housing. He said in the original plan, they had laid aside three lots primarily for village housing, so they are not changing anything from that plan.
Mr. Daniels said the housing was always part of the plan. He addressed the statement that the subdivision had morphed from the original plan. He said that is not true, as they have exactly what was in the plan. Tom said that Lot 14 has a triangle shape, and this was reserved for a single-family home. He said the abutters on both sides wanted the housing to move to Lots 17 and 18, giving more room elsewhere and not an increase in volume. Tom said the subdivision is probably 75% complete and not much can be changed at this point. He said they are trying hard to do the right thing but there are some things that are beyond their control. Tom said that noise is always a concern, and they are trying to limit the impact of that, as well as respecting the neighbors. He addressed the concern about people and pets trespassing on their property. He said a lot of people in the neighborhood do have dogs and he doesn’t feel they would let their animals stray onto someone else’s property. He said to his knowledge, that hasn’t happened. He said the occupants in the furthest house, they had sold that lot to a contractor, but the new owner did get the HOA stating everything about the subdivision. This owner said they were concerned about the road width, but he said with construction going on, there are construction vehicles and one lane. Tom said they are doing their best to accommodate and not inconvenience anyone but will try and do better. Tom said if these are approved, all the construction equipment will be kept on the site. Tom said the road to the townhouses would have sidewalks for pedestrian and he feels can accommodate what will be needed.
Mrs. Boxer asked about architectural drawings and all facilities. She said the drawings look like a warehouse and feels won’t work. Tom Daniels said they will all have their individual laundry facilities. He said their architect is working on the renderings and what the buildings will look like. Their architect was behind on drawings but needed to give the Board something. He said he feels that no one in the neighborhood would have a problem with how they are going to look. Tom said each unit is around 1000 square feet, with an office, one bedroom and a bathroom included. Tom said there will be no rentals and that is in the Homeowners Association agreement. They will not be rentals like bed and breakfasts. Tom said there is also plans for a clubhouse.
Mr. Nadeau said there will be a substantial landscaping done. He said the road elevation is around 400 feet. He said they are showing plantings on the down hill side as well. He said they will be hardwoods like maples to provide screening of the units and other vegetation. Mr. Nadeau said there is no plan to use impervious pavement for runoff. He said that it must be maintained to be impervious. Mr. Brown asked about the septic and Mr. Nadeau said he couldn’t answer anything about that. Mr. Brown said that a third party needs to be done for the septic, leach field and water runoff. Mr. Nadeau said that once the septic design is done, he feels it could be better explained. Mr. Brown talked about a vegetative buffer and what it was exactly. Mr. Nadeau said he thought the land scaping plans would show all of that. Mr. Brown asked about waivers from the Board on driveway vegetation and buffers. Mr. Hastings said that needs to be explained as far as screening goes and what plantings will be done.
Mrs. Boxer said the Board should look at vegetative buffer and definitions. She said there are state vegetation laws and definitions. Mr. Hastings said that there are many different definitions. Mr. Daniels said that there won’t be any building behind the proposed village housing and Mr. Hastings said there still needs to be a buffer. Mr. Daniels said the land behind it is very wooded. Mrs. Whittemore asked about the architectural drawings and Mr. Hastings said the Board would need them to see what they look like. Mr. Brown feels a third-party engineer should look at stormwater and the retention pond. Mr. Brown asked about the piece of land as a right of way between the lots. Mr. Hastings said that the Town would eventually take the road over. The Board feels a site walk is needed and one was set for Tuesday, September 6, 2022, after the site walk at the Peters Gravel Pit. All the information for the application should be in by then Mr. Nadeau said.
The Ward’s from Village View spoke and said that the office in the town house could be used for another bedroom. Mr. Ward said that this plan has changed several times and he had never heard anything about a duplex or village housing. He said that he feels it will cause a lot more noise and disturbance. Stan Gryskwicz spoke and said he felt this project has been a mess from day one. He said that when Westbrook Housing owned the property, they were told that they could not put in age restricted homes as there was no way but one onto the property. He said the Daniels bought his neighbors house so they could have a road into the property. He said there are four houses and were restricted to a single-family dwelling. He feels they have done whatever they want to. Mr. Grysk said the road rules are not obeyed and he said even the construction people don’t stop at the stop sign. He said he feels that Apple Lane is overburdened with cars.
Tom Daniels said he and Stan are good friends and he has a lot of respect for him. He said they did not clear the trees, Westbrook Housing did. Tom said a lot of people work from home and their thought was if each town house had an office, that might be a selling point. Mrs. Whittemore asked about two bedrooms and Mr. Daniels said they are one bedroom only and an intended office space. Mrs. Whittemore asked about the second bathroom and Mr. Daniels said the second bathroom is only a half bathroom. He said the office would not have a closet. Mrs. Whittemore said that she thought it was two full baths. Mr. Daniels said the architect has the Town ordinances and the criteria for the architectural standards. Mr. Struebing made a motion to table this seconded by Mrs. Boxer. All in favor.
Mrs. Boxer said she had a question and asked about any applications that are considered tabled and are they still open applications. She said she is asking about the Standish Fish and Game Club and is this still being considered. Mr. Brown said it was tabled until the Board received more information from them, and Mr. Hastings confirmed that. She said she is of the understanding that the Town is doing repair work on the road by the property and the Fish and Game Club are working on their property as well. She asked if they would still need to come back to the Board before they can build a clubhouse. Mr. Hastings said that this is an open application, and any improvements would require a site plan. Tony Folsom rose to speak, and Mr. Hastings said this is not a topic item for this meeting and will not be discussed. Mrs. Boxer said her question was just a technical one.
Election of Chairman and Vice Chairman
Mr. Struebing nominated Mr. Brown for Chairman seconded by Mrs. Whittemore. All in favor with Mr. Brown abstaining.
Mrs. Whittemore nominated Frank Nappi for Vice Chair seconded by Mrs. Boxer. All in favor with Mr. Nappi abstaining.
Meeting adjourned at 7:30pm