Standish Planning Board Meeting Minutes
Standish Planning Board
Meeting Minutes
September 12, 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, Town Planner Scott Hastings and Jackie Dyer, Admin. to the Town Planner and Planning Board. Absent was Derek Wright.
Chairman Brown read the opening statement and declared a quorum with six Planning Board members present.
Approval of Meeting Minutes from August 01, 2022
Mrs. Whittemore made a motion seconded by Mr. Walton to approve the meeting minutes with one correction presented by Mr. Brown. All in favor.
Old Business
- Earl Aube & Peters Construction, 435 Boundary Road, Map 12, 13 Lots 4,5,42B,42C-5-year gravel pit renewal
A rep from Peters Construction was present to represent them. Mr. Brown said a site walk was held on September 6 and they also received an aerial photo today showing the reclaimed and open areas. Mr. Hastings said the aerial shows the reduction in the setbacks and the current boundaries. Mr. Aube received new deeds from current abutters with the new setbacks. Mr. Hastings said the only change is the deeded agreements that we have received and the setback changes. Mr. Hastings asked if the Board wanted them to update the reclamation plan and Mr. Brown said they are controlled by the Maine Dept. of Mining, and he felt the report could be sent to staff as part of the condition of approval #4. Mrs. Whittemore asked about the 2022 inspection and Mr. Hastings said probably in November. Mr. Brown said there will be no major regrading. The representative said they might bring a crusher in for some materials.
There were no public comments. Mr. Struebing made a motion seconded by Mrs. Whittemore that the application is complete. All in favor. Mr. Brown said he went through the site plan criteria and didn’t see anything wrong. A motion was made by Mr. Struebing to approve with the application and seconded by Mr. Nappi with the corrected wording for condition #4 “must be submitted to Town staff prior to the 2022 annual pit inspection.” All in favor.
- Patrick Michaud, 6 Apple Lane, Map 35, Lots 34-17 & 34-18-Site Plan Application for village housing
Tom Daniels was present to represent the applicant. Mr. Brown said a site walk was done on September 6 and staff has not seen any new information. Mr. Hastings said a third-party review has been started but he has not seen anything. Mr. Daniels said he spoke to the engineers today and he thought a couple of items needed to be talked about with the Board. He said that it isn’t clear about the vegetated buffer zone and if the intent of the buffer is for screening, additional vegetation can be added. Mr. Daniels asked about the set back also as the surrounding homes are closer to the road.
Mr. Daniels said they feel they can cover the additional screening for the driveway to the Townhouses and he said the Fire Department would like a hammerhead turnaround to remain for their equipment to be able to turn and maneuver as they should. Mr. Brown asked about waiving the screening for public safety and Mr. Hastings said dimensional standards cannot be waived. Mr. Brown said the driveway would be taken thru the setback and the buffer. Mr. Hastings said they would have to have access to cross this buffer and this intrusion can be found reasonable. Mr. Hastings said the CEO found the layout to be presentable and adequate as presented. Mrs. Boxer asked about adding trees and a garden and Mr. Brown said this was at the end, but more landscaping could be done.
Mr. Brown said they would need to go through the fifty-foot buffer to get to any of these lots and they have gone through the buffer once. Mr. Hastings said he feels this is at the discretion of the Board. He said they might need to rework this buffer as it is all about screening and visibility, noise, and separation from the homes there. Mr. Daniels said there is still a decent buffer there and with added screening, they feel it would be easy to add more screening. Mr. Brown said they need room for snow plowing also and piling the snow.
Mr. Daniels asked if they showed additional and sufficient buffering would the Board be satisfied with that? Would the Board be willing to say that would meet the requirement and not have to do any major changes to the plan? Mr. Brown asked if they were now proposing a six-foot fence with trees behind it and Mr. Daniels said yes. Mr. Walton said he feels more screening should be done. He said everything including the driveway would be above people heads and what would this look like from any direction? Mr. Brown said its mostly where they would back around, and the lights would be going into the windows of the houses. Mr. Brown said there are trees on the slope. He said they are also going to have a condominium plot about maintaining the landscape. Mr. Hastings said the Board would want to see the document and review it and the conditions of approval need to be maintained.
Mr. Daniels said their attorney, Jen Thomas is working on this document and the engineer is working on a maintenance plan for the condo association. Mr. Daniels said that there have been test holes on the property for an 1800 gallon per day septic system. Can the approvals be contingent on a satisfactory HHE200? Mr. Daniels said the land and soils are all suitable and the system is shown on the plan. Mr. Hastings said all the changes they are making need to be shown on the plan submitted and it should be here in the next meeting. He said the staff would want the complete design with the chambers and contours of the land. Mrs. Boxer asked if more than 20% affects this as a buildable lot and Mr. Brown and Mr. Hastings said this only pertains to shoreland zoning. Mr. Nappi asked who owns the septic system and Mr. Daniels said it would belong to the Homeowners Association, which will be formed when this is approved.
Mr. Daniels said the maintenance of the septic would belong to the HOA and must be kept up on a yearly basis. He said it would be in their yearly HOA dues. Mr. Daniels said the subdivision has their own HOA known as Brookstone and they have their own maintenance agreements as far as storm water ponds and storm water run off goes. He said they have some drainage things on each owner’s property are taken care of by the individual property owners. Mrs. Boxer asked if the system fails, what happens? Mr. Daniels said the condo owners would be responsible. He said that if a roof leaks or something else, there will be a set fee to cover regular maintenance will hopefully cover everything over a 30-year period. The condo declarations will be sent to staff for review before any vote is taken and Mr. Brown said they need a final plan for the turnaround and making sure there is enough room. Mr. Brown said the Board has always allowed the applicant to traverse thru a buffer and Mrs. Boxer said that if they are not breaking any laws, it would be okay. Mr. Walton said it would be a no parking zone and Mr. Daniels agreed.
Mr. Brown said where the trees are shown it looks like there will not be any damage of them as they are set pretty far back and not right up close to the road. The application is tabled to the October 3, 2022, meeting.
New Business:
- R.J. Grondin & Sons, 295 Middle Road, Map 9, Lot 1 Blasting Application
Steve Blais from Blais Civil Engineering was present to represent Larry Grondin. He said they are looking to blast some ledge within the pit. He said this is phase one and consists of approximately 17 acres. He said Grondin’s has had a lot of experience in blasting with 40+ years of experience and this is not a huge blasting application, just to get ledge out of the way.
Mr. Blais handed out an aerial of the pit and where the blasting of the ledge would occur. He said the distances shown are the distances from property lines and the maximum would be 17 acres. Mrs. Boxer asked if they would be blasting all 17 acres and Mr. Blais said this is just approximate. Mr. Brown said a site walk was done back in 2020 and this is the area to the left. He said the ledge was discovered later. Mrs. Boxer asked if a geologist had surveyed this and wouldn’t they have known when they bought the land. Mr. Brown said they do test holes, but that is not always shown. Mrs. Boxer said she has two pages of issues with this.
Mr. Hastings said this is very straight forward. Mrs. Boxer said that nothing at the former meeting was mentioned about blasting. She said the noise ordinance is 60 dba’s and they wouldn’t be able to go above that level. She said the noise ordinance is used to protect the other landowners. Would they want to blast other places too and Mr. Blais said if they do, they will have to come back to the Board. Mrs. Boxer said the comprehensive plan talks about natural resources as a high value natural resources and habitat. She said that there is also a protected resource, the wildlife uses 330 feet around the pond, she would like to see a letter from DIFWL and Maine Natural Areas, Maine Audubon Society, US Fish and Wildlife, aerial photography of the area and she said we need a plan large enough to read as she can’t see it even with glasses on. Mr. Brown said we have 24x26 plans and Mrs. Boxer said she doesn’t have time right now to look at it. She spoke about the noise ordinance, and they would have to adhere to it and also for the blasting ordinance. Mrs. Boxer said quarries and sand pits have different standards. Mr. Brown asked if Maine Bureau of Mining covers them, and Mr. Blais said he wasn’t sure. Mr. Blais said they did file a notice to comply with DEP.
Mr. Brown said this is not an active quarry and Mr. Hastings said this does not constitute a quarry. Mr. Blais said this ledge would be mixed in with the other materials. Mrs. Boxer said if you look at the high value habitat map from Standish and the Comprehensive Plan, it would be helpful. She said there are freshwater wetlands and natural habitats in this area with salamanders and turtles. Mr. Brown asked if letters were sent with permits for the pit. Mr. Blais said he knows a letter went to Maine Preservation and he wasn’t sure about DIFWL. Mr. Walton asked if they couldn’t blast, what was the alternative and Mr. Blais said the materials would be a lot harder to get. He said they might have to go into another phase. Mr. Brown asked if Mr. Grondin could map out where the ledges are exposed. Mrs. Boxer said if they could overlay the area and said that would be helpful. She said blasting affects all the neighbors, all of the wildlife and the water quality of Little Watchic. Mrs. Boxer said until she sees proof of all of that, she can’t make a decision.
Mr. Blais said he has been fighting ledge his whole career and there are times that you do not know where it is until you get into the project. He will meet with Mr. Grondin. Mr. Hastings said the comprehensive plan does not contain the map being talked about and it is very outdated. He said there is no expletive that mentions a wildlife habitat or a high value habitat. Mrs. Boxer asked if the map on the web site was not right, and Mr. Hastings said he doesn’t have access to that map right now. He was talking about another map he was able to access.
Anthony Folsom said that most gravel pits that are being opened up are like an act of god. He asked if this is Phase one and how many more will there be. He said there are two places where the ground has opened and the other one is on Job Road. He said he would like to know how much more blasting would there be in Town. Mr. Blais that quarries have safety measures they follow, and they do fifty feet of blasting at a time. Mrs. Boxer asked if the timber had been cut and Mr. Brown said the pit is cut with openings to excavate gravel. Mr. Nappi asked about the duration of the blasting and Mr. Blais said 15-20 total blasts from October 2022-August 2023. He said that the blasts will not be all at once. Mr. Blais said the blasts will happen from time to time and people would be alerted as required by the ordinance. Mr. Struebing made a motion seconded by Mr. Walton to table this to the October 3, 2022, meeting. All in favor.
- Richardson’s Boat Yard,633 Whites Bridge Road, Map 20, Lot 21 E-Site Plan Application for an additional boat storage rack building
Dustin Roma was present to represent Richardson’s Boatyard. He said the building they want to construct is about the same as the other one that was done a year ago. It is all metal and will be 60’x209’ and in the same area as the other. Dustin said there is a gated access through the boatyard and no use of Whites Bridge Road. He said this is an open rack building. He said this is two buildings essentially side by side and an access from all sides and the ends. He said the other building is 30X209. Mr. Roma said they will have crushed stone for water coming down and infiltration into the ground.
Mr. Roma said that this will relieve a lot of congestion within the main boatyard and eliminate a lot of shrink wrapping to the boats. He said this will make it much easier for the owners to store boats and there is no public access. He said the Fire Department does have access via the gate if needed.
Mr. Roma said the piece being built on is 4 ½ acres and outside of the shoreland zone. Mr. Hastings said the CEO and fire department are fine with this plan. Mrs. Boxer asked about the boats and would they use White’s Bridge Road and Mr. Roma said no, they will come directly up from the lake. Mr. Brown said the Board has the preliminary plans for the buildings, water run off and landscaping. There is no pedestrian access. Mr. Hastings said he had received a letter from the applicant’s bank stating they have the financial capability to build this.
Anthony Folsom spoke and asked about fire suppression and if this catches fire, it will be a big mess and leak into the lake. Mr. Hastings said there is a fire hydrant directly across the road and the basin is also a source with another fire hydrant. He said that this is open storage and no need for a sprinkler system. Dustin said there is not an combustible materials the building is made out of. He said there are a lot of boats. Mr. Nappi asked when the boats are stored and how much fuel is left in 60 boats? Mr. Roma said it is on however the owners leave them. A lot of them have fuel additives for the winter months. Mr. Roma said most of the boats have contained and inside gas tanks.
A motion was made by Mrs. Boxer and seconded by Mr. Struebing to find the application complete. All in favor. A motion was made by Mrs. Whittemore to approve the application seconded by Mr. Struebing with the stated conditions of approval. All in favor. A motion was made to adjourn and seconded at 7:20pm. All in favor.