Standish Planning Board Meeting Minutes

                                      Standish Planning Board

                                            Meeting Minutes

                                              April 03, 2023

The meeting of the Standish Planning Board was called to order by Chairman Charles Brown. Present were Frank Nappi, Deb Boxer, Derek Wright, Andrew Walton, Scott Hastings, Town Planner and Jackie Dyer, Admin. to the Planner and Planning Board. Absent were Joleen Whittemore and Chris Struebing.

Open Meeting

           a.        Call to order by Chairman Charles Brown

           b.       Opening Statement from Planning Board Chairman

           c.        Declaration of a Quorum (5)

Approval of Meeting Minutes from March 06, 2023

Mr. Nappi made a motion to accept the minutes as written seconded by Mr. Walton. All in favor.

Approval of Finding of Fact:

• Kerri Brackett/Nick Simpson, 70 Ossipee Trail E, Map 10, Lot 64-Site Plan Application for Kerebear Child Care, LLC

Mrs. Boxer made a motion to approve the Finding of Fact, seconded by Mr. Nappi. All in favor.

New Business:

• Primax Properties (Tractor Supply), 63 Ossipee Trl E, Map 10, Lot 97 A-Site Plan Application to build Tractor Supply

Jim Fischer from Northeast Civil Solutions was present to represent the applicant. Mr. Walton said that he would like to make a motion to deny the application as it is not a complete application nor has the applicant tried to make the application complete and waivers should not be voted on. Mrs. Boxer seconded this motion. Mr. Hastings said that he would like the Board to listen to what the applicant has to say. Mr. Brown said this is not the final site plan and the applicant needs guidance to move forward. Mr. Hastings said the application is not complete and the Board rarely votes on completeness at the first meeting. He said the applicant is requesting the Boards view if they decide to move forward. Mr. Brown said he feels they should be able to make their presentation and Mr. Walton said a workshop was already held on this. Mrs. Boxer said she would agree they can present their application and she rescinds her motion to deny as there was no second on Mr. Walton’s motion.

Mr. Fischer said they are here for the Boards feed back and guidance and showed where the building would be. He said they are looking at Ordinances and some waivers to them. He said if the waivers are not applicable and exceptions are not made on some things, the project would essentially be done. He showed where the internal road would be and said it is not named yet. He said there are some traffic issues to be worked around and another lane added.

Jim said they are asking for some guidance on the Standish Corner District and there are some things allowed now that were not for years. He said this is a five-acre lot and they need to be able to work with what changes the Board would ask for. He said they want to be transparent. He said the site plan is not the issue, it’s the building façade and how it looks. Jim showed where the building would go on the lot, and they would have a 40–50-foot strip of land on Ossipee Trail East and frontage on the internal road. He said the side of the building would sit on the internal road’s front. Mr. Hastings said this would be considered a front lot and is L shaped. He said the entrance of this road would need to be squared up with Rose Lane. Mr. Hastings said this is important for the Board to allow a lot like this, it being a corner lot. He said they are looking for clarification from the Board that this is what they would allow. Mr. Hastings said that it doesn’t make sense to get the internal road closer to the farmhouse. Mrs. Boxer asked if it would be behind the farmhouse and Mr. Fischer said yes. He said the road will have a sidewalk.

Mr. Wright said the frontage of the building will be facing the internal road and not Ossipee Trail E. He said there is very narrow frontage on Ossipee Trail. Mr. Hastings said the building is positioned this way so that it hopefully meets the requirements of the Town and the Board. Mr. Hastings said the buildable area of the lot is orientated to the proposed building. Mrs. Boxer asked if they are doing a traffic study and Mr. Fischer said the counts have already been done and are now looking into the deceleration lane. She asked if the material comes in different colors and Mr. Fischer said it does. Mr. Fischer said the colors are easy and the material is durable. Mr. Brown asked about a different roof that looks like a colonial style roof and fits in better, plus hides the flat roof. Mr. Fischer said they can come back with modifications of architectural style, but a peaked roof doesn’t make sense on a building like this. Mr. Walton said the Colonial Marketplace has that look that fits in and Mr. Brown said those are pre engineered concrete panels with the façade not showing a flat roof.

Mr. Brown said with the height of the structure, a mansid roof would come down a bit over the edge. Mr. Walton said it looks strange on the sides with no doors or windows and nothing until you get to the entrance. Mr. Fischer said this building would not be as large as the Scarborough store and they could add windows on the sides of the building. Mr. Brown asked about the loading dock and Mr. Fischer said they can add some windows across the front, but not doors. He said they will also look into different building materials other than the CMU but feels what they want to build it out of will stand up better with low maintenance. Mr. Brown asked about concrete clapboards and Mr. Fischer said they do make them. Mr. Wright said its more about keeping the character of the neighborhood. Mr. Fischer said if it’s something that has a lot of maintenance, Primax will not do it. Mr. Fischer said there are a lot of little things they can work on and present back to the Board.

Mr. Fischer said they will go with the flat roof, but some kind of façade to hide it. They will come back with a building design, a road design and will present what they have. Mr. Walton said he worries about getting materials for the Planning Board little by little and delaying this making it go longer than needed. Mr. Wright said that he feels they should come back and show the Board what they have. Mr. Walton feels with materials coming in little by little that it will be a slow process. Mr. Fischer said that usually something like this might take 6 months and some of the permits take longer than usual. Mr. Brown said he agrees with Mr. Wright that they should have them back with the site plan and some of the façade issues to see what they have come up with.

Mrs. Boxer asked about plantings and Mr. Fischer said they have a landscape architect on board. She asked about big trees and Mr. Fischer said the smaller trees do better and many of the bigger trees do not survive. Mr. Brown said the ordinance states that native trees need to be planted.

Mr. Brown opened the meeting to public comment and said no decisions will be made tonight. Mr. Brown said that all comments will be limited to 3 minutes and asked people that want to speak to please come to the microphone.

• Helen Plourde-Gardenside Drive

President of Gardenside Estates. Concerned how many hardware stores there are already and is there a limit. Concerned about traffic as they have a hard time getting out to Rt.25, lights, hours of operation, drainage.

• Kat Blom-Ossipee Trail.

 Concerned about traffic and the noise. Said she likes the open fields. Moved here from Boston and how long will construction take? Thinks the building is ugly and should be painted white.

• Eleanor Dudek-24 BE Road

Passed out aerial view of Tractor Supply in Windham. Said Windham store is closing and that’s why they are coming to Standish. Lived here her whole life. Said Camping World is taking over the property. Not opposed but not in Village Center location.

• Larry Scola-Rose Lane (and Better Fit Fitness)

Said he chose Standish because it’s a small community and if its allowed, this will put other businesses out. He said this is a high traffic area and a problem. Said that this is not a building they want in town. Said people from many areas come here to the small businesses.

• Claudia Morton-Bonny Eagle Road

Said this butts up to her property and the traffic on Rt.25 is terrible and the building is ugliest thing she has seen. Said she has a hard time getting out of her driveway and has to leave early to get somewhere. Said no Tractor Supply’s are located anywhere in the center of any village, and we should not allow anything that looks like Walmart here.

• Pam Lance-Gorham (Buck Street)

Said she is close by in Gorham and comes to Standish to do her shopping. She said she doesn’t mind driving an extra 15 minutes to get to Tractor Supply in Windham. Said that if something like this is allowed, Standish will look like Windham with strip mall after strip mall. She said she works in Windham and traffic on Rt.35 is terrible.

• Maurie Hill-Wildridge Road

Said they chose this look because it’s the cheapest.

• Susan Duchaine-7 Starlit Way

Said she feels this would be exactly what Standish would want and not a bad looking building versus a Walmart. She said as the population moves more outward, the Town needs to supply them with places to shop and work. She says they are making a great effort to fit in, and the Town needs to start somewhere. Perfect fit.

• Dana Lampron-Westerlea Way

You can’t buy a pair of shoes in Standish and having something like this is not a threat to other small businesses. He said he brought a car wash to Standish and Pit Stop. Said they have more products in the store than the average. Said he shops in Windham because there is nothing here. Said the Town is stale and not moving forward. Perfect compromise.

• Jennifer Cote-23 Deer Hill North

Said she has two words…Family Dollar

• Carolyn Biegel- Ossipee Trail East

She said Town Avenue is supposed to provide a walking environment, residential housing, and retail. She says no one wants to look at this. She said their outdoor sales will be a mess to look at. She said the reason the doors and windows are at street level is to encourage you to go into businesses. She said the Standish Corner District is supposed to use the backlands for residential houses, business opportunities and economic development and be interconnected neighborhoods. She said this will not create any neighborhoods like that. She spoke about the Comprehensive Plan and what it calls for. She said she shops at Tractor Supply but doesn’t carry things home. She said she hopes the Town says no to this and it’s not the place for this in the heart of the Village.

• Jessica Becker-55 Ossipee Trail

 Said that they moved here for the peace and quiet, but not a Tractor Supply. She thinks this would deter people from coming to Standish.

• Pat Whitten-5 Sunflower

Said now with the childcare center going in by Rose Lane, it will make getting in and out very hard, with all of the additional cars coming and going.

• George McNeil-Manchester Road

George said that years ago the Town was approached by Grow Smart Maine and the gist was to allow Standish to grow but not like Massachusetts and bigger cities. He said the consensus was to preserve the rural look and not become like North Windham.

• Cara Childs for herself and her husband, Tom Childs-Blake Road

Town needs to maintain its rural character and seems Primax is reluctant to do what people want. Said that this doesn’t belong in the Village Center. She said if the Town is opened to this, what will it be next. She said we don’t want to sell our town because of money, and she doesn’t mind driving to North Windham. She said she would really not like to see this project at all.

• Dana Lampron

Said traffic is coming from people moving out here. He said if this doesn’t move forward, he can put in a Sagamore Village like Portland. Dana said this is what we would get if we kept running people and businesses out of Dodge.

• Kat Blom

Says she is pro- field. What about the other lane and the new road? This is a massive project and how long is this going to take. Why can’t this project be something else?

• Larry Scola

Standish Hardware and Steep Falls Building Supply will be run out of Dodge if this comes in.

Jim Fischer said that this is exactly what they are looking for in feedback and he thanked everyone. He said they will come back with a very substantial site plan and the answer to these questions and concerns. He said that some people are saying it shouldn’t be developed in the Village Center and that is an opinion. He said Primax wants to know how they will be perceived and what people think. He said they have looked at the master plan and everything Primax wants to do is allowed in that zone. He said if it was not Primax would not be here and would not have invested the money. He said they will be back before the Board at some point. Motion made by Mrs. Boxer and seconded by Mr. Walton to close the public hearing. All in favor. Motion to table this until the Board gets further information made by Mr. Nappi and seconded by Mrs. Boxer. All in favor.

• Leavitt Earthworks, Inc.,191 Ossipee Trl W, Map 10, Lot11A- Site Plan Application for Ossipee Trail Self Storage

Griffin Wood, Civil Engineer from Terradyn Consultants, LLC was present to represent Leavitt Earthworks, Inc. Brian Leavitt from Leavitt Earthworks was present as well. He said that they are proposing self-storage buildings on the site at 191 Ossipee Trail W. Griffin said the lot is 5.7 acres and in the Standish Corner District. Water is provided to the existing building by an on-site well and it has its own septic. They are proposing 10 self-storage and climate-controlled storage units. The water and sprinkler system will be hooked up to the water main serving Kayli Drive. There will also be an on-site hydrant. The existing gravel drive off from Ossipee Trail will be discontinued and the entrance will come off from Kayli Drive.

Mr. Hastings said that since his memo he has received other materials and apologized to the Board for their delivery tonight. He said the applicant has a letter of financial capacity and a fire report has been provided. Mr. Hastings said this is in the Town Gateway. He said this has street frontage in the Gateway and this is different than a town avenue, as in the previous application tonight. Mr. Hastings said this is a very impervious site and the Board needs to look at the stormwater and he is recommending a third-party review be done. He asked the Board if they wanted to have a site walk. He said the current fire suppression unit is not engaged. Mr. Brown asked if this is part of Highlands and would DEP be reviewing the stormwater. Mr. Brown asked about the current road and did that issue get resolved with the other property owner? Mr. Leavitt said they have access, but he doesn’t know if the situation was ever resolved. He said they have access over Kayli Drive but is not sure about the Ossipee Trail access.

The Board said they have no further questions and Mrs. Boxer said they should do a site walk. Mr. Wood said they have already done the application to DEP, and it could be months before they get anything back from them. Mr. Wright said he would like a site walk and see about the stormwater and drainage. Mr. Brown asked if the site would be fenced for security and Mr. Wood told him yes. The fence will be behind the tree buffer. Mr. Nappi asked if the fence would have privacy slats weaved through and asked them to look into this. Mr. Wood said all of the equipment would be moved to Leavitt’s pit in Limington. Mr. Leavitt said there is no plan for slats in the fence because of having the tree buffer. Mr. Leavitt said the office would remain there for Leavitt Earthworks and the storage facility.

A site walk was scheduled for Tuesday, April 11, 2023, at 4:30pm. Mr. Brown asked for the building on Ossipee Trail to be staked out and the length of the other storage units.  A motion was made by Mr. Wright to table the application. Mr. Hastings said a third-party review can be done but Mr. Brown and the Board said they were okay with the review from DEP. A meeting is scheduled for the public in the Sebago Lake Room on Thursday, April 13, 2023, at 3:30pm. Mr. Hastings said this is the DEP review but not the Planning Boards review.  Mr. Nappi seconded the motion to table this application. All in favor.                  

• Yates Builders, Cram Road, Map 6, Lots 32-1A, Lot 40- Subdivision-Phase 1 for 12 single family homes and Phase II for 8 single family homes

Craig Sweet with Terradyn Consultants was present to represent the applicant, Jim Yates from Yates Builders. He said the applicant is proposing to extend Cram Road over 3460 feet and gain access for the proposed homes. He showed the future connectivity to Phase II. Craig said they have had a survey done, each lot will have their own well and septic system. He said they are looking to treat stormwater with buffers and such. They have Cumberland County Soil and Water helping with the stormwater and drainage. He said they have marked some potential vernal pools and they will be added to the next application with more information. He said all of the lots are outside of the flood plain. He said they do not have anything for fire suppression yet but are thinking about a cistern. He said they are working with the Fire Department to see what the best water source for them would be.

Craig Sweet said that they are asking to go overhead with the utility lines because of the road and crossing the wetlands. He said it would be nearly impossible to run the utilities underground because of the road and the lay of the land. Craig said the land is forested. Mrs. Boxer asked who owns the road and Mr. Sweet said it’s a discontinued roadway but gives access to landowners. He said that the road has been discontinued since 1969. Mr. Brown said that he feels a legal opinion is needed about the roadway and who owns it, and can improvements be made to a road they do not own. Jim Yates said the road was purchased with lots and the only way it could be built on was to bring it to Town standards and he has spoken with Mr. Mosley about it. Mr. Brown said the Board needs more information on the road.

Mr. Hastings said the ordinance does use the phrase interior road, but none of these lots would have frontage on a public way. He said the houses would front off from Yates Road. He said this is basically a new road off from the right of way. Mr. Hastings said the intention of the Ordinance is that the roads be built to Town Standards and eventually turned over to the Town. Mr. Sweet said the road back there now is basically a tote road and has some challenges. Some grading will happen and there are some slopes that will need some mild grading. Mr. Sweet said the HOA will be in charge of the stormwater facilities. He said the upper lot does not show any open space but there will be. He said this will enable the lot owners to have a place where they can walk to.

Mr. Sweet said the end of the road now is narrow and they need to start the upgrading where the pavement ends. Mrs. Boxer asked about the stormwater and not being done until Phase Two. Mr. Sweet said that when DEP looks at it, they will look at the project as a whole and will include the different phases. He said that they meet all DEP regulations, and this will all tie in.  Mr. Sweet said there is a stream that cuts through the project and Josies Brook is at the end of the property. He said they must maintain at least a 75-foot setback to meet requirements. Mr. Brown asked Mr. Sweet to go over the numbers on the plan and the breakdown of open space, Phase 1 and Phase II. Mr. Brown said he is looking at the lot size of 30,000 square feet and the width. Mr. Sweet said these were figured differently as this is a conservation development and those are different. He said there are some buffers to be added. Mr. Brown said he thought the normal size was 80,000 square feet. Mr. Sweet said a cluster and a conservation subdivision are different. Mr. Hastings said Wildlands is a cluster subdivision.

Mr. Sweet asked if the Yates Road could be a 22-foot road with no sidewalk. Mr. Walton said he preferred a sidewalk. Mr. Sweet said on Cram Road there would not be a sidewalk. Mr. Brown asked about an esplanade. Mr. Hastings said in this district there is not a requirement for a sidewalk. Mr. Walton said a sidewalk makes a neighborhood safer when going down the street. Mr. Yates said that when they looked at the ordinance a sidewalk was not required and that would make a mile sidewalk on Cram Road. Mr. Walton said they are looking for one within the subdivision. Mrs. Boxer said that kids do use sidewalks. Mr. Brown asked about modifying the sidewalk to be cut in closer. Mr. Sweet said originally when they had the workshop, they did not have a sidewalk and it’s not a requirement.

Mr. Hastings asked if the Board felt strongly about having a sidewalk. Does the Board feel this is for safety? Mr. Brown said he is okay with not having one and Mr. Walton said they need to do these subdivisions correctly the first time around as you do not know what will happen in years down the road. Mr. Walton said this might not be the end of the development but just the beginning. Mrs. Boxer asked about the land that is open space and Mr. Sweet said part of it will be. Mrs. Boxer said she would like to see a sidewalk within the development. She also asked if the Town had a traffic study and Mr. Hastings said they need an estimate on trips that this development will cause. Mr. Hastings said that Gorrill- Palmer is reviewing the stormwater and the development with a third-party review. Mr. Hastings said that he didn’t think this would need a traffic study. Mr. Brown asked if the Board would like to hold a site walk. Mrs. Boxer said she would like to see the wetland areas. A site walk was scheduled for May 1, 2023, at 4:30pm before the next Planning Board meeting.

Mr. Sweet said there is a program he can upload to everyone that shows the site and will show where they are at the site. He said there is cell service at the site. Mr. Brown asked about the Homeowners’ Association and Mr. Sweet said they are in the process of developing that and the homeowners maintaining the stormwater management. Mrs. Boxer asked about the financial capacity and Mr. Hastings said they will need more information about it. Mr. Brown said this is not a complete application and Mr. Sweet said as soon as they can, they will submit everything. Mr. Brown opened the meeting to public comment.

• Anthony Folsom-Cram Road originally went to Dow Road. Will the road open all the way through. Mr. Brown and Mr. Sweet said the only thing open will be what exists now. Mr. Hastings said they are asking for clarification of ownership. Anthony asked if a bus can turn around and Mr. Brown said yes as it will be widened.
• Matt Marquis 60 Cram Road-when will the road construction start? He said a site walk ASAP would be a good thing to do because of the stream and runoff. He feels a lot of work and improvements need to be made to the road. Mr. Brown said he sees the wet area Mr. Marquis is describing on the site plan. Mr. Sweet said the site plan shows the stone wall and said they will stake out the right of way. Mr. Marquis said he has looked at the site plan and when it’s widened to 22 feet, is the developer responsible for the culverts? Mr. Sweet said Yates Builders will move or replace the culverts already there. Mr. Sweet said they will put rip rap where needed for erosion control. The widening of the road and paving will be done as soon as the project can start. Mr. Marquis said there is a lot of water at various times at the beginning of his driveway.

Mr. Sweet said the road will be ditched and everything is being addressed in the stormwater report. Mr. Brown said it shows it all in the plan and Mr. Sweet said it’s completely in the right of way. Mr. Sweet asked what the homeowners would do when the road was under construction? Mr. Sweet said they had not gotten to that yet. Mr. Sweet said they are doing a HOA and they would need to take care of the stormwater management and maintain the road until it is accepted by the Town. Mr. Brown said from Rt.25 to the end of the now Cram Road is maintained by the Town. Mr. Yates said that the road will be the first things done as they need access to get equipment through. He said they will be doing some cutting of trees and clearing things out. Mr. Yates said they have a crew doing the road and hoping the road is done within a day or two and cause very little impact to all of the residents.

Mr. Yates said the existing road there now is in fairly good shape and not much to be done to it. He said they need to get an access road to the lots as soon as they can so people can drive in there and look at the lots. Mr. Marquis said that there are some trees that probably need to come down along the road as its narrow and plows have hit them. Mr. Sweet said the width of some places is limited. Mr. Hastings recommended that the residents sit down and have a talk about things and exchange contact information. Mrs. Boxer asked if this is a conservation easement and Mr. Hastings said they have identified buffers, stormwater, etc. They will clear for the lots, the utility poles, the road, etc. Beth Malia said three plans have been proposed here tonight and she feels that things are not consistent. She said she feels there should be a standard that everyone should have to follow, and she is not seeing that tonight. Mr. Marquis said with the number of homes that are proposed to be built, it’s a 150% increase of traffic on Cram Road. Mr. Hastings said he has asked for comments on the traffic and is waiting for answers to those.

• Jeff Cutler 52 Dow Road- glad a site plan review of the wetlands is being done. He said if this is done right it will be beautiful and he supports Mr. Yates’ project. He asked the Board to focus on the stormwater runoff and the wetlands. He said one feeds Bonny Eagle Pond and the other feeds Josie’s Brook. He said these are huge wetlands and the stormwater run off is significant and there are wild brook trout in those streams. He said he can’t iterate enough how significant these wetlands are.
• Maurie Hill- said she is curious about the wetlands. What is the large piece to the left of the wetland and Mr. Hastings said it’s a property on Cape Road that has just been logged and owned by someone else.
• Claudia Morton- BE Road. Said she is concerned about housing in the Town. She said they would rather have a development like this than low-cost housing or high rises.

A motion was made by Mr. Nappi and seconded by Mr. Walton to close the public hearing. All in favor.

A site walk was scheduled on Monday, May 1, 2023, at 4:30pm.