Planning Board Meeting ~ November 5, 2025

2025-11-05 · Planning Board · 2:19:04 · watch on YouTube →

The Planning Board met on November 5, 2025 with all five members and town planner George Thebarge present. It granted final site plan approval for a 40-site RV campground expansion, the applicant having obtained the state wastewater and storm water permits required as conditions of the earlier preliminary approval. Most of the meeting was a sketch plan review of a proposed 14-lot cluster subdivision on about 94 acres at 439 Quaker Meeting House Road, presented by engineer Joe Martin of Sightlines; the board raised road frontage, open space, wetland crossing and interconnection questions and set a site walk for Sunday November 16. On ordinance work, the board voted to pull the noise standards out of this year's minor policy changes and revisit them next year, heard the town attorney's comments on several other provisions, and agreed to leave abutter notification with applicants while adding a town check. John Talbot stood down as chair because he is sworn into another office the following day, and the board elected Brian (?) to replace him.

What was discussed

1. 15:40
   Roll call, agenda and minutes

   Five members were present, making a quorum. John Talbot asked to add an election of chair to the end of the agenda because he cannot serve as chair once he is sworn in the following day. The minutes of the October 1 regular meeting and the October 22 land use ordinance meeting were accepted.

2. 15:40
   Town planner's report

   George Thebarge's monthly report to the town manager was included in the packet. A member complimented its thoroughness. No questions were raised.

3. 21:06
   Final site plan approval for the campground expansion

   The applicant returned for final approval of a 40 RV site campground expansion, having received conditional use approval in September 2023 and preliminary approval in 2024. The outstanding conditions were the state wastewater and storm water permits, both now obtained, and site numbering worked out with the fire chief, which is with the map maker. Ken York (?) said storm water work would likely start in the spring and that construction would be spread over a couple of years so as not to close the business. A member recused himself as a neighbour.

4. 26:12
   Sketch plan: 14-lot cluster subdivision, 439 Quaker Meeting House Road

   George Thebarge summarised the staff notes: about 94 acres with 17 acres retained by the current owner, a 1,500 foot dead end road, 12 cluster lots plus a conventional lot at the entrance and a retained lot at the end. He flagged that the end lot and the retained land do not appear to have the legally required road frontage, and questioned whether the proposed easement satisfies the ordinance's open space requirement, recommending the applicant get a legal opinion at the sketch plan stage. He also noted mapped farm soils and that the ordinance requires the board to consider interconnection with Collins Way, which comes to the property line.

5. 31:57
   Permits required for the subdivision

   Joe Martin (?) said the project does not trigger site location or storm water management law permits but does require a storm water permit by rule, a tier one DEP wetland permit for an estimated 7,000 to 10,000 square feet of wetland impact, a Maine construction general permit, and an Army Corps general permit. Because the site is in northern long-eared bat habitat, clearing trees over three or four inches near wetlands requires consultation with US Fish and Wildlife and usually a seasonal clearing window, which also binds future lot owners. He noted the federal shutdown has left the Army Corps minimally staffed, so review times are unpredictable.

6. 37:12
   Site layout and open space

   The plan shows wetland fingers running up through the proposed road corridor and steep slopes mostly kept in the open space. About 45 acres would be open space, held as an easement on lot 13 rather than as a separate lot, which Joe Martin (?) said avoids the open space counting as an extra lot towards the state's 15-lot site location threshold. Members questioned whether an easement meets the town's definition of open space.

7. 48:16
   Road frontage and back lot questions

   Lot 13 appears to lack the required contiguous road frontage, which the current code officer interprets as having to be a straight line rather than wrapping the turnaround. The retained 17 acres is proposed as a back lot off the end of the road. George Thebarge said the burden is on the applicant to make the case, that a legal opinion should be obtained at the applicant's cost rather than through the town's peer review escrow, and warned against creating a lot that does not conform.

8. 58:49
   Connection to Collins Way

   Members pressed for an option showing a possible connection to Collins Way, noting the ordinance requires interconnection to be considered and that a future connection would help school buses and emergency vehicles. Joe Martin (?) said he had not drawn one because of a stream and wetland complex and because the neighbouring layout appeared designed to prevent extension. The board discussed instead requiring a paper street easement now, and asked whether the road alignment could be shifted to reduce wetland impact.

9. 1:09:33
   Steep slopes and building envelopes

   The ordinance says a building envelope should not include slopes greater than the stated threshold, and each lot needs 40,000 square feet of contiguous buildable envelope. Joe Martin (?) said steep slopes and wetlands are subtracted from that calculation. Members discussed whether owners could later cut slopes, and George Thebarge said a grading plan approved by the board would be the way to handle it, citing a case on Holly Hill (?) where unanticipated grades pushed a house into a setback.

10. 1:20:20
    Storm water standards and waivers

    The board confirmed the town applies DEP standards and requires a storm water plan unless waived. Joe Martin (?) said individual lot development is not counted towards the one acre of new impervious area because the lots are sold and built by others. He said the only waiver they might seek is a reduction in the 50 foot wetland setback on a couple of lots.

11. 1:25:35
    Fire pond, cemetery and vernal pools

    A fire pond is proposed in a wet area, to be designed to the fire department's specifications, and members asked whether it could be sited to avoid wetland impact and whether the chief could reach it at night. A small family burial ground with one or two headstones sits in a wedge of the open space; no disturbance is allowed within 25 feet and the board suggested the restriction also go into the homeowners association documents. A member asked that the vernal pool assessment, done out of season by Alex (?), be revisited in season to check for breeding habitat.

12. 1:35:48
    Scheduling the site walk

    The board set the site walk for Sunday November 16 at 1 p.m., meeting at the power lines on Quaker Meeting House Road and walking up the existing driveway, with November 23 as a fallback. Sunday was chosen because of hunting season, and a week's public notice is required. The board asked for the road centre line to be staked at intervals rather than the full right of way.

13. 1:40:52
    Whether cluster is the right approach

    Members said the extent of wetlands on the site made cluster the sensible approach and that roughly 45 acres of open space was the point of the tool. One member called the site a poster child for cluster. No approvals were given, but the applicant was told the board had no concerns with proceeding on that basis, and Joe Martin (?) said he hoped to return for preliminary review in December or January with a spring construction start.

14. 1:46:24
    Noise standards pulled from the minor policy changes

    George Thebarge reported that noise was the one issue that drew concern at the public information meeting on the seven minor policy changes, including a proposal to move the construction start time from 6:30 to 7 a.m. and the fact that the definition of intermittent noise pulled in gunshots and blasting. He said getting into blasting, firing ranges and fireworks takes the item out of the minor policy category. The board voted to drop noise from this round and pick it up after codification.

15. 1:51:25
    Town attorney's comments on other amendments

    The attorney advised that the board of appeals notice process is fixed by state law and cannot be changed, and that design requirements on accessory dwelling units must be dropped unless they apply to all single family dwellings. On marijuana she pointed to Vassalboro's ordinance, which grandfathers existing cooperative grows and subjects them to site plan review and annual inspections; George Thebarge said that is overkill for Durham, which does not know of any such facility, and has asked her whether a simple prohibition plus a definition would do. She also advised that the board's 2020 conditional use instruction sheet cannot be enforced unless its requirements are written into the ordinance.

16. 2:02:19
    Who notifies abutters

    The town attorney recommends shifting responsibility for abutter notification from applicants to the town, with applicants supplying the list and paying the mailing cost. Members and George Thebarge raised the staff workload, recalling filling out more than 200 certified mail envelopes, and noted that in a recent case the list did not get checked. The board agreed to leave the mailing with applicants for now but to make sure the town checks that the right abutters were notified.

17. 2:07:24
    Agriculture committee definitions

    The agriculture committee, working with Maine Farmland Trust, has proposed about nine new agricultural definitions to replace the three or four currently in the ordinance, which George Thebarge said are 40 years behind current practice. He told them definitions alone do not work without deciding which districts the uses are allowed in, whether they are permitted or conditional, and what standards apply, particularly for agritourism events. Members said the proposal, including a definition of agricultural residential units that would not count towards density, needs more work and is not ready to publish; the committee may attend the public information meeting on November 12.

18. 2:12:38
    Election of chair

    John Talbot explained he cannot chair after being sworn in at 3:30 the next day and that the chair's stipend is an extra $50 a month. Allan Purinton said he was interested but then withdrew and nominated Brian (?), who accepted; the board has two members named Brian and the transcript does not distinguish them. The nomination carried unanimously.

19. 2:17:55
    Thanks and adjournment

    Members thanked John Talbot for chairing for close to three years, since he joined in June 2021. He said he would attend future meetings from the audience without interfering, and noted a comprehensive plan may be coming in about eight months. A motion to adjourn was made and seconded as the recording ended.

What was decided

• 15:40
  Amend the agenda to add an election of chair at the end of the meeting.passed
• 15:40
  Accept the minutes of the October 1 regular meeting and the October 22 land use ordinance meeting as presented.passed
• 21:06
  Approve the final site plan for the campground expansion of 40 RV sites as submitted.passed
• 1:35:48
  Board agreed, without a formal vote, to hold the site walk for the Quaker Meeting House Road cluster subdivision on Sunday November 16 at 1 p.m., with November 23 as a fallback if the surveyor cannot stake the road in time.passed
• 1:46:24
  Remove the noise standards from this year's minor policy amendments and take them up in a later round after codification.passed
• 2:02:19
  Board agreed, without a formal vote, not to shift abutter notification to town staff for now, keeping the mailing with applicants but adding a check by the town that the correct abutters were notified.passed
• 2:12:38
  Elect Brian (?) as chair of the planning board, replacing John Talbot. Nominated by Allan Purinton after he withdrew his own name.passed
• 2:17:55
  Motion to adjourn, moved and seconded; the recording ends before the vote.outcome unclear

An outcome reads "unclear" where the recording does not state it plainly. The recogniser drops short words, and "the motion does not carry" is one missing word from its opposite.

Worth knowing

• 26:12
  Two parts of the proposed subdivision, lot 13 and the 17 acres the owner would retain, appear to lack the road frontage the ordinance requires, and the proposed open space easement may not meet the ordinance's definition of open space. The board told the applicant to obtain a legal opinion at their own cost, since the town's peer review escrow covers consultants but not legal work.
• 31:57
  The site is in northern long-eared bat habitat, so tree clearing is likely to be restricted to a seasonal window. That restriction would follow the individual lots even if they are sold and built on years later.
• 1:25:35
  A small family burial ground with one or two headstones lies within the proposed open space. No disturbance is allowed within 25 feet of the markers, and the board asked that the restriction be written into the homeowners association documents as well as the existing deed.
• 1:46:24
  The noise standards were the only one of the seven minor policy changes to draw significant public concern, partly because the draft definition of intermittent noise would have pulled in gunshots and blasting. The board voted to defer the whole noise question rather than take on blasting, firing ranges and fireworks in this round.

Motion language found in the transcript

Located by pattern matching, with no model involved: "I move that", "I'll second", "all those in favour". This is an independent check on the summary above: 2 passages of motion language, against 8 decisions summarised.

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