Planning Board Meeting ~ September 6, 2023

2023-09-06 · Planning Board · 2:32:21 · watch on YouTube →

The Planning Board held a public hearing on Durham Leisure Campground's conditional use application to expand its RV park, and took a sketch plan review of a four-lot extension of the Ruby Lane subdivision. The campground application had been reduced from 112 new sites to 40, for a total of 77. The board worked through the conditional use criteria one at a time, adopting findings on public health, traffic, public safety, environment, scale, noise, right and title, and financial ability, then adopted a package of conditions covering which sites are year-round and which are seasonal, and added a maximum length of stay. Vice Chair Juliet Caplinger stepped down for the campground hearing as an abutter, and Chair John Talbot disclosed before the second item that Kopp Excavating is doing work on his barn. On the Ruby Lane sketch plan the board raised the unpaved condition of the existing subdivision road, an apparently lapsed paving bond, wetland crossings and trash collection, and set a site visit for the 20th.

What was discussed

1. 4:15
   Questions from the public on subdivision activity

   A resident asked what subdivisions are planned in Durham and how the approval process works. The board said Ruby Farm, on Ruby Lane off Swamp Road, was the only application before it, that more than 13 lots at a time triggers higher state fees, and that the comprehensive plan says the town should consider a moratorium at 45 building permits in a year.

2. 4:15
   Codification of the land use ordinance

   The board was briefed on a select board proposal, raised by the code enforcement officer, to hire a consultant to review the land use ordinance chapters for conflicts with state law and reorganise them so they are searchable by subject. The question arose from a disagreement over what the sign ordinance says that had to go to an attorney.

3. 9:43
   Cost of the codification work

   The cost estimate given in the vendor presentation was described as under $10,000, with one board member recalling a figure of $9,999. It may exceed what the select board can approve on its own, so the town manager was expected to bring the spending to town meeting.

4. 9:43
   Public hearing opened: Durham Leisure Campground conditional use

   Old business was the conditional use application to expand the campground, originally advertised as 112 RV sites, on map 2 lot 3. Juliet Caplinger was asked to sit in the audience for this item because she is an abutter. John Talbot noted for the record that he, Brian Lanoie and Tyler Hutchison had completed a site visit.

5. 15:56
   Application revised from 112 to 40 new sites

   The applicants said the request is now 40 new sites, not 112, for a total of 77. The colour-coded plan distinguishes nine existing winter sites, existing year-round sites, and the new sites, which would run April 1 to October 31 only because ledge one foot down makes buried water lines impossible in part of the area.

6. 21:12
   Year-round and seasonal site counts

   The board worked through a discrepancy in the numbering: the plan runs to 77 but one number was skipped, and site 35 exists on paper but is not used. The applicants said they are seeking 30 year-round sites, which with the nine existing winter sites means an additional 21. John Talbot then opened the public hearing at 6:54 and explained that this step is the conditional use approval, with road widths, turning radii and dead ends to be settled at site plan review.

7. 26:18
   Public comment on entrance traffic

   An abutter from Leisure Lane, whose name the recording garbles, said the campground is quiet and well maintained but raised the increase in traffic and the speed on the state road, describing pulling out with traffic coming over the knoll at 50 miles an hour. She estimated 40 new sites means 40 to 60 more vehicles. The hearing was closed at about 6:58.

8. 26:18
   Town planner's review of the campground's approval record

   George Thebarge reported what the town's records show: a 1986 conditional use approval to a prior owner for 110 sites, sequenced 40 in the first year, upheld on appeal, with conditions that approval lapses if sites are abandoned for more than a year and that any transfer of ownership needs planning board approval. In 2016 the current owner was approved for an increase and required to comply with the ordinance time limits; a variance to extend those time limits was denied by the board of appeals in that period, and two further sites were approved in 2017 after the setback issue was resolved by acquiring a town-owned triangular lot.

9. 32:10
   Documents received since the August meeting

   The application was revised on August 15 and now shows a fall zone for the transmission tower. New items include a corporate filing report, a campground addressing and numbering diagram, the state HHE-606 campground licence application, a Crown Castle certification of the tower's structural integrity, a Maine DOT letter stating the entrance is grandfathered and raising no issue with the expansion, and an email from the fire chief saying a 2,000 gallon water storage tank with fire department hookups would satisfy his concerns.

10. 37:12
    Claimed year-round approval and trip generation

    A board member noted the record shows no approval of sites for winter use while the applicants say they hold a tax document from 1990 or 1998 showing otherwise; the two dates were both said aloud. George Thebarge said no such document has been entered in the record, that the assessor has no authority to grant or modify conditional use permits, and that any enforcement question belongs to the code officer. On traffic he cited the Institute of Traffic Engineers figure of about 10 trips a day for a single family home and said the board could require a traffic engineer to look at entrance safety as a condition of site plan review.

11. 42:17
    Criterion 1: public health impacts

    Findings (?) read into the record: new RV sites would be served by a sewer collection system to one disposal field for 40 sites; a preliminary site evaluation by a soils and septic evaluator indicated a limit of 22 to 24 campsites to stay below the threshold for an engineered system; 300 foot well exclusion zones are shown for the campground's common wells; and a 2016 flow test on the drilled well was reported as 28,000 gallons per day. Hand-drawn layouts of the sewer conveyance line and water distribution system were submitted.

12. 47:17
    Criterion 2: foreseeable traffic

    The findings record an email from Tony Fontaine (?) of Maine DOT stating no entrance permit was issued for this location, that the entrance predates the department's access management regulations and is grandfathered as long as there is no change in use, and an updated letter dated 9/6/2023 confirming the department has no issue with the expansion. The findings also note the entrance is on Route 136, a state highway with truck traffic, and that the applicant has given no detail on internal drive widths or pedestrian facilities.

13. 52:52
    Entrance signage on the state road

    Members discussed asking for warning signs or in-road markers at the entrance, citing a campground elsewhere with yellow markers in the road. It was noted that Route 136 is a state road with roughly a 33 foot right of way and no town right of way beyond it, so neither the town nor the applicant can place signs without Maine DOT. The board decided not to make signage a condition, on the basis that the state has reviewed the entrance, but encouraged the applicants to keep asking Maine DOT.

14. 58:21
    Criterion 3: public safety impacts

    Findings include no school enrollment generated, no buildings requiring fire protection, no foreseen increase in law enforcement need, and no information yet on internal drives for emergency access. The updated plan shows a 179 foot fall zone radius from the tower base with five existing campsites just inside it and no new sites inside it; the applicant committed by email on 8/28/2023 to a 2,000 gallon water reserve tank with a fire department hookup, which the fire chief accepted. A member said he considered trailers to be things that can burn but was satisfied because the fire chief had done the site visit and stated what he needs.

15. 1:03:23
    Criterion 4: environmental impacts

    Brian Lanoie read findings from a wetland, stream and cursory vernal pool delineation by Maine Land Development Consultants: no significant vernal pools, a vernal pool of just under 2,000 square feet in what appears to be a man-made pond between Route 136 and the gravel access road, and a larger wetland system between the transmission tower and the proposed expansion. The applicant stated all sites are wooded, clearing will be minimal, and future sites and roads will be built off existing logging roads. Before this the board noted that the Crown Castle letter gives the tower a theoretical fall zone of zero feet under the building code while the plan shows 179 feet.

16. 1:09:08
    Criterion 5: scale and intensity of use

    Findings state the area is a mix of residential homes, home businesses, commercial businesses and farms, that the nearest house is 400 feet away, and that RVs will be screened by natural landscape. The wording on distance, read as 400 to 100 feet from the property line, was called unclear and was amended. Members also discussed a three-quarter mile trail at the dead end near site 48 and were reminded that any stone wall disturbed must be rebuilt.

17. 1:14:25
    Criterion 6: noise and hours of operation

    Findings record office hours from 9 a.m., pool hours 9 a.m. to dusk, quiet time from 10 p.m. to 7 a.m., and occupants described as mostly seasonal workers. A member added a finding that the applicants live on the property and manage the operation, on the point that someone would be present to keep noise down in winter.

18. 1:19:41
    Criteria 7 and 8: right and title, financial and technical ability

    Right, title and interest findings cite a certificate identifying Kenneth P. Huot (?) and Gwenn M. Huot as members of Durham Leisure Holdings LLC, corporate filings, the transfer from an estate, and easement exhibits for the transmission tower. Brian Lanoie read the financial findings: the project is estimated at about $700,000 to be financed from personal savings, with a Bangor Savings Bank letter stating deposit accounts in excess of $675,000, plus an electrical receipt, a hand-drawn electrical distribution layout and the state campground licence.

19. 1:25:29
    Conditions of approval and site numbering

    The draft conditions bar construction until site plan approval is granted, require compliance with DHHS wastewater and public water requirements, and require compliance with the campground standards in section 5.8 A through I. The site list was corrected on the floor: sites 1 through 21 and 28 through 37 year-round, 22 through 27 seasonal because of ledge, 38 through 77 seasonal April 1 to October 31, plus the cabin at 33 Leisure Lane year-round, which the board worked out as 31 year-round sites including the cabin. Site 35 is not in use and would be absorbed into a neighbouring site.

20. 1:30:48
    Length of stay

    The ordinance limits occupancy of one camping space to 12 weeks between May 15 and September 15 and two weeks at all other times. The applicants asked to be allowed a stay covering the whole April 1 to October 31 season, about seven months, and described the winter sites as six-month seasonals because campers have to be wrapped and heat-hosed. They said tenants include traveling nurses on 13 week contracts and people between houses, and that they do not want the sites used as primary residences.

21. 1:35:50
    Caps on length of stay

    Members said their concern is sites becoming semi-permanent residences. The applicants said a winter seasonal that renews for one summer adds up to 12 months and that a nine month cap would cost them the nine winter sites. The board settled on seven months for the seasonal sites; for year-round sites both nine and 12 months were spoken, with members expressing different preferences.

22. 1:46:39
    Conditions adopted and next steps

    A new condition 8 on maximum length of stay was added and the whole package of findings and conditions was then voted. George Thebarge told the applicants the next step is a site plan review application, that plans should not be hand-drawn, and that they should work with the fire chief and the road commissioner on private road standards and turning radii, or request a waiver.

23. 1:46:39
    Chair's disclosure before the second item

    John Talbot disclosed that Kopp Excavating is to tear down his barn, rebuild the foundation and reseed, and that he considers himself a customer but not prejudiced on the project. He asked the applicant whether they were comfortable with him staying on for the item and asked the board to vote on his participation. It was noted this is a sketch plan with no decision being made.

24. 1:52:31
    Ruby Lane sketch plan: four additional lots

    Richard Meek, a civil engineer with Terradyn Consultants (?), presented for developer and landowner Mike Kopp (?). The subdivision was approved in December 2018 with 13 residential lots plus a retained 14th lot of roughly 10.6 acres, tax map 5 lot 78B. The proposal is about 700 feet of new road off Ruby Lane creating four lots, each 90,000 square feet with 300 feet of frontage and at least 40,000 square feet of contiguous buildable area.

25. 1:57:31
    Wetland permits and lot servicing

    Road construction is expected to cause wetland impacts, so an NRPA permit with Maine DEP and an Army Corps general permit would be filed, along with a stormwater permit by rule. Lots would be served by private wells, individual septic systems, and electricity in the same manner as the rest of the subdivision. The wetlands for the four new lots were delineated by Mark Hampton Associates; the original delineation is more than five years old and the earlier surveyor was named two different ways in the discussion.

26. 2:02:54
    Build-out status and trash collection

    Of the 13 approved lots, six are complete, one is under construction, and full build-out is expected in about two years. Because a state site location permit is required above a threshold unless five years have passed, final approval would not be sought before December of this year. A member raised trash collection: the hauler is moving to automated trucks with 64 and 96 gallon containers, and whether the trucks will drive down a road that is not town approved, or whether residents must bring containers out to Swamp Road, is unresolved.

27. 2:08:49
    Performance bond for paving Ruby Lane

    Richard Meek said Mike Kopp is bonded for the road and intends to pave this fall. George Thebarge said condition 4 of the original approval required a paving bond before the occupancy permit for the fourth lot, that a $109,000 performance bond was submitted in 2020 with a one-year time limit, and that the road is still unpaved, so there appears to be no performance guarantee currently in effect. Members also asked for house siting and driveway crossings to be shown on the plans, citing an earlier lot where wetland was filled and the Army Corps had to be brought in after the fact.

28. 2:13:55
    Road name, site visit and peer review

    The proposed road needs a name because the one the developer wanted is already taken in town. Members said a site visit should happen before snow makes the ground unreadable, and discussed when to bring in a peer reviewer, with the planner saying there is nothing to peer review until engineering is submitted.

29. 2:19:18
    Current ordinance standards, inspections and fees

    George Thebarge said the original subdivision was approved under the old ordinance and that the extension must meet the current procedural and performance standards. He described a conditional approval provision under which no performance guarantee is needed for full road construction if no lots are sold and no building permits issued until the road is complete, with erosion and sedimentation control still bonded. He also said the town will no longer use the code officer or road commissioner for inspections, and that an inspection fee and applicant-paid peer review costs apply.

30. 2:24:21
    Stormwater and fire protection water supply

    The engineer said buffering is the usual treatment on a small residential site and a stormwater analysis for peak runoff rates would be done for DEP. On fire protection, George Thebarge said the earlier policy accepted sprinklers where a water source was within a mile, but the new ordinance requires an on-site water supply, as a cistern, storage container or fire pond, whose volume can be reduced but not eliminated by sprinklers. A waiver of standards with justification can be applied for.

31. 2:29:34
    Site visit scheduled and adjournment

    The board set a site visit for the 20th; the time spoken on the recording is garbled between 5 and 6 p.m. It was agreed that not everyone needs to attend as long as someone familiar with the project is there. The meeting then adjourned.

What was decided

• 4:15
  Accept the August 2, 2023 meeting minutes, moved by Allan Purinton and seconded by Tyler Hutchison. Recorded in the town's written minutes; this part of the meeting is not in the recording.passed
• 47:17
  Finding that the applicant has satisfied the burden of proof on public health impacts, amended so that the HHE-606 state health inspection programme licence must be approved rather than only submitted.passed
• 58:21
  Finding that the applicant has satisfied the burden of proof on foreseeable traffic, without a condition requiring a traffic engineer or additional entrance signage.passed
• 1:03:23
  Finding that the applicant has satisfied the burden of proof on public safety impacts, including the 2,000 gallon water tank with fire department connection and the tower fall zone.passed
• 1:09:08
  Motion that the applicant has satisfied the burden of proof on environmental impacts. The recording moves straight into the next criterion and does not state a result.outcome unclear
• 1:14:25
  Finding that the applicant has satisfied the burden of proof on scale and intensity of use, with finding D changed from 400 feet to 100 feet minimum from the property line and a new finding that the board reviewed the submitted maps as well as the applicant's testimony.passed
• 1:19:41
  Finding that the applicant has satisfied the burden of proof on noise and hours of operation, with an added statement that the applicants live on the property and manage the operation.passed
• 1:19:41
  Motion that the applicant has satisfied the burden of proof on right, title or interest. The chair called for hands but no result is stated on the recording.outcome unclear
• 1:19:41
  Motion that the applicant has satisfied the burden of proof on financial and technical ability, noting the board considered that the project is now 40 sites rather than 112. The recording does not state a result.outcome unclear
• 1:46:39
  Add condition 8 setting maximum length of stay: seven months for the seasonal sites. The figure for year-round sites is not stated plainly on the recording; both nine and 12 months were discussed immediately before the motion.passed
• 1:46:39
  Approve the entire package of findings and conditions for the conditional use permit for the Durham Leisure Campground expansion, as amended.passed
• 1:52:31
  Motion that the board accepts John Talbot's continued participation in the Ruby Lane sketch plan review after his disclosure about Kopp Excavating. The applicant said he was comfortable with it; the recording does not state a vote result.outcome unclear
• 2:29:34
  Hold a site visit at the proposed Ruby Lane extension on the 20th, with the planner and at least one person familiar with the project present.passed
• 2:29:34
  Adjourn the meeting, moved by Allan Purinton and seconded by Juliet Caplinger. Recorded in the town's written minutes as carried 5-0.passed

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.

Motions the minutes record

The town's own written account of what was decided, taken from pb_meeting_minutes_09-06-2023.txt. It owes nothing to the recording or to a model: the clerk typed it, with the vote. Where the summary above claims a decision this list does not carry, the summary is the part to doubt.

• accept the August 2nd, 2023 meeting minutescarried

  Moved by Allan Purinton, seconded by Tyler Hutchison

• adjourn the meetingcarried 5-0

  Moved by Allan Purinton, seconded by Juliet Caplinger

Worth knowing

• 2:08:49
  The road in the existing Ruby Lane subdivision is still unpaved. The engineer said the developer is bonded and intends to pave this fall, but George Thebarge said the $109,000 performance bond submitted in 2020 carried a one-year time limit and that there appears to be no performance guarantee currently in effect. The two accounts were not reconciled at the meeting.
• 1:19:41
  The campground expansion is estimated at about $700,000, to be paid from personal savings, against a bank letter showing deposit accounts in excess of $675,000. The board noted the estimate was made when the application was for 112 sites rather than 40.
• 4:15
  The comprehensive plan says the town should consider a moratorium when building permits reach 45 in a year, counting individual houses inside and outside subdivisions. More than 13 lots in a subdivision triggers higher state fees.
• 26:18
  The only public comment on the campground was about traffic pulling onto Route 136, where the speed limit is 50 miles an hour. The board decided not to require a traffic engineer or signage, relying on Maine DOT's letter that it has no issue with the expansion, while noting the town cannot place signs in the state right of way.

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: 3 passages of motion language, against 14 decisions summarised.

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