Planning Board Meeting ~ August 2, 2023

2023-08-02 · Planning Board · 2:20:29 · watch on YouTube →

The planning board met with four voting members and took up a conditional use application to expand the Durham Leisure Campground on Route 136 by 112 RV sites, for a total of 148. No decision was taken on the application; instead the board worked through the campground section of the ordinance and the draft findings of fact point by point so the applicant would know what still has to be submitted. Recurring gaps were sight distance at the Route 136 entrance, well and septic layout, fire access on the internal roads, a letter from the cell tower owner about the fall zone, an unreferenced wetland, and evidence of financial capacity to build the water and septic infrastructure. The board also asked the applicant to state clearly what season she is asking for, since the ordinance limits occupancy to 12 weeks between May 15 and September 15 and she is seeking April 1 to the end of October. A site visit was set for August 16 and a public hearing for the September 6 meeting. The board also heard that the Conservation Commission will bring solar standards but not cell tower standards this year, and discussed the public participation plan for the housing density amendment.

What was discussed

1. 0:06
   Roll call and Brian Lanoie's voting status

   Four members were present, with Juliet Caplinger on vacation. The chair said he had not yet had Brian Lanoie elevated to full voting member and would do so at the next select board meeting; no one objected to him voting at this meeting. The July 5 minutes were accepted with a correction to a typo in a vote tally.

2. 0:06
   Conservation Commission and LD 2003 costs

   George Thebarge reported that the Conservation Commission, asked to draft amendments for town meeting on solar energy systems and cell towers, will proceed with solar standards but does not have the capacity for cell towers this year. He also said the state must reimburse towns for expenses incurred complying with LD 2003, that he has been tracking his time, and that planning board stipends and attorney fees could also be covered. About $5,000 is available and the town manager expects Durham to reach it.

3. 6:05
   MaineDOT grant for a town properties visioning plan

   Matt Panfil (?), a Durham resident and a director at the Greater Portland Council of Governments, alerted the town manager to a MaineDOT grant. The town received $8,000 for a visioning plan covering the town office, ball field, Eureka Center and fire station, focused on transportation aspects such as realigning the intersection, parking lot access and lighting, and a pedestrian connection between the properties so people are not walking along the road. The town manager envisages a staff-coordinated process with public input, and the board was invited to give him input on its role.

4. 11:14
   Why cell tower standards were deferred

   George Thebarge said Durham has only general conditional use standards for cell towers, with nothing on fall zones or visual impact analysis, and that the federal Telecommunications Act sets strict limits on how towns can regulate them. With the town already carrying several ordinance changes, and with solar applications expected but no sign of new tower applications, the Conservation Commission chose to concentrate on solar.

5. 11:14
   Union Church committee

   John Talbot reported the committee is meeting every two weeks and is at an early stage, looking at what the church's own plans are, whether parking could be adjusted to allow public events, or whether it should be sold to the historical society. He and Tyler Hutchison are on the committee and will take comments.

6. 16:31
   Public comment rules on the campground

   The chair explained that because the campground is on the agenda, public comment could not be taken tonight, but the public could listen to the board's concerns and would get a formal public hearing later. He asked residents to raise concerns with the applicant directly where possible, and to send questions to the board only through George Thebarge, since board members cannot have direct contact about a filed application.

7. 21:44
   Response to a claim about subdivision notice

   John Talbot addressed a comment that a recently approved subdivision had been approved without public notice. He cited the subdivision regulations on abutter notice, said the sketch plan was submitted in May 2022 and a public hearing on the preliminary plan was held on July 13, and said the process was documented in the minutes.

8. 21:44
   Campground application introduced

   The application is for a conditional use permit to expand the campground at 24 Leisure Lane, Map 2 Lot 13, by 112 RV sites for a total of 148, possibly in phases of 30 to 40 a year. George Thebarge noted the ordinance has no RV park category, only campground and mobile home park, so the application falls under other commercial services not otherwise listed, and that what 'seasonal' means needs clarifying against the ordinance limit of 12 weeks between May 15 and September 15 with two weeks maximum at any other time.

9. 27:25
   The two-step review process

   George Thebarge explained the conditional use review comes first and looks at drainage, safety, public health, environmental impact, scale and intensity; detailed design goes to a later site plan review. The board's first task is to decide whether the application is complete, then whether to hold a public hearing, and finally to approve, approve with conditions tied to the conditional use criteria, or deny if any criterion is not met.

10. 33:07
    Applicant's description of the project

    Gwenn Huot said they bought the property nine years ago with nine grandfathered year-round sites dating from 1937, reopened about 36 of the abandoned sites and put water, sewer and 50-amp electric on all of them. They had drawn up plans for over 230 sites and scaled back, proposing about 4,000 square feet per campsite where the state requires 1,000. She said demand is from travelling nurses looking for 13-week stays, which the 12-week ordinance limit prevents, and that tiny houses are turning up that fit no existing category.

11. 43:58
    Walk-through of the campground ordinance

    John Talbot read through section 5.8: a campground must be on at least 20 acres, camping units at least 100 feet from property lines and 400 feet from any residence other than the owner's, no more than 11 campsites per acre, and campsites, roads and structures covering no more than 20% of the area. He asked for plans showing the 100-foot and 400-foot setback lines and the total acreage, and noted water and sewage must meet the state plumbing code and DHHS requirements.

12. 49:03
    Public health findings: septic, wells and unit types

    The board asked for the arithmetic on 148 units to be reconciled with the mix of campers and park trailer models, which carry roughly twice the load. It flagged that several test pits did not perc and that on one drawing a septic field appeared to overlap a well exclusion area, which the applicant said was an error by another engineer. George Thebarge noted the board can require a hydrologist's report on water availability; the applicant said six wells were drilled and three are unused, and that the well company would not guarantee yield in writing.

13. 1:00:50
    Traffic safety and the Route 136 entrance

    The property has two openings on Route 136, the campground entrance and a driveway to a rented farmhouse; the board asked the applicant to get a driveway permit or written confirmation it is grandfathered. It said the MaineDOT email supplied shows only that the department has no record of a permit and does not require one now, which does not establish that the entrance is safe. The board asked for a surveyor or traffic engineer to measure sight distance in both directions against the standard for the 50 mile per hour speed limit, and raised the risk of 45-foot RVs pulling out slowly onto the highway.

14. 1:11:12
    Public safety: fire access and the cell tower

    The board urged the applicant to work with fire chief Rob Tripp on the width and all-weather condition of the internal roads and on water supply for firefighting, and with the public works director, Calvin (?), on road construction. It also asked for a letter from the cell tower owner on the property stating the safe fall distance and confirming that no campsites fall within it, including for equipment dropped during work on the tower.

15. 1:22:01
    Internal circulation and environmental impacts

    Members raised pedestrian safety within the campground with 148 sites, including children walking to the pool. On environment, the report identifies no vernal pools or streams but describes a pond of just under 2,000 square feet near Route 136 that may be man-made, and the board noted a large wetland system shown on one of the drawings that the wetland report does not reference at all. It also asked for the 20% coverage calculation.

16. 1:27:28
    Hours, ownership and site identification

    The applicant confirmed nine to nine quiet hours would be kept. The board asked for an updated secretary of state certificate, the one on file dating from 2016, and confirmation that the entrance drive is on the applicant's own land. It also said the fire chief will want a numbered site map so crews can find a given campsite from the entrance.

17. 1:32:55
    Financial and technical capacity

    There is a discrepancy of about $25,000 between the $700,000 build-out cost and the bank's letter for $675,000, and the board asked for an engineer's estimate. George Thebarge explained the point is not a bond but satisfying the board that the applicant can build four or five large septic fields, the water system and the wells to standard without cutting corners. Members suggested capacity could be demonstrated phase by phase, roughly a quarter of the cost at a time.

18. 1:32:55
    What season the applicant is asking for

    Gwenn Huot said they want to open April 1 and close at the end of October, weather permitting, and to keep the nine grandfathered year-round sites plus five park model RVs the campground owns for winter travelling nurses. The other roughly 113 sites would be shut and drained for the winter, and ledge prevents most sites being plumbed deep enough for year-round use. She said the units are 400 square feet or less, on chassis and RVIA certified, and that people are not living there permanently.

19. 1:43:52
    Tiny homes and designating sites

    The board said there is nothing in the ordinance for tiny homes and it would not treat the application as covering them. George Thebarge advised that the plans and written submission should clearly designate which sites are seasonal and which are year-round, so that if complaints come in the code officer can determine compliance.

20. 1:49:35
    Site visit and public hearing scheduled

    A site visit was set for Wednesday August 16 at 5:30, meeting at the pool office, with the fire chief and public works director invited and seven days public notice so residents can walk along. The board agreed to advertise a public hearing for its September 6 regular meeting at 6:30, after which comment from the public would be in writing only.

21. 2:00:30
    Housing density proposal and public participation

    George Thebarge described the revised proposal: two accessory apartments with a single family home on a two acre lot, or one accessory apartment with a duplex on two acres, while using the new law's allowance to require two acres per unit for full-size housing, so three full-size units would need six acres. He proposed a public information meeting and a survey, possibly run online with GPCOG's help, testing the specific proposal rather than general questions. He also noted MMA's lawyer indicated the town could require four acres for a single family with two accessory apartments if it wished, which the board treated as a fallback.

22. 2:05:37
    How to present the survey

    Members debated how much detail to put in front of residents. Brian Lanoie asked for plainer questions while keeping the full explanation available on the website, and John Talbot said the board should avoid running five or six public hearings again and instead hold a public information session, run the survey, and adjust once.

23. 2:16:25
    Other business and recusal

    The Ruby Lane amended subdivision package was distributed for the next meeting. George Thebarge said he has drafted resource protection amendments to simplify expansion of existing homes and to take boundary determinations away from the board of appeals, which he will circulate to that board for comment. He also explained recusal practice, noting Juliet Caplinger is an abutter to the campground and so cannot vote or take part in board discussion, though she retains her rights as a property owner.

What was decided

• 0:06
  Allow Brian Lanoie to vote at this meeting although he had not yet been formally made a full member, with the chair to have it done at the next select board meeting; agreed with no objection raisedpassed
• 0:06
  Accept the July 5, 2023 meeting minutes, with a typo corrected so the votes to deny read zero; moved by Tyler Hutchison, seconded by Allan Purinton, carried 4-0passed
• 1:49:35
  Hold a site visit to the campground on Wednesday August 16 at 5:30, meeting at the pool office, with public notice so residents can attend; agreed without a formal votepassed
• 1:55:02
  Advertise a public hearing on the campground conditional use application for the regular meeting of September 6 at 6:30; agreed without a formal votepassed

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_08_02_23.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 July 5th, 2023 meeting minutescarried 4-0

  Moved by Tyler Hutchison, seconded by Allan Purinton

• adjourn the meetingcarried 4-0

  Moved by Allan Purinton, seconded by Tyler Hutchison

Worth knowing

• 21:44
  The campground is asking to add 112 RV sites for a total of 148, phased at about 30 to 40 a year. The ordinance currently limits occupancy to 12 weeks between May 15 and September 15; the applicant is asking to run April 1 to the end of October, with nine grandfathered year-round sites and five park model RVs staying open in winter.
• 6:05
  The town received an $8,000 MaineDOT grant, arranged with GPCOG, for a visioning plan covering the town office, ball field, Eureka Center and fire station. It will look at the intersection, parking lot access and a pedestrian connection between the properties, and is intended to position the town to apply for construction funding.
• 1:32:55
  The board wants proof the applicant can finance the infrastructure. Build-out is put at $700,000 against a bank letter for $675,000, and the concern is that four or five septic fields serving about 100 RVs, plus the water system, get built to standard rather than short-cut.
• 1:49:35
  Residents can walk the site visit on August 16 at 5:30, and the formal public hearing is at the September 6 planning board meeting at 6:30. After the hearing closes, public input has to be in writing.

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 4 decisions summarised.

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