Planning Board Meeting ~ December 10, 2025

2025-12-10 · Planning Board · 2:18:44 · watch on YouTube →

Planning Board meeting of December 10, 2025, rescheduled from the first Wednesday because November lacked a quorum. The main item was the preliminary subdivision application for Greystone Ridge, a 13-lot cluster subdivision on about 37.88 acres off Pinkham Brook Road. The board took the town planner's staff review, heard the applicant's presentation, worked through the completeness checklist and voted the application complete, with clearing limits to be shown on the plans at final. Unresolved items include a title defect on part of the land, the status of Blue Jay Way and the two existing houses it serves, waivers for the road section at the wetland crossing and for frontage, and a fire pond that must be agreed with the fire chief. A site walk was set for December 20 and a public hearing for the January 7 meeting. The board also approved the site walk record for the Durham Heights subdivision and agreed to send its ordinance amendment package to the select board as three warrant articles.

What was discussed

1. 6:13
   Call to order, agenda change and minutes

   Brian Lanoie opened the December 10 meeting, rescheduled because there was no quorum in November, with all members present. The board moved to swap items six and seven so the applicants could be heard first, and took up the minutes of the November 5 and 12 meetings with one correction, the spelling of Todd Beaulieu.

2. 11:14
   Town planner's monthly report

   George Thebarge said he now includes his monthly report to the town manager, which is shared with the select board, setting out the work programme of his position. Board members thanked him for it and had no questions.

3. 11:14
   Greystone Ridge: staff review

   George Thebarge summarised the preliminary application for a 13-lot cluster subdivision, reviewed at sketch plan stage in August. Notices went to the town of Brunswick, because the site abuts the town line, and to abutters, with certified mail receipts checked by Devin Garno at the town office.

4. 11:14
   Farmland soils and clearing limits flagged

   The application stated there were no farmland soils, but the town's resource maps show farmland soils of statewide significance, which the consultant has since mapped. George Thebarge said there are no preservation standards for them under state law or Durham's ordinance, but that the open space can count towards the cluster qualifications, and he questioned the clarity of the intended clearing restrictions.

5. 16:31
   Timeline once an application is complete

   George Thebarge said that once the board finds the application complete it has 60 days to decide, and that any public hearing must be scheduled within 30 days of that finding. Completeness itself needs only an up or down vote, with a letter of incompleteness sent if items are missing.

6. 16:31
   Applicant's presentation

   Matt Pitum (?) of Terradyne Consultants presented for Greystone Ridge LLC: 13 lots on about 37.88 acres between 966 and 980 Pinkham Brook Road, lots 35 and 42 on tax map 2, in the rural residential and agricultural district. A wetland delineation and vernal pool survey by Eric Lima of Basswood Environmental found no wetlands of special significance, and a vernal pool in an old mica pit which DEP is not expected to class as significant because it is man-made.

7. 22:07
   Road, utilities and permits

   The plan is 2,432 linear feet of new road ending in a hammerhead, with 10-foot travel lanes and two-foot gravel shoulders in a 50-foot right of way, individual wells and septic systems, and overhead electric tapped from the road. A roughly 100-foot wetland crossing with two 36-inch open bottom culverts embedded 12 inches would affect about 4,200 square feet, requiring an NRPA permit by rule, and 1.33 acres of impervious area requires a full DEP stormwater permit.

8. 27:40
   Fire pond and cluster standards

   The applicant wants to use an existing pond on lot 2 as the fire pond, subject to the fire department's requirements on depth, volume, ice, access drive and hydrant, with an easement over the lot. The subdivision meets the 50 percent open space requirement with about 20 percent of that wetland, and lots are mostly 50,000 square feet, the smallest about 49,500, each with at least 150 feet of frontage.

9. 27:40
   Deed date error and title question

   A board member found a deed dated the 32nd day of June, with July 23, 2025 at the bottom, which the board asked to be clarified, most likely by a corrective deed. Michelle Harrison (?) said a remaining portion once held by Robert Libby and Victor Keith, both deceased, is being cleared up through their heirs by certified letter, and that an attorney is working on it.

10. 33:01
    Right, title and interest

    George Thebarge said right, title and interest can be shown by deed, purchase and sale agreement or easement, and that the title question does not have to be resolved to review the application but must be resolved before final approval. A stormwater filter and part of a lot fall on the disputed piece.

11. 43:42
    Checklist items on plans

    The board worked through the checklist, noting contours that failed to print on one lot, deed restrictions for the stormwater buffers, test pits and well exclusion zones. A MaineDOT entrance permit will be needed, with sight distance described as over a thousand feet in each direction.

12. 49:09
    Road frontage around the hammerhead

    George Thebarge said the code officer interprets road frontage as a single continuous line, so the sides of the turnaround cannot be added together to reach 150 feet. The applicant said it could either discount the turnaround and use a straight line or extend the right of way, and the board suggested either would be workable.

13. 54:43
    Clearing limits on the lots

    The applicant said stormwater calculations assume 25,000 square feet of developed area per lot, 20,000 of lawn and 5,000 impervious, without fixing where on the lot that falls. A board member and George Thebarge pressed for a measurable limit the code officer can enforce, spelled out on the plan and in the homeowners association declaration, noting the point of a cluster subdivision is to fix the best building sites and keep the natural characteristics.

14. 54:43
    Bats and tree clearing

    A board member noted the Inland Fisheries and Wildlife letter raising tree clearing because of bats. The applicant said bats come up on every project in wooded areas and that clearing windows may be imposed through the Army Corps and US Fish and Wildlife consultation.

15. 1:05:06
    Building envelopes on lots 6, 7 and 8

    Brian said rock outcrops and 20 percent slopes should not sit inside the building envelopes on lots 6, 7 and 8. The applicant agreed to cut those areas out of the envelopes so the plan matches the cluster calculations.

16. 1:05:06
    Completeness vote

    The board voted to accept the application as complete, on the understanding that the clearing limits and the corrected building envelopes would be shown at the next stage as a condition of preliminary approval. George Thebarge said nothing on the site suggested a need for high intensity soil surveys or traffic studies.

17. 1:15:56
    Waiver for the road section at the wetland crossing

    George Thebarge said the narrowed section with curb instead of two-foot shoulders at the wetland crossing, required by DEP permitting, does not meet Durham's street standards and needs a waiver, with the town engineer peer reviewing it. The applicant said the paved driving surface stays the same width.

18. 1:21:17
    Blue Jay Way and the two existing houses

    A board member said driveway access for lots 1 and 2 should come off the new road rather than Blue Jay Way, which does not meet current back lot standards. Michelle Harrison (?) said she considers it grandfathered after more than 20 years, cited a planning board ruling of April 3, 2025 to leave Blue Jay Way as it is, and said she does not understand why the two existing houses are in the subdivision at all when she is paying significant extra fees for 13 lots rather than 11.

19. 1:31:32
    Why the existing lots are in the subdivision

    George Thebarge said that because one existing deed is being split into two new lots, those lots are newly created and cannot claim grandfathering, and that leaving that lot out entirely with an easement across it would be a different situation. He said a legal opinion could be submitted if the applicant disagrees.

20. 1:36:34
    Compromise on driveways

    The parties discussed lot 2 taking a driveway off the new Greystone Ridge Road, which would also serve the fire pond, with lot 1 keeping Blue Jay Way under a waiver and the way discontinued across lot 1. Members said the fire chief will have to weigh in because the pond will need enlarging and may not stay in that location.

21. 1:36:34
    Permitting timeline and the six-month deadline

    The applicant asked what happens because DEP and the Army Corps are backed up and permits will not be in hand within the six months the ordinance allows between preliminary and final. George Thebarge advised coming back before the six months expire to request an extension, documenting progress, rather than making it a condition.

22. 1:41:55
    Acreage discrepancy on the plans

    General note six gives 35.37 acres while the table gives 37.88 acres, and the survey shows 35.37 because the disputed remaining piece was left out. The applicant will correct the plans once the deed question is settled.

23. 1:47:14
    Site walk and public hearing scheduled

    The board scheduled a site walk for Saturday December 20 at 1 p.m., meeting at the second lot on Blue Jay Way, with the applicant's survey crew marking the road centre line. A public hearing will be held at the next meeting on January 7 at 6:30, and George Thebarge will notify the conservation commission.

24. 1:52:18
    Site walk record for Durham Heights

    The board reviewed and approved the written record of the site walk for the Durham Heights subdivision, noting it was the first such record produced. Members mentioned comments made there about locating an existing septic tank, which would need to be shown on any next submission.

25. 1:57:19
    Ordinance amendment package

    George Thebarge said the six minor policy items, ten administrative changes and the codification with 139 changes are ready to recommend to the select board. The town manager and fire chief asked for two additions: changing who inspects back lot driveway accesses, which falls to the code officer if the fire chief does not do it, and naming the town planner rather than the code officer as the officer who processes planning board applications, which the select board reviewed and supports.

26. 2:02:22
    Staff objections deferred

    Staff objected to requiring maintenance agreements on private roads, a 20-year policy, and to having multiple road classifications. The board agreed the maintenance agreement question is too large for this round and will be taken up next time, along with the campground definition raised at the public hearing and the question of trash trucks in subdivisions, which members saw as a homeowners association matter.

27. 2:08:02
    Warrant articles and hearing schedule

    The board agreed to split the package into three warrant articles, minor policy changes, administrative changes and codification, rather than two, because it is more manageable and problems can be isolated. A public hearing on March 18 will still allow changes, and the legally required public hearing on May 20 will not.

28. 2:08:02
    Comprehensive plan deadline

    George Thebarge reported that in June 2025 the legislature changed the comprehensive plan cycle from 10 years to 12, moving Durham's deadline from June 2029 to 2031. He said a plan continues in effect without certification, but the town would not qualify for certain state grants.

29. 2:13:06
    Adjournment

    The board adjourned.

What was decided

• 6:13
  Swap items six and seven on the agenda so the applicants are heard firstoutcome unclear
• 6:13
  Accept the minutes of the November 5 and 12 meetings as amended, correcting the spelling of Todd Beaulieuoutcome unclear
• 1:05:06
  Accept the Greystone Ridge preliminary subdivision application as complete, with the clearing limits and corrected building envelopes to be shown as a condition of preliminary approvalpassed
• 1:47:14
  Hold a site walk on Saturday December 20 at 1 p.m. and a public hearing on Greystone Ridge at the January 7 meetingpassed
• 1:57:19
  Approve the Durham Planning Board site walk record for the Durham Heights subdivisionpassed
• 2:02:22
  Agreed, without a vote, to leave the question of maintenance agreements on private roads, the campground definition and trash collection in subdivisions to a later round of amendmentspassed
• 2:08:02
  Agreed, without a vote, to send the ordinance package to the select board with the fire chief inspection change and the town planner codification added, split into three warrant articles rather than twopassed
• 2:13:06
  Adjournpassed

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

• 11:14
  The application said there were no farmland soils on the site. The town planner checked the town's resource maps and found farmland soils of statewide significance, which the applicant's consultant then mapped. There are no preservation standards for them, but they bear on whether the cluster open space qualifies.
• 27:40
  The submitted deed carries an impossible date, the 32nd day of June, and part of the land has an unresolved title going back to Robert Libby and Victor Keith, both deceased, whose heirs are being contacted. The town planner said this must be cleared before final approval, and one lot and a stormwater filter sit on that piece.
• 1:21:17
  Michelle Harrison (?) objected that the two existing houses on Blue Jay Way have been pulled into the application, making it a 13-lot rather than an 11-lot subdivision at significant extra fees, and cited an April 3, 2025 planning board ruling to leave Blue Jay Way alone. George Thebarge said lots being newly created cannot be treated as grandfathered.
• 1:47:14
  A site walk is set for Saturday December 20 at 1 p.m., meeting at the second lot on Blue Jay Way, and the public hearing on Greystone Ridge is set for the January 7 meeting at 6:30.

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 8 decisions summarised.

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