Planning Board Meeting ~ May 6, 2026

2026-05-06 · Planning Board · 1:29:34 · watch on YouTube →

A regular Planning Board meeting with five members present plus town planner George Thebarge. The main business was a public hearing on the preliminary plan for the Ivy Ridge subdivision, a 12-lot cluster subdivision at 335 New Brook Road (?) proposed by Rivy LLC, with Craig Burgess of Acorn Engineering presenting; the board went through draft conditions of approval, added a condition restricting tree clearing between May 15 and August 15, and took a motion for preliminary approval. The second item, a conditional use application for expansion of the Jaden gravel pit at 1104 Hallowell Road, was not reviewed on its merits: the applicant asked for more time, and the board instead worked through the town planner's documentation checklist and moved to treat the application as incomplete. George Thebarge set out that the gravel pit application follows two notices of violation from the code enforcement officer and that excavation has gone beyond the approved 5-acre pit and into the required 100-foot property line buffers. The board also confirmed arrangements for the May 20 public hearing on the draft land use ordinance amendments and asked what the 30-day erosion control deadline given to Durham Heights means.

What was discussed

1. 4:07
   Call to order and minutes

   Brian Lanoie opened the May 6, 2026 meeting, noted five members present plus the town planner, and confirmed a quorum. Two sets of minutes were before the board; a motion was made to approve the April 8 minutes as presented.

2. 4:07
   Information exchange on non-agenda items

   George Thebarge said his monthly report to the town manager and select board on the planning division work program was included in the packet. Asked about forming the economic development committee, he said the select board has been tied up on budget matters and the project is expected to get rolling right after town meeting. No residents spoke on non-agenda items.

3. 4:07
   Public hearing opened: Ivy Ridge subdivision preliminary plan

   Brian Lanoie opened the public hearing on the preliminary plan for the Ivy Ridge subdivision at 335 New Brook Road, map 5, lot 61, and read the board's hearing procedures at length. He set out that questions go through the chair, that direct questioning between members of the public and the applicant is not permitted, and that the hearing is limited to whether the application meets the adopted subdivision standards rather than broader growth policy.

4. 9:46
   Applicant presentation on Ivy Ridge

   Craig Burgess of Acorn Engineering, representing Rivy LLC, described a 12-lot cluster subdivision served by a single road, with each lot having more than 40,000 square feet of usable area, no wetland impact, individual wastewater systems, underground electric, and two detention basins. The open space is one contiguous parcel of over 60 percent of the site. The figure given for new impervious area was recognised as "about 86 acres", which does not square with his later statement that the project creates less than one acre of new impervious surface and so needs no state stormwater permit.

5. 9:46
   Public comment: conservation commission

   The chair of the conservation commission, of 35 Brianna Drive, said the commission attended the January site walk and sees benefits in the cluster layout and the open space. She asked that tree clearing be avoided between May 15 and August 15 to protect breeding bats and migratory birds, and asked whether there is a spring or spring box on the site. Craig Burgess (?) said he was not aware of a spring and would follow up.

6. 20:30
   Public comment: lot sizes and buffers

   Jessica Copeland of Swamp Road (?) asked about minimum lot sizes; it was explained that the cluster standards allow a 45,000 square foot minimum in exchange for the open space, against 90,000 square feet, roughly two acres, for a conventional subdivision. Roger New (?), from across the street, asked how wide the no-disturb area is and whether a tree line would be planted; the 50-foot buffer is required by ordinance and no planting is currently shown along the road frontage.

7. 26:12
   Board review: submissions and soil drainage classification

   A board member asked for confirmation that nothing had been submitted since the last meeting other than revised stormwater maps, and that the plans remain dated March 26. Craig Burgess (?) explained that the "somewhat poorly drained" label came from the hydrologic soil group rather than the specific soil types, and that at final the classification will be tied to the individual soils, which he said are all well drained, with test pit data supporting septic systems.

8. 31:17
   Financial and technical capacity of the applicant

   A board member noted that the bank letter describes approved financing as contingent on, among other things, an appraisal of the property. George Thebarge said the usual documentation at final is a letter of commitment from a bank, and raised that the projects cited to show technical capacity were done by Snell Construction LLC rather than by the applicant Rivy LLC. Craig Burgess (?) said Johnny Snell is associated with Rivy LLC and that this would be cleared up.

9. 31:17
   Vernal pool determination

   The vernal pool assessment found egg mass counts below the threshold for a significant vernal pool, so the 250-foot setback shown on the preliminary plans will be removed at final, with no change to the lot layout. The board noted the survey results still have to go back to the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife.

10. 36:41
    Plantings, waste collection and permits

    The board asked about changing the planting species on the west side away from anything that attracts deer, and confirmed collection will be curbside with an ability-to-serve letter from Casella. The road will be a hammerhead built to town standard and the houses will be sprinklered, so no fire pond is proposed. A notice of intent to the state would be needed once a contractor is lined up, and the board discussed that the ordinance does not currently require a planted buffer along the road frontage.

11. 41:44
    Draft conditions of approval

    George Thebarge read through fourteen draft conditions, covering peer review of the engineering and of the cluster lot calculations, the performance guarantee estimate, the six-month deadline to file the final application, clearing limits shown on the plans, a street name for addressing, homeowners association documents on the town template, easements in the open space, and financial security. He added a condition requiring documentation of Rivy LLC's own technical experience rather than that of another developer.

12. 47:26
    Tree clearing condition and preliminary approval

    The board added language prohibiting tree clearing between May 15 and August 15. Craig Burgess (?) said construction would probably not start until August or September in any case and that there is little tree clearing on the property, but asked to check with his client, and George Thebarge noted the condition could be modified at final if necessary. A motion for preliminary subdivision approval as narrated and presented followed, with a second.

13. 47:26
    Jaden gravel pit conditional use request introduced

    The board took up the request for conditional use approval for expansion of the Ripley (?) Jaden gravel pit at 1104 Hallowell Road, map 7, lot 57. Brian Lanoie told the members of the public present that no public comment would be taken at this meeting, that their written comments are on file with George Thebarge, and that a public comment period will be held if the application continues.

14. 52:33
    Applicant asks to table the gravel pit application

    Craig Burgess, appearing for Jaden Landscaping, Inc., asked the board to table the review so the applicant could respond to the staff comments and checklist items. He described the site as an existing pit approved for 5 acres, since expanded onto an adjacent parcel, with roughly 14.75 acres currently mined and a proposal to combine the two lots into a single pit of about 13 acres, filed as an after-the-fact application.

15. 57:37
    Enforcement background and letter of incomplete application

    George Thebarge said the application follows two notices of violation issued by the code enforcement officer and that timeliness is therefore an issue, and recommended the board issue a formal letter of incomplete application rather than let the matter roll on. He identified missing noise studies, traffic data, groundwater and fuel storage information, a generic reclamation plan, excavation up to and possibly across property lines in breach of the 100-foot setback, and a right, title and interest question because the applicant is Jaden Landscaping while the owner of record is Brunswick Trucking LLC.

16. 1:08:20
    Documentation checklist read through

    George Thebarge went through the checklist against articles 5, 7, 10 and 14 of the ordinance: a narrative of what was excavated beyond the 2022 approval and when, evidence of right title and interest, a comprehensive plan set distinguishing authorised from unauthorised excavation, topography and setback measurements, a reclamation and closure plan restoring the compromised buffers, a hydrogeological report, slope compliance, erosion control, buffer mapping and vegetation restoration, aquifer protection and hazardous material compliance, cost estimates and evidence of financial capacity, a professional noise study, a transportation engineer's analysis, and a compliance history.

17. 1:18:46
    Questions on the town's notices and motion to postpone

    Board members went through the town's letters of July 15, 2025, November, and February 2026, the last of which gave 30 days either to submit a complete conditional use application or to enter a consent agreement reducing the pit to 5 acres. Craig Burgess (?) said he believed the first option was chosen but would have to confirm, and acknowledged the 30-day timeframe was not met. A motion was made and seconded that the board allow the applicant to complete the documentation checklist because the application as submitted is incomplete.

18. 1:23:51
    May 20 public hearing on land use ordinance amendments

    George Thebarge said the board will present the draft land use ordinance amendments to the select board on Tuesday, with the final public hearing on Wednesday May 20 at the fire station. Because the material has already been through information meetings and hearings last autumn and no changes can be made at the formal legal hearing, the May 20 session will simply list the seven policy issues and ten administrative changes and take questions.

19. 1:23:51
    Durham Heights erosion control deadline

    A board member asked what the 30 days given to Durham Heights to install soil erosion controls means, since the work has not been done. The answer given was that where it is not specified, 30 days would usually mean 30 work days.

20. 1:29:03
    Close of meeting

    A motion was put and seconded and the chair called the vote. The transcript does not carry the wording.

What was decided

• 4:07
  Motion to approve the April 8 minutes as presentedoutcome unclear
• 47:26
  Condition (?) added to the Ivy Ridge approval restricting tree clearing between May 15 and August 15, moved by Juliet Caplinger. The written minutes record that the board added the conditionpassed
• 47:26
  Motion for preliminary subdivision approval of Ivy Ridge as narrated and presented, with the conditions discussedoutcome unclear
• 1:18:46
  Motion that the board allow the applicant for the Jaden gravel pit to complete the documentation checklist, the application as submitted being incomplete, and postpone the review until thenoutcome unclear
• 1:29:03
  A final motion was made, seconded and put to a vote at the end of the meeting; the transcript does not carry its wordingoutcome 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.

Motions the minutes record

The town's own written account of what was decided, taken from pb_minutes_5_6_26.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.

• add a restriction on tree clearing between May 15 and August 15. The Board added a condition restricting tree clearing between May 15 and August 15, subject to further review at the final plan stage if requested by the a…

  Moved by Juliet Caplinger, no seconder recorded; no outcome recorded

Worth knowing

• 57:37
  The gravel pit application is an after-the-fact filing following two notices of violation from the code enforcement officer. Roughly 14.75 acres are currently mined against an original approval for a 5 acres, and the town planner said excavation has gone up to and possibly across property lines, breaching the required 100-foot buffer. The original approval is given in the transcript both as 2021 and as January 2022.
• 1:02:48
  George Thebarge said there was a traffic fatality at the pit entrance and asked for a log of truck movements for the past year plus an accident history analysis. He also said a 500-gallon diesel tank on site did not meet DEP standards, and the town's aquifer protection standards are higher, and that a professional noise study is needed against limits of 55 dB daytime and 45 dB at night.
• 1:18:46
  The town's February 2026 letter gave 30 days to submit a complete conditional use application or enter a consent agreement reducing the pit to 5 acres; board members noted the deadline was not met. DEP deadlines of December 31, 2025 and June 30, 2026 were also cited, with only the transfer of ownership application submitted so far.
• 1:23:51
  The final public hearing on the draft land use ordinance amendments is Wednesday May 20 at the fire station. No changes can be made at that hearing; it is an opportunity to ask questions before town meeting.

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