The latest news about Maine lakes and ponds.

Vassalboro Planners Approve Almost Everything on Agenda

November 03, 2007 - VASSALBORO -- Planning Board members approved almost everything on their Oct. 2 agenda: a condominium development, two businesses and most of two shoreland zoning applicants requests.

Jim Coffin of Coffin Engineering presented the final plan for Karen and Robert Greig's Echo Hill subdivision, consisting of five duplexes on a new road (to be called Karen Drive) off Church Hill Road. Coffin said the road will be built to town specifications, except that he was not sure whether Greig plans to pave it if so, probably not until next year, he said. The road currently ends with a turnaround close to the Augusta city line. Coffin said in the future, it may be extended to serve a second phase of the development. The septic systems for the development are in Augusta and need approval from the city's codes enforcement officer. Coffin said in response to comments at his earlier meeting with the board, a line of evergreens has been added to protect neighbors Kelly and Paul Dupuis from headlight glare. The two businesses are on and near Riverside Drive.

Tyler Olson has approval to open Olson's Pre-owned Cars on property leased from Frank Getchell at Getchell's Comer, where the Bondo's Annex used car sales business was approved in July 2006.

Maritime Marine LLC has an after-the-fact permit for a boat assembly business in an existing building at the south end of Cushnoc Road. Ken Priest, one of the owners of Maritime Marine, explained that the company is leasing the Vassalboro building temporarily, while waiting to enlarge its space on Riverside Drive in Augusta. Since February, he said, fiberglass boat decks and hulls made in Augusta are brought the short distance to Vassalboro, where three full-time employees install steering systems, windshields, electronics and other necessities. No chemicals are used at the Vassalboro site, and the company has made no changes to the outside of the building.

Shoreland zoning applicant Peter Armstrong quickly received a permit for a 3-by-4-foot shelter for a hot water tank at his camp on Plummer Road on Webber Pond. Bruce Murray's application for five after-the-fact permits for changes to a camp and house on Murray Road in the Webber Pond shoreland generated considerable discussion and only partial approval. Looking at what they would have done had the applications been filed before the work was done, board members found that on the camp, a replacement deck on the side, slightly larger than the old one, was within the allowable 15 percent expansion and could be approved. However, a new 5-by-10-foot landing and set of stairs on the west (lake) side of the building violated the prohibition on expanding toward the water. Board members ruled that a 4-by4-foot landing, not to be used as a deck, was the maximum they could permit. On the house, a replacement landing with stairs on the west side and access to a relocated door on the south side were found legal. But board members told Murray they could not approve retroactively a deck that was enlarged beyond what was specified in a 1990 permit, because doing .so would exceed the 15 percent expansion limit. Murray's son Ben explained that in 1990, when shoreland zoning was only a year old, the town's codes enforcement officer allowed the additional deck space in retum for moving a bunkhouse away from the lake. Current codes officer Paul Mitnik had a letter from state environmental regulators saying that sort of trade-off is not allowed.

SOURCE: TOWN LINE

DATE: 10-11-2007


Lakes: Webber Pond
Regions: Belgrade


Print this story

Email this story

return to Lake News