York Town News
Highland Farm subdivision, Old York education center top Planning Board talks
By Jennifer L. Saunders
YORK - The Planning Board voiced support for conceptual plans for an Old York Historical Society education center at its most recent meeting, while the second phase of the Highland Farm subdivision received a lukewarm reception.In the end, however, the board voted to accept the Highland Farm application as complete for the purposes of review - after Town Planner Steve Burns stressed that such an acceptance is not a ruling on the merits of the project.
The Highland Farm Phase 2 application has been before the Planning Board numerable times in recent months, and recently prompted an executive session discussion with the town's legal counsel on whether the proposed plan meets the requirements of the town's watershed overlay district.
Last month, the Planning Board was joined by representatives of the applicant, Moon River Development, as well as Conservation Commission members, concerned neighbors and others for what amounted to a three-hour site walk of the parcel in question, and at the board's Sept. 14 meeting, several residents spoke against the application.
Conservation Commission Chairman David Tibbetts cautioned the board that the site walk indicated the area is an ideal habitat for an array of endangered or monitored species.
"It's the recommendation of the York Conservation Commission that some type of study be done to determine the presence, or non-presence, of these species," he said, while an abutter to the property raised concerns about construction in an area so close to the Boulter Pond watershed.
The applicant's attorney cautioned the board that this was not the time for substantive review. The question, he stressed, was whether or not he application itself was complete.
"I think there are a lot of issues to consider," said Planning Board Chairman Glen MacWilliams, adding the submission requirements for the application "could be a showstopper."
Fellow board member Barrie Munro said those discussions would be best held after the preliminary plan was accepted for review.
"I think there is some danger in dragging this out any longer, frankly, from a legal perspective … and a process perspective," Munro said, reiterating that the board's acceptance of the plan was not a value judgment on the project. "It simply starts the clock."
The vote to accept the plan as complete for the purposes of review was 3-2 with Lee Corbin, Richard Smith and Munro in favor, and MacWilliams and Vice Chairman Tom Manzi in opposition.
Burns advised the board to wait for any detailed substantive review on the application until the next meeting to allow him to outline such issues of concerns as the roadway, public water and the reservation of conservation or common land in the subdivision.
Earlier in the meeting, the board heard an update from Old York Historical Society Executive Director Scott Stevens on a proposal to resurrect an historic Eliot barn on First Parish Church land adjacent to Jefferds' Tavern to house Old York's new education and visitor center.
As it has been presented as a conceptual plan only, the board took public input and offered guidance.
"We anticipated building new construction that would look compatible with the 18th-century Jefferds' Tavern," until the historic Eliot barn became available, Stevens said of the project, which first came before the board as a conceptual discussion in 2004. "Since that time, we have also been raising money. Our goal is $2.8 million … to build this facility, to complete the Ramsdell House further down the street … and to endow" the museum's other buildings.
At this time, Stevens said, Old York has raised about $2.4 million.
Two abutters spoke on the project, voicing concerns about parking on the site. Stevens confirmed the expanded parking lot will not be paved and will be screened, and added Old York is open to parking and traffic flow recommendations from the board as the plan moves forward.
The general consensus of the majority of the board and those members of the public who spoke was that the project will be a good thing for York Village and the town as a whole as long as the parking issue can be addressed.
Local resident Ron Nowell praised Old York for its vision in the plan to also improve the location of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial on the site, which he said has been neglected by the town.
"They're going to raise it up so you can read the people's names … and they're going to build a nice stone wall to go around it," Nowell said, adding the project "would be a vast, vast improvement, and I think they ought to be commended for it."
MacWilliams agreed.
"The new barn is a great addition," he said. "… I like what's happening on the site, I like what's happening with the veterans' memorial."
A date for formal preliminary review has not yet been set.
In other business, the board:
*Cast preference votes in support of recommended zoning and Comprehensive Plan changes to be on the ballot in November.
*Voted to write a letter to the Code Enforcement Office asking for a review of potential use violations by businesses along Route 1. Corbin and Smith voted against the request, citing two of the businesses in question as grandfathered, legally non-conforming uses.
*Discussed a lot-line dispute where a developer sold the same parcel to two individuals, and determined to require the developer to resolve the subdivision problems or the board will issue a finding of default.
*Approved field changes for York Storage Solutions/Arenhall Corp., located at 1950 U.S. Route One, to relocate a well; a minor amendment to the Kettles property on Greenacre Drive to reflect setbacks changed several years ago by the town; an application for a Route One Use Permit to expand the building at TAGT, LLC, 360 Route 1 and to add a second building, and an amendment to the Site Plan and Subdivision Regulations regarding the issue of landform alterations related to such changes as foundations, driveways, septic systems and roads.
