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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2003-05-20 Planning Board Minutes PLANNING BOARD OF THE CITY OF BANGOR MEETING OF MAY 20, 2003 MINUTES Board Members Present: Richard Fournier, Chairman Frederick Costlow David Clark Harold Wheeler Bill Masters Ryan King City Staff Present: Katherine Weber James Ring David Gould Lynn Johnson News Media Present: Bangor Daily News WLBZ TV 2 Chairman Fournier called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. In the absence of Board Member Guerette, Associate Members King and Masters were asked to alternate voting beginning with Mr. King. CONSENT AGENDA As no one wished to remove any of the items for discussion, Chairman Fournier asked for a motion. Mr. Costlow moved to approve the Consent Agenda. Mr. Clark seconded the motion. The Board voted five in favor and 0 opposed to approve the Consent Agenda. The items approved are: Item No. 1: To consider a request to extend the Completion Date for construction of a 40,154-square foot retail building located at 982 Stillwater Avenue. Thomas G. Ellis, applicant. Item No. 2: Site Development Plan Approval to construct a 672-square foot addition to the existing building at 792 State Street in a Shopping and Personal Service District. Vance A. Aloupis, MD, applicant. Item No. 3 Site Development Plan Approval to construct a 7,500- square foot warehouse and a 3,000 square foot showroom addition to the existing building at 34 BanAir Road in an Urban Industry District. Bangor Motor Sports, applicant. Item No. 4: Site Development Plan Approval to construct a 20-space parking lot at 339 Husson Avenue in a Shopping and Personal Service District. Ultraviolet, LLC, applicant. Item No. 5: Site Development Plan Approval for site improvements in conjunction with the construction of a 210-space parking lot on the adjacent lot at 339 Husson Avenue. Mikmar, LLC, applicant. APPROVAL OF MINUTES Item No. 6: Planning Board Approval of Minutes. Mr. Wheeler moved to approve the Minutes of the May 6, 2003 Meeting. The motion was seconded by Mr. Clark, and it passed unanimously. NEW BUSINESS Item No. 6: Planning Board Workshop – “Beginning With Habitat.” Chairman Fournier asked that those present sign the Attendance Sheet placed at the beginning of each aisle. He also asked people to fill out an evaluation form and give them back to the Planning Staff after the presentation. Mr. Mark Stadler, Director of the Wildlife Division of the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife, explained that “Beginning With Habitat” was a project that several State Agencies and several non-governmental agencies such as the Audubon Society had been working on for the last 5 years. Mr. Stadler told the Board that “Beginning with Habitat” can be a useful tool for municipalities in their planning process regarding natural resources issues. Mr. Stadler indicated that the presentation would be conducted by Ms. Sally Stockwell, a wildlife ecologist with the Audubon Society, Mr. Jim Connolly, a regional wildlife biologist with the State whose office is in Sydney, and Ms. Coleen Ryan, Program Coordinator in the Department of Conservation’s Critical Areas Program. He went on to explain that “Beginning with Habitat” deals with Maine’s natural plants and unique and natural communities.” 2 Ms. Sally Stockwell, through a slideshow presentation, discussed the effects of development on habitats. Some of the effects include loosing species, the direct loss of habitat, fragmented habitat, decreased habitat size, and increased habitat edge. Ms. Stockwell told the Board that an example of lost habitat would be that for every mile of Interstate, there are 295 pairs of territorial songbirds that are lost. Ms. Stockwell described another example of fragmented habitat due to an increase in the number of homes, yards, and roads would be that large animals have a difficult time moving across landscapes. Ms. Stockwell noted that the bobcat is one of the species that is lost quickly when habitat is broken up. The bobcat needs 4,750 acres to find all of its needs. Ground nesters also suffer. Ms. Stockwell discussed habitat size, shape of the habitat blocks, proximity to existing conserved lands, and existing barriers that could cause problems for species. Ms. Stockwell went on to explain that roads present a number of problems for wildlife as they result in high rates of mortality. A 500- foot buffer on either side of new road construction would be desirable to preserve habitat areas. Mr. Jim Connolly, said that “Beginning With Habitat” was an approach to protect open space, and was not anti-development. He discussed riparian zones and wetlands, and how they are important as habitats for rare or endangered plants. He discussed blocks of open space, and how they are significant to wildlife and plants. He stressed that a regional approach would make more sense and have greater gains. He emphasized how important it was for open dialogue between citizens and governmental agencies. After the presentation, Chairman Fournier opened up the meeting for questions from the audience. Mr. David Thompson, from Orono, asked if deer wintering areas are protected. It was noted by Mr. Connolly that, at this time, only in unorganized townships are deer wintering areas protected. Ms. Sally Jacobs, from Orono, asked if Orono, Veazie or Old Town asked to have these maps done, what the time line would be. Mark Stadler indicated that they would make it a high priority, and try to do it through the course of the summer if those towns a formal request to the State. Mr. Connolly, who is the regional biologist out of Sydney, indicated that he fields a lot of phone calls from this area. He said that the City of Bangor has done a great deal of work in its City Forest, and noted the creation of trails and the Caribou Bog boardwalks. Mr. Connolly discussed the various maps indicating the wildlife priority areas, grassland areas, and habitat areas. He said that a 3 community needs to prioritize its resources to get the “biggest bang for your buck.” Ms. Christina DeBold asked what the 2 or 3 most valuable habitats were in Bangor. Mr. Connolly said that this was for the City to decide as a community process, and that he was just providing the information for the community to consider in its deliberation. Ms. Hope Brogunier of Bangor, indicated that she was interested in some of the strategies that have been successful in the towns that have used this mapping and asked what the appropriate compensation is for landowners who have carried the burden of being good stewards. She also asked if there are tax incentives or breaks that have worked in other communities. Ms. Stockwell indicated that this issue came up before the Legislature several years ago. Even though the Legislature was interested, they did not feel that the State had the money to reimburse individuals at that time. She indicated that there are communities trying to find ways to provide tax incentives or tax reductions for landowners. One creative idea might be to leave back lands for habitat while developing smaller lots along road frontages. Mr. Costlow thanked the presenters for the information. He noted that he wished that the Board had had this information years ago because, without the information, getting a good plan together was next to impossible. Mr. Costlow said that this information was a real asset to the Board. Chairman Fournier indicated that the maps will be located at City Hall in the Planning Office for those who would like to review them. Chairman Fournier then asked for a motion to adjourn. Mr. Costlow moved to adjourn the meeting. Mr. Wheeler asked to be able to make a few comments prior to adjournment. Mr. Wheeler said that he would like to remind Mr. Stadler that Bangor is a City, and not a town. He also wanted to thank Mr. Connolly for his poignant advice on community relations as he felt that he had made a good point. Mr. Wheeler indicated that he was “struck” by several things that were stated at the meeting; one of which was that roads are hazardous to wildlife. Mr. Wheeler said that he would not argue that point. However, he said that he felt that the concept of a 500-foot buffer on either side of any new road construction translates into an area of more than 3 football fields. Mr. Wheeler went on to say that he could only guess at the millions of square feet of land that would be left virtually undevelopable. 4 Mr. Wheeler said that with the thousands of people who had been laid off from their jobs at Great Northern, Georgia Pacific, General Electric, Scott Paper, and Bangor Hydro Electric who are struggling to survive, and are existing on unemployment or jobs that may pay only minimum wage, he was concerned about the human species. He indicated that he would study the materials from this meeting very carefully. Mr. Wheeler said that this is a City, and a City must grow, and a way to grow is through economic development. Where there are practical ways to preserve natural habitat, they should be pursued. Mr. Wheeler questioned that if this information, which is the result of extensive research and evaluation, is so important, why was it not available upon request rather than only being available to those communities who host this presentation. There being no further comments, Mr. Clark seconded the motion to adjourn. The motion passed unanimously, and the meeting was adjourned at 8:40 p.m. 5