HomeMy WebLinkAbout2020-10-20 Planning Board Minutes
COMMUNITY&ECONOMIC
DEVELOPMENT
PLANNING DIVISION
PLANNING BOARD
TUESDAY, OCTOBER 20, 2020, 7:00 P.M.
COUNCIL CHAMBERS, CITY HALL
MEETING MINUTES
Board Members Present: Ken Huhn, Chair
Don Meagher, Asst. Chair
Ted Brush
Ronda Hogan
John Kenney
Lisa Shaw
City Staff Present: Melissa Bickford, Development Asst.
Anne Krieg, Planning Officer
Joshua Saucier, Asst. City Solicitor
John Theriault, City Engineer
Chair Huhn called the meeting to order at 7:01PM
LAND DEVELOPMENT CODE AND MAP AMENDMENT
1.Zone Change –424 Hancock Street –Map-Lots 055-136, and 055-136-A–
Broughman Builders -To amend the Land Development Code by changing parcels of
land, Map-Lot 055-136, located at 424 Hancock Street, and Map-Lot 055-136-A, a vacant
lot located next to 424 Hancock Street, from Urban Residence One (URD-1) District to
Urban Residence Two (URD-2)District.Said parcels of land contain .47 acres. Applicant,
Broughman Builders.
Mike Wight of Broughman Builders presented the application.Property purchased several years
ago with intentions to remodel existing building. Code Enforcement wanted building brought
up to today’s standards which wasn’t financially feasible. He acquired portion of discontinued
Pearl Street, provided enough square footage to complete project. Half went to Broughman
Builders, the other half to EMMC. Land was still not big enough, two lots needed to be 10,000
sq. ft. and was only 8,000+square feet. Split main lot, and should now be able to put 2 units
oneach for a total of 4 units. There has been interest has been expressed from EMMC for good,
quality housing for traveling staff.
City Engineer Theriault indicatedthat he had received phone call from property abutter with
concerns about driveway location. Planning Officer Krieg advised same.
City of Bangor Planning Division
October 20, 2020 Meeting Minutes
Property abutter Candy Spalding spoke, advised that she was concerned about the sight distance
for the driveways as Hancock Street is busy, and the lot is right before a curve. City Engineer
Theriault indicated that he would review that as part of their curb cut permitting.
Member Shaw movedrecommendation of zoning district change to City Council, seconded by
Asst. Chair Meagher. Board passed motion by roll call vote, all members voting yes. (Meagher,
yes; Kenney, yes; Shaw, yes; Hogan, yes; Brush, yes; Huhn, yes).
2.Zone Change –95 Fruit Street –Map-Lot 053-217 –Bruce Hamel -To amend
the Land Development Code by changing of a parcel of land located at 95 Fruit Street,
Map-Lot 053-217 from Urban Residence One (URD-1) District to Urban Residence Two
(URD-2) District.Said parcel of land contains .3 acres.Applicant, Bruce Hamel.
Applicant Bruce Hamel presented the application.Property was purchased about 1 year ago,
and was in rough shape. He is looking to demolish property and rebuild new on the same site.
Member Shaw asked applicant to elaborate regarding the request for the zoning change.
Applicant proposes a 4-unit building. Zoning currently allows for 2-units. Member Brush asked
about parking issues for 4-units. Planning Officer Krieg indicated that 4-units would trigger a
subdivision, and applicant would need to return to the Planning Board for approval.
Member Shaw inquired about the Comprehensive Plan, and the suggestion to have a one-way
section on Fruit Street, and if this happened. There is a one-way section on Fruit Street from
Garland Street to State Street.
Abutter concernsfrom Otis Street, Bonnie Hamm, concerned about proximity of building with
property on Otis Streetwere received by the Board. Setbacks canbe met, and applicant will
work with Code Enforcement to ensure this.
Member Shaw movedrecommendation of zoning district change to City Council, seconded by
Asst. Chair Meagher. Board passed motion by roll call vote, all members voting yes. (Meagher,
yes; Kenney, yes; Shaw, yes; Hogan, yes; Brush, yes; Huhn, yes).
3.Zone Change –82 Second Street –Map-Lot 035-165 –Jordan Bailey –To amend
the Land Development Code by changing a parcel of land located at 82 Second Street,
Map-Lot 035-165 from Urban Residence Two (URD-2) District to Multifamily & Service
(M&S) District.Said parcel of land contains .18 acres.Applicant, Jordan Bailey.
Applicant Jordan Bailey presented the application. Hepurchased the property a couple years
ago and is slowly working on renovations. There is storage only in the attic at this time,
approximately 1100 sq. ft. He is wishing to makeit into another living space. He added there
is plenty of parking space. There are two units in the building. In order to increase to 3-units,
he would need to have zone change to M&SD due to the densityrequirements.
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Member Shaw inquiring about the non-conformity. Ifthe zoning changes, it’ll be conforming.
The lot has beennon-conforming since approximately1992when the City made changes in the
whole area.
Concerns were raised about the allowed intensity of the multi-family zoning compared to the
URD-2 zone. The board was compelledby the fact that there is a level of non-conformity that
is present in the neighborhood.
Planning Officer Krieg reviewed the staff report. Both URD-2 and M&SD are multifamily districts.
The difference between the two districts is primarily that the amount of the lot that can be
developed is more intense in the M&S district. This lot already has 2-units according to assessing
records. The lot is currently developed in keeping with, and similar to the lots in its
neighborhood.
The Comprehensive Plan has this area as URD-2. There was staff concern that this zoning
changewould provide the opportunity to develop this site in a manner that is not keeping with
the characteristics of the neighborhood. Additionally, staff is working to reduce lot sizes in the
residential zones, which will bring a large number of lots in this neighborhood into conformity.
The board was compelledby the non-conformityof the lot, as well as the proposed development
of the property as stated by applicant.
Member Shaw movedrecommendation of zoning district change to City Council, seconded by
Asst. Chair Meagher. Board passed motion by roll call vote, all members voting yes. (Meagher,
yes; Kenney, yes; Shaw, yes; Hogan, yes; Brush, yes; Huhn, yes).
4.Zone Change –Map-Lot R33-014 –Vacant Lot -Griffin Road –Albert Randall –
To amend the Land Development Code by changing a parcel of vacant land, Map-Lot
R33-014, on Griffin Road, High Density Residential (HRD) to Urban Industry District
(UID).Said parcel of land contains 16 acres, and is more particularly indicated on the
mapattached hereto and made part hereof. Albert Randall, applicant.
Applicant Albert "Chip" Randall presented the application.Applicant looking to add
approximately 600 units of outside storage, and a larger climate-controlled storage facility. They
will have a larger building for fabrication.
There is approximately 10 acres of usable land on this parcel. Planning Officer Krieg reviewed
the staff report. The lot is shown as HDR in the Comprehensive Plan. This is most likely due to
the proximity of Husson University which is directly adjacent. There has been a lot of
development branching out towards the vacant land in this part of Bangor. Development
pressures on properties has changed a lot in the past year. There may be a concern about
heavy industrial usethat is allowed in this district. This is a radical enoughchange thatthe
policy would need to be discussed. It is not as simple as going from General Commercialto
Shopping district, it’s more of an abrupt change. The choice of Urban Industry is a difficult one
as the allowed uses are more intense than the area had anticipated in the Comprehensive Plan.
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City of Bangor Planning Division
October 20, 2020 Meeting Minutes
An option raised with the applicant is to seek a contract zone as this would allow the uses to
which the City is amenable, but protect thearea from additional undesirable uses. Urban
Industry District is meant to address the needs for the City’s designated industrial growth areas.
This application is an abrupt modification of the land use policy. The dimensional controls are
also varied,however, the more crucialdifferences between the zones are more lucid in the
intensity of uses that are allowed.
The area zoning is a patchwork of retail, institution, high density residential, and rural residential.
Griffin Road is a ring connector, as opposed to a spindle connector from the downtown area,
which connects the airport area to the Stillwater area and the more rural parts of Bangor and
beyond.
The applicant was willing to work with the City and Randy Bragg (Carpenter Associates)
regardingthe contract zone. The Planning Boardagreed that the intensity of the industrial
zones is in conflict with the area and the comprehensive plan, and encouraged the applicant to
work with staff to prepare a contract zone application.
Member Shaw movedto recommend to City Council that said zoning district change ought not
to pass, seconded by Member Meagher. Board passed motion by roll call vote, all members
voting yes. (Meagher, yes; Kenney, yes; Shaw, yes; Hogan, yes; Brush, yes; Huhn, yes).
LAND DEVELOPMENT PLANS
5.Site Development Plan –Conditional Use –759 Ohio Street –Map-Lot R34-
001-A–County Properties, LLC -Land Development Permit for Site Development
Plan Approval –Conditional Use –for a 28-unit residential subdivision to be located at
759 Ohio Street, (Map-Lot R34-001-A), in a Low Density Residential (LDR) District, and
Resource Protection (RP) District.Applicant is County Properties, LLC. –
Jim Kiser represented the applicant and addressed the board. Intentions of withdrawing
application, as applicant has other interests to contend with at this time. A considerable amount
of work was accomplished between the applicant and property abutters and look forward to
presenting said work at a later time.
6.Site Development Plan –1135 Hammond Street –Map-Lot R18-021-C–
Sitewerx, Inc. o/b/o New LLC –Rick Varney–Land Development Permit for Site
Development Plan Approval –for fill and grade permit for property located at 1135
Hammond Street, (Map-Lot R18-021-C) in a General Commercial and Service (GC&S)
District.Applicant is Sitewerx, Inc. o/b/o New LLC –Rick Varney.
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Jim Kiser presented the application on behalf of the applicant. They are wishing to fill and grade
parcel for future development.
Asst. Chair Meagher moved forapproval of Site Development Plan for 1135 Hammond Street,
seconded by Member Brush. Board passed the motion by roll call vote, all members voting yes.
(Meagher, yes; Kenney, yes; Shaw, yes; Hogan, yes; Brush, yes; Huhn, yes).
OTHER BUSINESS
7.Planning Board discussion –possible changes to front setbacks in the Urban Service
District (USD) and possible amendments to the Land Development Permit process
Planning Officer Krieg met with B&ED Committee earlier this evening on the possibility of
changing setbacks for the Urban Service District (USD). USD is mostly on Main Street, continues
up State Street, and other parts of the City. It is mostly a commercial zone, and most, if not
all lots do not meet the front setback of 40’. Proposal to bring closer tothe road at 10’, and
change would include 10’ in rear as well, unless it directly abuts a residential district, then it
would stay at 20’. Aspect of USD is directly abutting residential neighborhoods, and want to
keep property in rear. It pushes away from those rear setbacks. A companion to that is to
increase lot coverage of buildings from 35% to 40%. Questions regarding pedestrian friendly
development and/or zoning were discussed. Reducing front setbacks creates a better pedestrian
environment. Example used of being able to walk directly up to a building versus walking across
a parking lot to access.
8.Meeting Minutes –October 6, 2020 Meeting Minutes
Meeting minutes of October 6, 2020 will be included in the Planning Board Meeting packet for
November 3, 2020.
9.Adjournment –
Member Brush moves to adjourn meeting, seconded by Member Shaw.
Welcome back wishes were given to John Kenney.
Hammond Street Congregational Church will be hosting a fundraising bean supper for Nelson
th
.
Durginon Saturday, October 24
Meeting adjourned at 8:03 P.M.
Respectfully submitted,
Melissa L. Bickford
Development Assistant
Planning Department
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