Select board approves project

by Jonathan Strieff

More than two dozen residents attended the Palermo Planning Board meeting on Thursday, March 13, to voice concerns and raise questions during the preliminary hearing to approve a proposed 12-unit subdivision on Hostile Valley Road. Many of those present spoke to potential impacts to the local ecology and environment, traffic and public infrastructure, and other anticipated consequences from increased population density. The five member planning board recorded input from community members, as well as developer, James Boyle, for over two hours before voting unanimously to approve the preliminary application as complete, moving the proposal forward to a public hearing at a future date.

In November 2024, Gorham based developer, James Boyle purchased 27 acres, in Palermo, between Log Cabin Lane and Belden Pond. He promptly began the application process to subdivide the parcel into 15 house lots ranging in size between one and four acres, including the development of a 50-foot wide private road.

In the intervening months, Boyle has worked with K and K Land Surveyors, based in Oakland, to finalize his proposed development plan to meet the preliminary application requirements of the planning board, including mapping protected wetlands and slopes unsuitable for building on, identifying at least 10 percent of the total acreage to be preserved as open space for recreation, and designating a 75-foot protected buffer area along Belden Pond Brook.

The submitted proposal reduced the number of house lots from 15 to 12 and significantly shortened the length of the proposed Pine Hill Road. Boyle intends to sell the lots individually, rather than developing the entire housing division himself, but specified that including deed restrictions and the creation of a Road Association or Home Owners Association within the subdivision would ensure the common maintenance and upkeep of the shared assets, the private road and the preserved recreation land.

Several abutting land owners present addressed their wide ranging concerns both to the planning board members, and to Boyle directly. Four community members read prepared statements focusing on the potential impacts of the development to the health of the ecology and wildlife of the surrounding area, road repair and travel safety related to increased traffic, and impacts to other social and cultural aspects of the town, like the school system. One resident, Henry Holden, presented the planning board with a petition of 100 names signed in opposition to the planned development as currently proposed.

One common refrain spoke to concerns about changing the “rural character,” of the town. One attendee noted that 12 new homes on a 27 acre parcel would be a 1000 percent increase in population density compared with the current average in Palermo. Another worried that, with no plan to restrict development to single family homes, the lenient zoning ordinances in Palermo could potentially allow the 12 lots to be built up into a mix of up to 27 single family and multifamily units, even more with the allowance of Auxiliary Dwelling Units. Board Chairman, Janelle Tirrell, commented that, while preserving and protecting the rural character of Palermo is enshrined in the towns Comprehensive Plan, rural is in the eye of the beholder, and not necessarily determined by lot size. Boyle responded by citing another section of the Comprehensive Plan, which identified the need for at least 70 new housing units to be built in Palermo by 2040 to keep up with demographic changes. He pointed out that “relying of market forces and natural housing stock,” as recommended in the previous Comprehensive Plan from the 1990s, has seen median house prices in Palermo double in recent years, from $165,000 to $323,000.

Another neighbor, Pamela Paige, spoke extensively about the potential negative impacts the proposed development could have on the environment, specifically the Sheepscott Lake Watershed. The development site sits squarely within the watershed and the activities of clearing the land and building the structures could inevitably introduce nonpoint sources pollution into Sheepscott Lake and River by way of Belden Brook and disturb the natural ecosystem for wildlife present. Sheepscott Lake supports populations of lake trout and landlocked salmon and Sheepscott River is one of only seven rivers in the country to maintain a wild Atlantic salmon run. “As habitat blocks shrink and are fragmented,” Paige said, “entire wildlife species are driven away.”

Chanel Cyr also spoke to impacts to the watershed, but in the context of the recent phenomenon of many area wells running dry. The climate trends in Maine towards hotter temperatures and less annual precipitation has had a detrimental effect on groundwater levels. An additional 12 households drawing water from the same source would only make the problem worse.

Finally, resident Loraine Eliot spoke to the unsafe conditions and unreasonable congestion that could be brought to Hostile Valley Road with the Pine Hill Development. Running through the numbers, Eliot made the case that 12 new lots could easily result in 72 new driving adults traveling on the road, potentially hundreds during holidays or in the case of someone starting a home business. The intersection with Level Hill Road is notorious in town for being dangerous and difficult to see. In the event of new signage or a traffic light being deemed necessary to accommodate the increase in traffic, Eliot asked, who is expected to pay for that?

The meeting adjourned with the board unanimously approving the preliminary application as complete. Boyle took extensive notes during the period of public comment and asked concerned citizens to contact him directly to include their input in the plan as it moves forward.