Vassalboro planners discuss three applications; store permit still “good”

by Mary Grow

Vassalboro Planning board members discussed three applications on their Dec. 3 agenda: a permit extension for the East Vassalboro village store; a proposed Seaward Mills Road subdivision; and a Brann Road business.

In February 2023, board members approved a permit for Tim and Heather Dutton to reopen the former East Vassalboro Country Store. Since then, the permit has been extended once; now, Heather Dutton said, they need another extension, because of delays in finding contractors who have time to work with them.

Planning board member Paul Mitnik referred to an ordinance provision that says if a substantial start has been made, the permit remains valid without more extensions. A substantial start, he said, is defined as spending at least 30 percent of the total project cost.

Dutton is sure they have done that, buying equipment. Therefore, board members said, the permit is good. They wished the Duttons luck; Mitnik commented that many people are eager for the store to reopen.

Surveyor Adam Ellis, with landowner Jeremy Allen, presented an initial sketch plan for a seven-lot subdivision next to an existing subdivision (from 2001, Ellis said) on Seaward Mills Road, across from Kennebec Land Trust’s property.

The total area is about 15.5 acres, partly field and partly wooded, with no wetlands, Ellis said. Lot sizes will vary from 1.5 to 3 acres. A short interior road is planned.

Board members found that under Vassalboro’s revised subdivision ordinance, which they were using for the first time, submission of the sketch plan should have included notice to abutting landowners. Ellis had not known that requirement was his responsibility. The board therefore could not act Dec. 3.

Members debated whether the ordinance’s three-step application process – sketch plan, preliminary application and final application – requires three separate meetings. They decided if they approve a sketch plan at their January 2025 meeting, they can immediately begin review of the preliminary application, if Ellis has submitted it in time.

Codes officer Eric Currie gave Ellis a copy of the updated subdivision ordinance. Mitnik, calling it “cumbersome,” pointed out the four-page list of required information for the final application.

The third topic Dec. 3 was an application from R. L. Mercantile and Trading Post, at 334 Brann Road, to operate a retail store. Currie said he told the owner(s) to come to the planning board meeting to discuss the application; no representative was there.

A Brann Road resident attended to present neighborhood concerns, mostly about increased traffic on a narrow, residential road with a 35-mile-an-hour speed limit. Board members had other concerns and questions.

The application was tabled to the board’s Jan. 7, 2025, meeting.