[{"_1":2,"_123":-5,"_124":-5},"loaderData",{"_3":4,"_26":27},"root",{"_5":6,"_17":10,"_18":19,"_20":21,"_22":10,"_23":-5,"_24":-5,"_25":10},"user",{"_7":8,"_9":10,"_11":10,"_12":-5,"_13":-5,"_14":15,"_16":-5},"roles",[],"isAuthenticated",false,"isPremium","planName","subscriptionStatus","featureFlags",{},"insightsBudget","isDevelopmentHost","userPreferences",{},"recaptchaSiteKey","6LcvOJcUAAAAAHsB-gPGfGktcRlKpH7OTIU_dMTD","isImpersonating","impersonation","affiliateStatus","isFreedomPortal","routes/v2/article/layout",{"_28":29,"_30":31},"notFound",true,"relatedArticles",[32,75,87,99,111],{"_33":34,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":40,"_41":42,"_43":44,"_45":46,"_47":48,"_49":50,"_51":52,"_53":54,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":60,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":66,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":56,"_74":56},"mediaId",6244801,"mediaKeyId","3228603-21f25339683cdf070be48dc55d652517","parentId",3228603,"title","Applicant finds 439 Main Street plan complete; board schedules public hearing on affordable housing conversion for June 3","audioSeconds",668,"startMs",11312000,"endMs",11980000,"viewUrl","/Search/View?dp=1&key=3228603-21f25339683cdf070be48dc55d652517&start=11312&end=11980","thumbnailUrl","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/3228603-21f25339683cdf070be48dc55d652517/thumbnail_11312000.jpg","articleUrl","/articles/6244801/Maine/Applicant-finds-439-Main-Street-plan-complete-board-schedules-public-hearing-on-affordable-housing-conversion-for-June-3","mediaUrl","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6244801-c1ce8f51588071487527d8530b490d60/orig.mp4?Expires=1776014417&Signature=Q5GerJJfF~DLLSJlXZJ1iMRi2mqB13BUCTNawYsNVLx-Z8c~UrM0n1EdenUPv4I3h6ag~0~ftLaBsjPngIMxtWIYBz9Ia4br~MQId9Gqi-HAcxR8wK9uiDl-SNU2pYmh334qfh1pb1wb0sfErzcnu8AFpoVl1QL2PbMlGWQrU27PlxTGJY3vO3JJN9RuEfI4N8iLuAv6k-FnwRVqSwMDh7QkjVlKcN0pI4PZ3gosK2A1zvB11UX8Tl7U5v7MYKVWTfEGX8uaJxg4YADuquWVT1WsvdnmMSVPZVPWfbHVoHnkstd2Xk7~qabIp10TPlXbYoPTMr1mJo9awW5A~l7Www__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","author","","date","2025-05-07T13:52:51Z","article","The Socko Planning Board on May 6 found the application for 439 Main Street (Map 33, Lot 25-1) complete and scheduled a public hearing for June 3 to consider a proposal to convert seven commercial condominium units into seven residential condominium units using the local implementation of the state's affordable-housing density bonus (Section 2-30-703).

BH2M engineer Austin Fagan presented the project on behalf of owner Jackson Browne. Fagan said the September 2023 state policy enabling an affordable-housing density bonus is the basis for the application and that the applicant intends to designate the one-bedroom units as the long-term affordable units. He said four units will be offered as affordable units under the proposed financial/bookkeeping approach discussed with staff.

Planning staff asked the board to consider how long-term monitoring and affordability controls will be documented and enforced for the next 30 years. Staff noted the prior project at 12 School Street used MaineHousing and other programmatic tools to ensure affordability; staff asked that the applicant provide a monitoring plan and the mechanism by which units will be tracked and retained as affordable.

The board voted to find the application complete and set a public hearing for June 3. The applicant and staff will work on documentation of the affordability monitoring and any programmatic agreements necessary to satisfy Section 2-30-703 standards.

Why it matters: The application uses the city's affordable-housing density bonus to convert commercial space into residential units, increasing housing supply and reserving units at restricted rents or incomes. The board\u0000\u0000\u0000\u0000\u0000\u0000must be satisfied that long-term affordability will be enforceable, and the June 3 hearing will review proposed monitoring, deed restrictions or programmatic agreements.

Actions and next steps: Planning staff and the applicant will prepare documentation describing the affordability restrictions, monitoring plan and enforcement mechanism; the board will hold a public hearing June 3, 2025 to weigh completeness materials and make a final decision.","mediaType","Video","parentTitle","Saco Planning Board Meeting - May 6, 2025","oneSentenceSummary","The Planning Board found the conversion application for 439 Main Street complete and set a public hearing for June 3 to review the proposal to convert seven commercial condos into seven residential units using the affordable-housing density bonus.","taxTitle","Planning Board , Saco City, York County, Maine","taxId",69266,"location","Maine","headline","shortSummary",{"_33":76,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":77,"_41":78,"_43":79,"_45":80,"_47":81,"_49":82,"_51":83,"_53":84,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":85,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":86,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":56,"_74":56},6244806,"Planning board approves Bedard Homes——— six-unit office building on Eastview Parkway with small buffering modifications requested",2351,8667000,11018000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=3228603-21f25339683cdf070be48dc55d652517&start=8667&end=11018","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/3228603-21f25339683cdf070be48dc55d652517/thumbnail_8667000.jpg","/articles/6244806/Maine/Planning-board-approves-Bedard-Homes-six-unit-office-building-on-Eastview-Parkway-with-small-buffering-modifications-requested","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6244806-da4704b32655c1156f1e5633077c1919/orig.mp4?Expires=1776014417&Signature=Wt3zU7QkB6dZ2wBh9Xz9QwobtR8LEXynm625gOsr4LN6D-IzE10rsbjJMTo~lme7hGc~37R9qjeSm9wegTVKs2VpZ-23oN1XqjaaE0GC0KkGpg65qDqlMe~8J~oT7YUVDsNIia36MkztfFQXUqfgJbWhYtJTD9HaK7rFQuqOKdNMA8277SNew3-hFCOMlaqF3WNO2UcWJ5D~9dULX4k4c2St11dmdrojmPg3Rf3NjfRuMTdfkAQ1Jo-Eq-UI3zP1KnNO9WdvUnnlPVfFsDuFGkp4jG415eTE3K-xaxBbVRctLF9vOYPIuF74jDcDM2lAgbHKEuaOsY5UwPZMu0qlFg__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","The Socko Planning Board on May 6 approved a site-plan application from Bedard Homes for a proposed six-unit professional office building on Eastview Parkway (Map 64, Lot 626) after discussion and a few modifications to draft findings and conditions.

Applicant representative Jason Haskell of DM Roma presented changes the team made following prior comments from planning staff and the landscape reviewer. The board focused on landscaping, buffering along an existing drainage easement at the rear of the lot, and screening for condensing/mechanical units on the building exterior.

The landscape reviewer had recommended increased buffering along parts of the property line; the applicant explained a 20-foot drainage easement runs along the rear of the lot and that drainage conveyance, underground utilities and slope stability limit planting choices in that location. Board members asked for modest, low-root plantings and an architectural screen in two locations: around the mechanical condensers at the front corner and a mirrored architectural screen partway down the building to break a long elevation.

Planning staff drafted revised findings of fact that incorporated these commitments. The board voted to adopt the amended findings and the draft conditions of approval and then voted to grant site-plan approval; all votes were 5-0.

Why it matters: The approval authorizes construction of a small professional office complex with site and landscape improvements. The meeting illustrates how boards balance practical site constraints\u0000\u0000\u0000\u0000\u0000\u0000(draining easements and underground utilities) with design expectations (buffering and mechanical screening) by using modest plantings and architectural screening where planting is infeasible.

Actions and next steps: The Planning Board adopted amended findings and conditions and granted site-plan approval (vote 5-0). The applicant will add low-root shrubs or small plantings where feasible and install an architectural screen around the front mechanical units and an additional screen as agreed, per the amended conditions.","The Planning Board granted site-plan approval for a six-unit professional office building on Eastview Parkway after the applicant agreed to add limited screening for mechanical equipment and to work with staff on minor buffering along a drainage easement.",{"_33":88,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":89,"_41":90,"_43":91,"_45":92,"_47":93,"_49":94,"_51":95,"_53":96,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":97,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":98,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":56,"_74":56},6244811,"Board continues Eastview Parkway flex-space review after concerns about truck turns, snow storage and internal landscaping waiver",2103,5947000,8050000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=3228603-21f25339683cdf070be48dc55d652517&start=5947&end=8050","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/3228603-21f25339683cdf070be48dc55d652517/thumbnail_5947000.jpg","/articles/6244811/Maine/Board-continues-Eastview-Parkway-flex-space-review-after-concerns-about-truck-turns-snow-storage-and-internal-landscaping-waiver","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6244811-349d834834fb9b4d1eda93eda5274b1b/orig.mp4?Expires=1776014417&Signature=KOGPO0EHbmtl9~auV1nJTnmO3t6nBuc6n1wofVuYjRmb3G-1vG8LuJnvKQeurnMrUf2kkv6EoHh6AXenzEFa52FZAIknFibjPtYqTrFSnn5LXSxRTlEwj246pdj3~9quDtjuY2sQZbDZ5cFnhex77QmOD8SozeCD0Ty1OEO140l3vTvaWQVCAInQiV9S412ASC~iYZaPQiMUlVgWaa~FIuwDG-DKiabw8c1PkyvRlkzSDoLDmPaejw9voKchX6N4y1OiPPhtv-UdU98mYQhZfRHOsVWxuOaFJDbu6BfKpz8NZDSucx4~zDyUAyWMjtcvKQM4Chw3gVia0PLaILNYKg__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","Planning staff and the applicant returned to the Socko Planning Board on May 6 for a continued review of a site-plan application for a 17,640-square-foot two-story office/storage flex building (Eastview Parkway, Map 64, Lot 6-2-2) by Bad Dog Properties. The applicant requested a waiver from the ordinance\u0000\u0000\u0000\u0000\u0000\u0000requirement that at least 10% of parking-area area be internal landscaped islands; the proposal provided just over 5% under the applicant's calculation.

Matt Orr of Sebago Technics presented for the applicant and said design changes had been made in response to peer-review and city-engineer comments. He said the building program needs oversized parking for company work vehicles and that some internal areas are used to store larger work trucks. Orr said the site currently provides the 17 parking spaces required by ordinance for the building size plus two ADA spaces and multiple oversized spaces reserved for company vehicles.

Board members and the landscape reviewer identified three key issues: 1) internal landscaping percentage and where islands could be located without interfering with truck movements; 2) snow-storage areas that overlap landscaped islands in the current drawings; and 3) truck-turning templates for WB-60/large tractor-trailer deliveries and whether curbs needed modification. The city engineer's memo said the WB-60 movements in an earlier plan \"didn't appear to work,\" and the board requested a revised turning template showing vehicles can maneuver without encroaching on curb islands or parked cars.

Members debated whether to grant the landscaping waiver. Some members, including Joyce Leary and Jim Moyer, urged the applicant to adjust the plan so islands and shading are provided and said the peer-reviewer showed a workable layout that meets the 10% requirement. Other members acknowledged the site's operational needs and said a limited waiver could be reasonable if temporary snow storage is removed promptly after storm events and if truck movements can be shown to be safe. The applicant said snow piled in parking spaces would be hauled off if necessary.

The board reopened the public hearing and, with no public comment, voted to continue the matter to May 20 to permit the applicant to submit updated turning templates, a clearer overlay of snow-storage vs. landscape plans, and a revised landscape plan that reconciles peer-review recommendations with operational needs.

Why it matters: The board's decision on the internal-landscaping waiver and truck turning is a practical test of how industrial/office sites reconcile ordinance landscaping standards, safety for large delivery vehicles, and on-site operational needs. The peer-review and engineering checks are intended to balance aesthetics, shading and stormwater management with safe maneuvering.

Actions and next steps: Staff and the applicant will submit revised turning templates and a combined site/landscape plan addressing snow storage; the board will continue the public hearing May 20, 2025. No final approvals were issued at the May 6 meeting.","Bad Dog Properties sought a waiver from the Planning Board for required internal parking-lot landscaping for a 17,640-square-foot flex/office-storage building. Board members flagged truck-turn templates, snow-storage conflicts with landscape islands, and asked for revised plans; the hearing was continued to May 20.",{"_33":100,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":101,"_41":102,"_43":103,"_45":104,"_47":105,"_49":106,"_51":107,"_53":108,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":109,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":110,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":56,"_74":56},6244816,"Planning board approves 201 North Street site-plan amendment; applicant and lenders seek clarity on construction sequencing",2952,2977000,5929000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=3228603-21f25339683cdf070be48dc55d652517&start=2977&end=5929","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/3228603-21f25339683cdf070be48dc55d652517/thumbnail_2977000.jpg","/articles/6244816/Maine/Planning-board-approves-201-North-Street-site-plan-amendment-applicant-and-lenders-seek-clarity-on-construction-sequencing","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6244816-ea0535db5ab19159224a8439f7a24891/orig.mp4?Expires=1776014417&Signature=aV38zAJcwiRjhEqGJrorg9uEeyM-s4lSA8G~dydyawufb85zB2Igcl8h8nUGt4GqxC7YFtWQLqKpO0CbNkprpJlsu2wDlhvno7-zcXQLAkOUn2mJwVQky5g2uYt1gltNeMKybYxJNcC5K93d~CGTILxBi-VeceVomYhhVx396qS7dXARevdlptXl5IYxtm~DQqC4u6oC93Dc0VhdFop~H8~ZGs~aI3Lzvp2eLIkMb-1xPQjsY9DkHqBOJjcD3uQtvcedW3hyU0rlk-IO0EvHtcI9KjbwgsKlND7NA-KPmZvAGpoCtuglWZ~jN5S-hrw6pT0KbOA0wY0PlvkyKFdx3Q__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","The Socko Planning Board on May 6 approved revised findings of fact and conditions of approval for a site-plan and subdivision amendment at 201 North Street (Map 40, Lot 21) and granted final approval for the amended plan. The board voted 5-0 to adopt findings and conditions after reviewing design and technical changes the applicant presented.

Civil engineer Matt Orr of Sebago Technics presented the amendment on behalf of the applicant, Authentic Foundations (represented at the meeting by Simon Balen). Orr summarized the project as a reduced reapproval from a prior plan with changes to stormwater infrastructure, building elevations and site circulation; staff noted the applicant had submitted an updated wastewater discharge application requested by WWRD.

After the board reviewed design-review standards and draft findings, board members approved edited findings of fact (including compatibility, landscaping and circulation findings) and the draft conditions of approval. The motions to adopt the findings and conditions and to grant subdivision and site-plan approval passed unanimously.

During final discussion, applicant Simon Balen said lenders and banks had raised concern with a previously approved condition that, as written in earlier approvals and a city engineer memo, requires base pavement or equivalent site infrastructure to be in place before the city will allow full building permits or vertical construction. Balen said lender counsel interpreted that condition to mean the entire site\u0000\u0000\u0000\u0000\u0000\u0000must have completed base pavement before any units can be built, which would require the developer to finance all site work before occupying any buildings.

Board members and staff discussed options. Planning staff told the board the condition originated in an earlier approval and that the city often uses phasing agreements or preconstruction coordination to allow stepwise construction while protecting public infrastructure. Some board members said they were reluctant to modify a condition with potential impacts on neighbors or long-term subdivision completion without additional review; others urged staff and the applicant to work out language with lenders if a limited administrative change could resolve lenders\u0000\u0000\u0000\u0000\u0000\u0000concerns.

The board approved the project and the draft conditions at the meeting but did not change the pavement/phasing condition that lenders had flagged; staff agreed to work with the applicant and report back if a narrowly tailored staff-level amendment could address the lenders' interpretation without requiring a new public hearing. The motions passed 5-0.

Why it matters: The approval allows the 201 North Street redevelopment to proceed under the amended site plan and updated conditions. The meeting also highlighted how approval conditions can affect project financing: lenders often read construction-sequencing requirements conservatively, and some applicants seek small, staff-level changes to permit limited vertical work earlier in construction sequencing. The board chose not to alter the existing condition at the meeting, but staff and applicant will try to find an administrative solution.

Actions and next steps: The Planning Board adopted revised findings and conditions and granted site-plan/subdivision amendment approval for 201 North Street (vote 5-0). Staff will meet with the applicant and lenders to clarify the pavement/permit condition and determine whether a staff-level amendment can resolve the lenders\u0000\u0000\u0000\u0000\u0000\u0000concerns; if not, the applicant may need to return for a formal amendment to conditions with public notice.

Project context: The amended site plan includes updated stormwater infrastructure and exterior building design changes; the applicant submitted an updated wastewater discharge form to WWRD as requested in staff review.","The Planning Board approved revised findings and conditions for a 201 North Street site-plan amendment and granted final approval, but the developer asked staff to review an existing condition that requires certain road/pavement work before vertical construction because lenders find it restrictive.",{"_33":112,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":113,"_41":114,"_43":115,"_45":116,"_47":117,"_49":118,"_51":119,"_53":120,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":121,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":122,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":56,"_74":56},6244822,"Planning board to review Park North applications under prior contract-zone rules after legal memo; Waterfall Drive hearing continued to July 15",2387,632000,3019000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=3228603-21f25339683cdf070be48dc55d652517&start=632&end=3019","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/3228603-21f25339683cdf070be48dc55d652517/thumbnail_632000.jpg","/articles/6244822/Maine/Planning-board-to-review-Park-North-applications-under-prior-contract-zone-rules-after-legal-memo-Waterfall-Drive-hearing-continued-to-July-15","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6244822-c0f756af4594fd2e0d93d4501acb6d47/orig.mp4?Expires=1776014417&Signature=V5zOO-QiYbyOjJAm~YAS0E0MfCbmfg8VEfVFloEVsHMcYp~-YwpwfMyN-cPcdtb27r~Dnm0~CHrVDU5kf483MYNBCy53ba9EYfvo4qiJqNbGJlj1EdPi30ZgaiAceWhpdJwNApxsQ~4C0EZNQAag36xGm1AFdknF6idL0ckiLJrKWDnnGg1ylkq10iddyYHP5W950AIIY2xhdcF-AtYmE3S3fiulRaZRRcSoneCBmgz2T0OXmHT67AhCHLpOY6mnjOergfwdzrvwIDrZ7otRU-jSDDSpm~cz6d59BOGpd7Omygr6WlPrvKnXZ4rdwEw9zFLHrhHgPAqvgWcvjwK1pg__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","The Socko Planning Board on May 6 agreed to evaluate applications in the Park North contract zone under the contract provisions that existed at the time of the 2021 zoning ordinance repeal, after staff presented a legal memorandum concluding that the Park North contract zones met the ordinance\u0000\u0000\u0000\u0000\u0000\u0000definition of \"substantial construction.\" The board then heard an update on the Waterfall Drive residential proposal and continued the public hearing to July 15.

Planning staff planner Emily Kolb told the board she had asked the law firm Bernstein Shur to review an internal legal framework prepared by Jim Katsafikas. Kolb said the memo applies a previously used three-bucket framework (\"substantial construction met,\" \"legally nonconforming/completed,\" and \"null and void\") and that, if the Planning Board concurs with staff\u0000\u0000\u0000\u0000\u0000\u0000analysis, the board may evaluate the Park North applications based on the contract-zone standards in effect at the time the 2021 zoning ordinance was repealed.

That legal interpretation mattered because the Waterfall Drive proposal (Map 63, Lot 6) is lodged inside the Park North contract zone. The packet described the project as a proposal for 195 residential dwelling units. At the meeting the developer, Elliott Chamberlain of Pockenwood Development, said revised plans now show 189 units; he told the board two duplex condo lots and two single house lots were removed in the latest layout and that the plan adds three pocket parks and looped trails.

Chamberlain said two of the pocket parks will be owned and maintained by the homeowners association and one pocket park would be owned by the city but maintained by the developer under an agreement; he also said the proposal adds a consolidated mail/package building and other site changes intended to improve circulation and drainage. He described a temporary trail alignment near the waterfalls that would be installed until adjacent land is developed and a future permanent trail can be constructed.

Board members spent most of the discussion on the legal question of whether the contract zone remains effective and what that meant for the three in-progress Park North applications. Board member Jeff asked whether approving applications under the old contract-zone standards could expose the city to legal challenge; Kolb and other members said the staff memo and prior legal work support a conclusion that substantial construction was met for the Park North Cascade and related contract zones. Board member Jim Moyer said he was comfortable that the substantial-construction standard had been met.

The board reopened the public hearing for Waterfall Drive and then, seeing no one come forward, voted to continue the hearing to July 15 to allow the applicant and staff to resolve engineering comments. The motion to continue passed 5-0.

Why it matters: The board\u0000\u0000\u0000\u0000\u0000\u0000decision to apply the contract-zone framework rather than current underlying zoning determines which set of development standards and bonuses govern projects and could affect density, setbacks and other development rights for multiple parcels in Park North. The developer\u0000\u0000\u0000\u0000\u0000\u0000presentation showed modest reductions in unit count, added open-space features and clarified maintenance responsibilities for park spaces, all of which will be refined before the July 15 hearing.

Actions and next steps: The Planning Board reopened the Waterfall Drive public hearing, then continued it to July 15, 2025 (vote 5-0). Staff will coordinate responses to the city engineer\u0000\u0000\u0000\u0000\u0000\u0000and peer-review comments and work with the applicant on temporary trail details and the public-ownership/maintenance agreement for one pocket park.

Community context: The Waterfall Drive site is within the Park North contract zone (Map 63, Lot 6) and is tied to broader infrastructure and subdivision phasing already under construction. The city engineer and water district will continue to review connectivity and utility-stub issues raised for nearby parcels (including a question about future connections to 955 Portland Road).","The Socko Planning Board agreed to move forward with applications in the Park North contract zone after staff presented a legal memo saying three contract zones met \"substantial construction.\" Developer Elliott Chamberlain updated the Waterfall Drive plan and the board continued the public hearing to July 15.","actionData","errors"]

Article not found

Applicant finds 439 Main Street plan complete; board schedules public hearing on affordable housing conversion for June 3

Planning board approves Bedard Homes——— six-unit office building on Eastview Parkway with small buffering modifications requested

Board continues Eastview Parkway flex-space review after concerns about truck turns, snow storage and internal landscaping waiver

Planning board approves 201 North Street site-plan amendment; applicant and lenders seek clarity on construction sequencing

Planning board to review Park North applications under prior contract-zone rules after legal memo; Waterfall Drive hearing continued to July 15