Auburn planning board continues Brickyard Commons hearing after disputes over hydrogeologic reports and late filings

The Auburn Planning Board on June 10 continued the public hearing on the Brickyard Commons site plan after members and abutters disputed whether the applicant’s late-submitted technical memo and a website posting glitch gave the public adequate time to review hydrogeologic and other technical materials.

The board set a continued public hearing for June 18, 2025, at 6 p.m. The decision followed presentations from the applicant’s team and more than an hour of public comment focusing on groundwater flow, historical spill records at the adjacent transload property, and the timing of the applicant’s submissions.

At the meeting the applicant’s representative, Mike Otto, said the project team asked to be reviewed under the site-plan and subdivision rules and introduced engineer Michael Barnes of Mainland Development Consultants to summarize geotechnical and stormwater findings. Barnes said consultant borings and test pits show deeper bedrock under the nearby transload facility than under the proposed development and that historical work indicates groundwater flow generally toward the Little Androscoggin River and away from the Brickyard site. Barnes read from a consultant (Saint Germain) report and said that report concluded groundwater “is interpreted to flow southeast.” He also…