Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Sidewalk Waiver Scooters topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Scooter’s Edition seeks retroactive sidewalk waiver on Route 41 frontage; planning staff weigh islanded sidewalk concern
Summary
Scooters Edition (Grit Grind LLC) requested a retroactive waiver from the town's sidewalk and curb requirements along a stretch of Route 41 where no continuous sidewalk exists on the east side; staff explained escrow hold and suggested fee-in-lieu or waiver are plan commission determinations.
An applicant for Scooters Edition (Grit Grind LLC) asked the Town of Saint John Plan Commission on June 4 for a retroactive waiver from Article 21 (sidewalk and curb requirements) for the property's frontage at 8455 Wicker Avenue along Route 41.
The applicant said the frontage sits in a roughly two-mile segment where the east side of Route 41 lacks a continuous sidewalk and where right-of-way lines and adjacent parking lots complicate building a useful pedestrian path. The consultant argued that installing a short sidewalk would create an isolated segment—a "sidewalk to nowhere"—and that a consolidated path on the west side of the roadway makes more practical sense given how the state owns sections of the right of way.
Planning staff explained that the applicant's building permit escrow cannot be released until required improvements—such as the sidewalk—are installed or the commission approves a waiver or accepts a fee in lieu. Staff confirmed the town maintains a fee-in-lieu fund for waived sidewalks; the escrow remains held while the commission considers whether to require the sidewalk, accept a fee, or approve a waiver.
Commissioners discussed pedestrian desire lines and safety near nearby schools and crossings. The applicant estimated the existing sidewalk network gaps (approximately 545 feet to the nearest sidewalk north of Lake Central Drive) and said county/state road ownership and the fragmented right-of-way make extending a practical east-side continuous sidewalk unlikely. No formal decision was made at the study session; staff said the matter will return for consideration in two weeks.
