Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Site Plan Review topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Board continues Eastview Parkway flex-space review after concerns about truck turns, snow storage and internal landscaping waiver
Summary
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.
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 ordinancerequirement 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.
