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Planning Board fails to reach quorum, delays review of multiple development applications to Jan. 30
Summary
With three of six members present, the Planning Board announced it will continue review of several site-plan and conditional-use applications to a special meeting set for Thursday, Jan. 30 at 6 p.m.; a housing advocate said the delay risks a funding deadline.
The Planning Board announced it did not have a quorum and will continue review of several development applications to a special meeting tentatively scheduled for Thursday, Jan. 30 at 6 p.m., Joyce Larry Clark, vice chair and acting chair, said during the meeting.
The continuances affect a slate of applications that had been scheduled for public hearings, including a site-plan review at 12 School Street to convert an existing church into seven workforce housing units and a community space, tree-removal review for the Saco School Department on Millbrook Road, a conditional-use and site-plan review for 88 Maple Street to add one dwelling unit, a proposed 195-unit Waterfall Drive residential development, an 8,003-square-foot family medical center on Waterfall Drive/Portland Road, a completeness review for a 49-unit condominium and 3,000-square-foot commercial building at 800 Portland Road, the Bradley Greens condominium development on Bradley Street, and a private road and condominium review for 197 Jenkins Road. Clark said the board would publish the agenda in the same order and attempt to confirm quorum for the Jan. 30 meeting.
Why it matters: Dan Black of the Quality Housing Coalition told the board during the general public comment period that the delay could cost a housing application critical points in a pending grant round. “Without any approval tonight, we will not be competitive for funding in the current round. The application is due on Thursday, and we would lose about almost a well, a tenth of our points,” Black said, adding that there may be no subsequent funding round unless the legislature approves more rounds.
Board members and staff said they had three members present and that four of six board members constitute a quorum. Planning staff present included Shannon Chisholm, assistant planner; Emily Cole Prescott, city planner; and Lisa Harmon, compliance manager. The board recessed briefly to try to reach additional members; when no further members appeared, members agreed to pursue a special meeting on Jan. 30 and to notify applicants.
No formal votes or public hearings were held because the board lacked a quorum. Board members discussed waiting for another member to arrive and recessed once before concluding the evening without taking formal action beyond announcing the continuance.
Procedural context: The board said items that do not require a quorum — general correspondence, planning department updates and general public comment — could proceed, but that site-plan reviews and public hearings require a quorum for review and any potential decision. Planning staff reported no general correspondence or departmental updates that required action that evening.
The board apologized to applicants for the delay and said staff will notify applicants as soon as the Jan. 30 meeting is confirmed.
