Planning board approves Friday Farm Phase 2 amendment, reduces lots to 87 and adopts Phase 1 design standards

The Town of Oakland Planning and Zoning Board voted to approve an amendment to the Friday Farm Phase 2 development agreement and preliminary subdivision plan and recommended it to the Town Commission for final consideration at its Oct. 28 meeting.

Brad Cornelius, the project presenter, told the board that Phase 1 and Daniels Cove were previously approved and that the Phase 2 amendment before the board reduces the previously authorized 111 single‑family lots to 87, reconfigures lot layout and adopts the same architectural and design guidelines already approved for Phase 1.

The board heard several project specifics from Cornelius. The developer will pay $85,000 to the town for transportation improvements that the town may apply to paving or road work. The amended agreement also calls for a payment toward a regional lift station in Forest Maine — Cornelius said the developer agreed to pay a proportionate share of $199,333 to the town for that facility — and the project will pay water and wastewater impact fees at the time building permits are pulled. Tree mitigation requirements in the amendment call for at least two replacement trees per lot, with payment of mitigation fees if replanting requirements are not met.

On design, Cornelius said the Phase 2 standards match the Colonial Revival style and lot‑type standards the board approved for Phase 1, including setback and layout rules. He noted the same limitation carried forward for accessory dwelling units (ADUs): ADUs would be allowed only for family use and would not include a kitchen, consistent with Phase 1 standards presented to the board.

Board members and the applicant discussed utility capacity. Cornelius and town staff said the town’s contracted engineer, CPH, issued a memo the prior Friday reassessing potable‑water capacity; the consultant concluded the town’s water treatment plant has sufficient capacity to serve this project as designed and no immediate expansion of the treatment plant is required for Friday Farm Phase 2. The project team also described plans to route irrigation to an alternate (non‑potable) water supply: engineer Bobby Johnson said the design includes piping under the nature preserve to use the alternate water source for irrigation, reducing potable demand.

Questions from the board covered minimum house sizes (Cornelius said the town standards do not include a minimum house footprint; homeowners association rules typically set minima; the applicant’s representative indicated smaller lots are being avoided and that HOA minimums may be established) and timing (the applicant said final engineering and permitting could take three to six months, with site work possible next summer and vertical construction following).

No members of the public spoke during the Friday Farm public comment period. A board member moved to accept the amendment as presented; the motion was seconded and carried. The Planning and Zoning Board’s approval is a recommendation to the Town Commission; the item is scheduled for a first reading at the Oct. 28 Town Commission meeting and a final reading on Nov. 10.