Board approves water‑booster/pumping station to serve Legacies subdivision

The Havre de Grace Board of Appeals voted Nov. 6 to approve a conditional use for a public utility pumping/booster station (Case 555) that the applicant says is necessary to provide adequate domestic and fire‑flow water pressure to higher‑elevation lots in the approved Legacies subdivision.

Attorney Eric McLaughlin again adopted and incorporated the Department of Planning staff report and the single concept/annexation records. Expert witness Mitch Enser (Baystate Land Services) testified the subdivision’s topography requires a booster to meet fire‑flow and domestic pressure requirements in the highest lots; he described the station as a minor utility structure consistent with the city’s water‑and‑sewer design guidelines. Enser said the booster’s precise location will be driven by final grading and pressure calculations reviewed by the Department of Public Works; he estimated a typical building footprint in this class of facilities around 30 by 54 feet and offered examples of both industrial facades and more residential‑style architectural treatments his firm has used to blend similar structures into subdivisions.

Planning staff testified they had reviewed the proposal against the conditional‑use criteria and recommended approval, noting the structure is a typical and necessary element of subdivision utility infrastructure and will be subject to additional technical review during site‑plan processing and before acceptance as a public asset. The applicant confirmed the developer will construct the facility at its expense and dedicate the structure and land to the city for public ownership; future maintenance will be the city’s responsibility.

Neighbors asked questions about the station’s service area (Enser said the booster could serve properties uphill of the station and that adjacent neighborhoods might be included depending on routing), construction impacts and the routing of utility easements through forested land. Enser and the applicant stated that wetlands and forest stands had been delineated and that final design and grading plans would address erosion control, stormwater and other environmental protections as part of the site‑plan and public‑works review.

After deliberation the board made findings that the station is a customary and necessary utility element for the approved subdivision, that it will be subject to technical review for siting and aesthetics, and that the proposed use meets the applicable code criteria. The board moved to approve Case 555 based on the staff report; the motion carried.