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South Berwick planning board sets July 17 public hearing for 12 Lords Lane home‑occupation application
Summary
The planning board moved Christopher Anderson’s major home‑occupation application for 12 Lords Lane to a public hearing July 17 after questions about parked vehicles, hours of operation and waste‑oil handling; a site visit is set for 8 a.m. that day.
The South Berwick Planning Board scheduled a public hearing July 17 for an application by Christopher Anderson to operate a major home occupation at 12 Lords Lane, after board members raised concerns about parked vehicles, hours of operation and storage and disposal of waste oil.
Anderson told the board he intends to work on ‘‘small engine stuff, you know, like lawnmowers, small blowers, chainsaws’’ in a new outbuilding behind his house, and said he would keep most activity inside the accessory building rather than in front of the residence. The board heard several members describe repeated neighbor complaints about vehicles parked at the property; one planning board member said it had ‘‘felt like you’re running basically an illegal garage in the middle of a residential neighborhood.’’ Anderson replied that most vehicles are personal and that he has reduced the number of inoperable cars and is finishing screening around the new structure.
Board members asked detailed questions about permits and environmental safeguards. Staff member Jen told the board Anderson had not applied for a DEP permit and that a corner of the lot lies in a resource‑protection zone; she said the garage itself appears to fall outside the protected area. Anderson said he stores used oil in labeled containers on a cement pad and typically delivers full containers to a local garage or a friend who reuses the oil in a furnace.
Chair Greg Zinsser asked staff to collect DEP best‑management practices on containment and spill mitigation to help the board craft conditions, and several members said hours of operation and limits on the number of vehicles could be included in findings if the board grants the permit. The board scheduled a site visit (referred to in the meeting as a ‘‘sidewalk’’) at 8:00 a.m. on July 17 to view the property and set a public hearing for 6:00 p.m. that evening; staff will send the applicant and the public the required notice under the ordinance.
The board’s action to move the application to a public hearing was adopted by roll call with members voting to schedule the hearing and the site visit. The applicant is expected to provide additional information on spill‑containment measures and proposed hours ahead of the hearing.
