Planning board approves Riverside and William Oscar Emery streetscape elements in RAISE grant plan

Matt Hill, Sanford's public works director, told the planning board on May 6 that the city's long-running RAISE grant effort anticipates roughly $35 million in reconstruction work across several downtown corridors and that the Riverside/William Oscar Emery phase will be advertised this fall and built in phases beginning in 2027 and continuing through about 2031.

The planning board heard a detailed design and landscape presentation from consultant Don Edinger and landscape architect Seth Kimball before voting to accept site-plan findings for Application 2026-13-SP and grant approval with standard conditions. Planning staff emphasized that roadway work within the street right-of-way is exempt from municipal approval, but adjacent city-owned parcels and landscaping elements being funded by the RAISE grant are before the board for review tonight.

Why it matters: The RAISE-funded reconstruction will alter street geometry, sidewalks and crossings in key downtown corridors and introduce planned place-making amenities — raised granite planters, benches and a new shared-use pathway around Number 1 Pond — that will affect pedestrian safety, downtown access and long-term park maintenance responsibilities.

Consultants described the design and schedule. Don Edinger (Goral Palmer / LJB) said the scope includes curb and sidewalk reconstruction, drainage and stormwater work, curb extensions for shorter crosswalks, and a proposed replacement of a culvert near the pond. He said the work is being bid as a single project with sequencing dictated by the contractor and Maine DOT, and that Carter Street would likely be first with Main Street and Riverside/William Oscar Emery following in later years. "Our goal is to have everything done by 2030," Edinger said.

Landscape architect Seth Kimball walked the board through a placemaking palette: understory trees where utilities allow, larger canopy trees where right of way permits, raised granite planters with integrated benches and salt-tolerant groundcover such as switchgrass and grow-low sumac. Kimball said planters are sized roughly six by ten feet to provide long-term tree health and that planting choices aim to minimize maintenance once established.

Board members and residents pressed two recurring themes: trail geometry and maintenance. Lee Burnett, a Springvale resident and Trails Committee member, praised the connector around Number 1 Pond but asked whether the trail alignment near the armory could avoid three tight right-angle turns that he said are unsafe for bicyclists. Don Edinger said designers would revisit the connection with staff and DOT, but noted Maine DOT has standards for mid-block crossings and the current layout is constrained by an adjacent intersection.

Parks and recreation director Brady Lloyd raised staffing concerns. "We are fully supportive of the RAISE grant," Lloyd said, "but we are not adequately staffed at this time to take on the additional workload of the RAISE grant." Lloyd described current staffing (three full-time park positions, a supervisor and seasonal hires) and urged city council consideration of maintenance staffing in upcoming budget cycles.

Staff and consultants said planting and landscaping costs were included in the project estimate and that bid documents will include a one-year maintenance pay item during which the contractor is responsible for replacement of failed plants. Planning staff also noted required plan resubmission deadlines as conditions of approval.

The board then reviewed site-plan findings compiled by planning staff and moved, seconded and approved the motion to grant requested waivers and find that Application 2026-13-SP satisfied relevant standards of the zoning and shoreland ordinances, subject to listed conditions and required plan sets. Voice votes on the standards and the final motion were recorded as 7-0 in favor.

What happens next: The approval includes conditions (revised plan sets due by August 2026 unless other arrangements are made) and standard conditions for outside-agency approvals and possible plan alterations. Staff said the project will go to bid; Maine DOT and the selected contractor will dictate construction sequencing. The planning board encouraged members to convey maintenance and amenity-support needs to the city council and manager.

Sources: Planning board meeting transcript, presentations by Goral Palmer/LJB and Aceto/Assido Kimball Landscape Architecture, statements by City of Sanford staff.