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Planning board finds Route 1 gas-station site plan complete, schedules May 19 public hearing
Summary
The Saco Planning Board found complete the site-plan conditional-use application for a new Route 1 gas station and 2,400 sq ft convenience store at 952 Portland Road and scheduled a public hearing for May 19 after the applicant addressed peer-review comments and staff questions about utilities and stormwater.
The Saco Planning Board on April 21 voted to find complete the site-plan conditional-use application from Route 1 Gas LLC for a new gas station and 2,400-square-foot convenience store at 952 Portland Road and scheduled a public hearing for May 19.
Drew O'Leahouski of Haley Ward, representing the applicant, told the board the current packet contains the full site-specific grading, stormwater, utilities and landscaping details requested after a prior sketch-plan review. He said the plan routes runoff to a perimeter underdrain and catch-basin system and includes a subsurface detention tank beneath the parking area to reduce peak discharges to the city's drainage system. "We've really just bolstered it with those additional details," O'Leahouski said, and added that he believes city engineering comments have been adequately addressed in the resubmission.
O'Leahouski also described utilities: the project will attempt to reuse an existing water service off Flag Pond Road but may need to upsize it after final plumbing design; the project will tie into an existing sewer stub on Route 1; and the site will require new three-phase electrical service and a short pole to provide underground power to the building. He noted peer reviewers had only minor comments on landscaping and lighting and that VHB (traffic peer reviewer) asked for traffic counts taken during a busier season to validate earlier findings.
Board members asked about the corporate ownership and precedent photographs of similar buildings, water-service capacity and the Route 1/Flag Pond Road moratorium, snow-removal and fuel-truck circulation, stormwater containment for fuel spills, and the potential need to demonstrate financial capacity. Staff reported that financial-capacity documentation is not required at the preliminary completeness stage under the site-plan ordinance. Multiple members complimented the thorough packet; a motion to find the application complete carried 6-0.
The board then voted to schedule the public hearing on the application for the May 19 meeting. The hearing will provide an opportunity for neighbors and interested parties to comment on the proposed gas station before the board makes a final decision.
What happens next: staff and the applicant will continue to coordinate on outstanding peer-review items (including updated traffic counts) and city engineering comments ahead of the May 19 public hearing.
