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MSAD51 school site amendment approved after neighbors raise tree‑replacement and procedure concerns
Summary
The planning board approved amendments to the MSAD51 campus site plan — including replanting and a relocated scoreboard, drainage fixes and pedestrian lighting changes — after abutters objected to how tree removals and construction changes were handled; board revised buffering language to note "removed and/or lost vegetation."
The Cumberland Planning Board voted 5–2 to approve amendments to an approved site plan for Maine School Administrative District 51 that reflect construction‑era adjustments to drainage, landscaping, scoreboard location and other minor changes.
Pat Carroll, the school district’s landscape architect, told the board several modest changes arose during construction: removal of two maple trees to make way for a newly installed three‑phase overhead power run, the addition of seven flowering cherry trees to supplement screening, slight regrading and a rip‑rap swale to repair storm damage near the turf field, relocation of a scoreboard for better sightlines, and a cost‑saving shift of pedestrian lights to the opposite side of a walkway to avoid trenching existing sidewalks. He apologized for missing the prior meeting and for not formally filing some changes as de minimis modifications sooner.
Several abutters and a written letter from Lee Buffington argued packet language incorrectly suggested neighbors had requested tree removals; they said the district removed trees during construction and that the town’s design standards require likesize replacement. Resident Steve Parardu cataloged tree removals and urged strict adherence to replacement requirements. The district said it had worked directly with neighbors, installed fences, added plantings and agreed to replace failed plantings at the contractor’s expense.
The board revised the findings’ landscaping language to state that updated plantings adequately replace “removed and/or lost vegetation” and emphasized that final as‑built plans, contractor replacement obligations (one‑year survival standard) and coordination with town staff and engineering remain conditions of approval. Board members reiterated the importance of engaging abutters early and using town staff (engineering and planning) to monitor construction impacts.
The motion to approve the amendment included the standard condition of approval; the vote carried 5–2. Planning staff and the district said they will continue neighbor coordination and that specific planting and fence details will be finalized on plan updates and as‑built submittals.
