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Sanford planning board approves Three Rivers Land Trust boardwalk and wetland restoration at Sanford Community Forest
Summary
The Sanford Planning Board voted unanimously to approve a major site plan amendment allowing Three Rivers Land Trust to install an elevated boardwalk, footbridges and wetland restoration in the Sanford Community Forest off Oak Street. The approval was subject to standard conditions and performance guarantees.
The Sanford Planning Board voted 5‑0 to approve a major site plan amendment for the Sanford Community Forest, allowing Three Rivers Land Trust to install a boardwalk, footbridges, culverts and undertake wetland restoration.
Daniel Hill, stewardship director for Three Rivers Land Trust, told the board the project is an amendment to a previously approved two‑mile trail and that the changes respond to site conditions and improved technologies. “Our intent is to simply restore the wetlands to their natural states and improve the surface of the trail on the property,” Hill said, describing an elevated boardwalk supported on steel helical piers to avoid seasonal hydrology changes and reduce fill in sensitive areas.
Hill said the revised approach replaces an earlier plan that relied on a beaver‑deceiver and in‑stream fill. He added the plan was prepared with a professional hydrologist and Recon Trail Design and that it has received approvals or feedback from Maine Department of Environmental Protection, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the Maine Natural Areas Program and the Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife, which Hill said found no threat to habitats of threatened or endangered species.
Staff presented recommended findings tied to local zoning and shoreland ordinance sections (including chapter 280‑16‑7 and chapter 270‑15D2) and recommended standard conditions of approval. The board voted on the required findings (technical and financial capacity; access, circulation and pedestrian safety; stormwater and erosion control; groundwater and natural features; and other applicable standards), each motion passing 5‑0. The final motion granted the major site plan amendment (file 2026‑05‑AP) subject to standard conditions including a performance guarantee, inspection fee escrow and pre‑construction meeting.
The approval allows the Trust to proceed toward construction this summer, according to staff and the applicant. The board’s action was procedural and limited to the land‑use standards and conditions specified in the motion; any future changes to the approved work would require further review.
