Hollis planning board finds sketch plan complete for first phase of Mansion Road subdivision amid residents' water and traffic concerns

The Town of Hollis Planning Board on June 25 found a sketch plan application complete for phase one — 14 lots — of a proposed subdivision on Mansion Road, but emphasized that state permits and subsequent preliminary and final approvals are still required.

The developer’s civil engineer, Andy Moral of BH2M, told the board the parcel encompasses about 72 acres (roughly 58 acres in Hollis and 14 acres in neighboring Waterboro) and that the applicant, listed as Van Herel Senior, has sketched a three‑phase conventional subdivision. Phase one would build 14 lots with about 2,300 linear feet of new roadway; the total parcel could support up to 24 lots under current ordinances. Moral said wetlands on the property were delineated by Fraggle Rock Environmental and that crossings will require Army Corps and Maine Department of Environmental Protection review and permitting. “This is a 72‑acre parcel off Mansion Road, zoned RR2,” Moral said while presenting the plan.

The meeting turned into an extended public hearing. Abutters and other residents raised repeated concerns about traffic and a sharp corner near Dear Wander, the number of new drilled wells and potential impact on groundwater, flooding from an intermittent stream that runs through back yards, and the adequacy of emergency access and fire protection. Christine Wiznooki, a neighbor, said the project’s eventual 24 wells and 24 houses would “suck up a lot of water” and asked whether hydrological and nitrate‑plume studies would be required. Multiple speakers urged a traffic study for the corner where residents say drivers frequently speed.

Moral and the board answered that technical studies would be part of the next application stage. He said the project team will supply stormwater pre‑ and post‑development analyses, test pits to evaluate soils and seasonal high‑water tables, and — if the board requests — a nitrate‑plume or hydrogeologic analysis to show whether new subsurface wastewater systems could affect neighboring wells. “We will provide you with a pre‑development analysis that shows what the stormwater does today and what it will do after the development,” Moral said.

Board members also pressed the applicant about lot access and emergency turnarounds. The board requested a note on the plan prohibiting driveways off the hammerhead turnaround and discussed minimum clearances (a 50‑foot hammerhead requirement was cited). The applicant affirmed he would add such notes and said no work is proposed in Waterboro as part of phase one.

After public comment and a procedural review of submission materials (topographic maps, soil maps, test pits, and other items required by the subdivision ordinance), a board member moved to find the sketch plan application complete for phase one (the 14‑lot portion). The board voted to find the sketch plan application complete; attendees and members stressed this does not authorize construction. The board and applicant agreed the timeline to reach final approvals will include additional public hearings, a sitewalk and state permitting steps to be completed between preliminary and final submissions.

Next steps: the applicant said it expects to return with preliminary subdivision materials that will include the requested surveys and permit applications to the Maine DEP and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers; the board will schedule site inspections and further hearings once preliminary materials are submitted. The planning board asked the applicant to include clearly flagged field markings (test pits and flagged wetlands) for any future sitewalk and to provide the requested stormwater, traffic and hydrogeologic studies as part of the preliminary application.

The board closed the item and covered remaining administrative business, introduced new planning board secretary Ashley Dao, and adjourned the meeting.