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Conservation commission flags wetland, septic and overflow concerns on three Kennebunk site plans
Summary
The Kennebunk Conservation Commission reviewed three development proposals March 30 and raised concerns that proposed septic locations and building/parking siting would encroach on wetlands and a brook, recommending redesigns and protective measures to the Planning Board.
The Town of Kennebunk Conservation Commission reviewed three site-plan applications March 30 and recommended changes to avoid wetland impacts, protect Fernal Brook and reduce ecological risk.
At the meeting, the commission said the Truman’s Field Road plan proposes five homes with two septic systems sited within the wetland setback and at the edge of a steep drop-off; the commission urged the applicant to explore redesign options and suggested donating remaining upland to the Kennebunk Land Trust. For the Bragdon Lane and Kingsbury Lane proposal, commissioners flagged the applicant’s request to rezone part of the lot for mixed use and expressed concern about potential effects on Fernal Brook and adjacent wetlands. For the plan at 55 York Street (the 4 Oaks multifamily proposal), the commission found that the current design places a parking lot and one building in wetlands and recommended that the Planning Board require a design that avoids wetland fills.
The commission’s observations were recorded in the meeting minutes rather than as a formal motion with a recorded mover and seconder. Commissioners said they want lot lines to end at wetland boundaries, to see septic systems relocated outside setback areas and, where possible, to see reconfigured site plans that preserve contiguous upland or transfer it to conservation ownership.
What happens next: The commission asked the Planning Board to review the concerns and to request redesigns that avoid fills and wetland encroachment. The minutes identify Janice Vance (Planning Board) and the Planning Board as the appropriate recipients for those recommendations. The commission also suggested the applicant for Truman’s Field Road consider donating land to the Kennebunk Land Trust to create a conservation buffer.
Details not specified in the minutes include whether applicants provided engineering reports, whether septic alternatives were modeled, and any scheduled Planning Board hearing dates on these applications.
