Planning board approves relocation permits and shoreline stabilization for two Battery Road homes with conditions to protect neighbors

The Belfast Planning Board on Aug. 21 approved two Type‑6 nonconformity permits allowing the relocation of legally nonconforming homes at 55 and 53B Battery Road and related shore stabilization work, subject to conditions addressing access, utilities, survey monumentation and erosion control.

City planner Alexandra Sykes said the projects are intended to move existing structures farther from the shoreline so they comply with the town’s shoreland setback (the proposed relocations place the structures at least 25 feet from the normal high water line), while the properties will remain in the flood hazard zone. The board noted the applicant had obtained a Maine DEP permit by rule for the seawall/riprap work.

Applicant consultant Vanessa O’Donnell told the board the work is focused on protecting the residences after the December 2023 and January 2024 storms caused severe damage along the midcoast. “All of the state permits for this project have been approved,” she said, adding the contractor team is experienced in coastal stabilization.

Multiple abutters raised detailed concerns during the public hearing. Mary Mortier, clerk‑treasurer of the Battery Improvement Company (which coordinates private road and utilities maintenance for the neighborhood), urged the board to be cautious about subsurface utilities and water shutoffs that serve multiple households, saying prior breaks have been costly and that construction could risk service to as many as 16 customers. Edith Roberts, an abutter on the north side, said much of the existing cribbing and seawall appears to lie on her property and warned removing or replacing cribbing could undermine protections and require neighbor access; she asked that boundaries be staked and that the applicant obtain permission before entering abutting land.

In response the board incorporated several conditions: the applicant must obtain and provide copies to the city of all required non‑city permits (state and federal as applicable); shoreland‑certified earthwork contractors and best management practices are required for erosion control; permanent survey markers must be installed by a licensed surveyor (corners and midpoints) before work begins; all underground utilities (sewer, water, electrical) must be located and marked on site prior to construction; and the propane tank on the property (described in the packet as a 500‑gallon tank) shall be relocated to meet the 10‑foot setback required by code when the house is relocated.

Board members emphasized the city’s limited jurisdiction over private road damage and suggested neighbors pursue private remedies if heavy trucking damages the private road. The board also added a condition that the permit not authorize work outside property lines without proper permission and that no adverse impacts to abutters are allowed; staff said enforcement and final code conformance will fall to the code‑enforcement officer.

The board voted to approve the findings, adopt the conditions and issue the nonconformity permits for both 55 and 53B Battery Road. The decisions require the applicant to return to the board for any subsequent amendment that expands nonconforming area, adds more than 100 square feet of impermeable surface, changes use, or materially alters parking.