Belfast planning board unanimously approves Northern Light Acadia office use at United Methodist Church

The Belfast Planning Board unanimously approved a site plan amendment and use permit on Feb. 26 allowing Northern Light Acadia to occupy about 700 square feet in the lower level of the Belfast United Methodist Church at 23 Mill Street.

The board’s acting chair, David Bond, called the vote after staff presented draft findings and conditions tying the approval to the city code. Alexandra Sykes, the city planner, told the board the zoning district allows professional and health-care office uses with planning board review and that most original 2000 site-plan conditions remain in effect unless superseded by the current amendment. "This project is located in the outside rural 2 zoning district" and "the board found the amount of spaces was adequate to support the uses in the multi use building," Sykes said while summarizing the draft findings.

Why it matters: the lower level of the church had previously contained a daycare and other uses; the board’s action formalizes a non‑church tenant (a case-management office) while preserving conditions intended to protect parking, screening and environmental performance on the site.

During a presentation, applicant Joe Cullis, chairman of the church trustees, described the tenant’s operations and the building’s use history, saying the tenant has been in the space since about 2018 and that the office use is low-impact. "I never saw that document," Cullis said in explanation of why the prior finding requiring additional board review had not been flagged earlier; he characterized the tenant’s presence as a community benefit because staff largely work in the field and the office generates only minimal on‑site parking demand.

Key conditions approved alongside the amendment require that: - The only approved uses on the site are church and professional offices; any future change of use that affects parking accommodations must return to the planning board for review. - The applicant shall maintain existing parking counts identified in the application (94 spaces) and provide any additional accessible (handicap) spaces required within paved parking areas; staff noted the code prescriptive tally for the proposed uses would be 116 spaces but recommended flexibility based on the applicant’s schedule-of-use analysis. - The applicant shall provide required screening for the existing dumpster and coordinate with the code enforcement officer to ensure full compliance with screening standards. - Landscaping and buffer plantings identified on the 2000 approved plan must be maintained or replaced; plantings that die must be replaced within one growing season with similar-sized stock. - Any changes to subsurface wastewater design require review and approval by the licensed plumbing inspector/CEO.

Board members pressed for clarity on accessible parking after staff noted that 94 total spaces would require four accessible spaces under the code; the site plan initially showed three but the applicant said there are six marked accessible spaces on-site and agreed to re‑establish and sign the required accessible stalls. The acting chair and members expressed a preference not to reduce accessible parking given potential liability and community need.

The motions to approve the findings of fact, then the conditions of approval, and finally the site‑plan amendment and use permit passed by unanimous voice votes. The board recorded the outcome as unanimous with five voting members present.

Next steps: the approval binds the site to the stated uses and the listed conditions; any subsequent amendment changing parking or use will require additional planning board review.