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Board finds P.E. O'Halloran site plan complete, flags driveway and trip-generation issues
Summary
Ellsworth planners deemed P.E. O'Halloran Inc.'s application administratively complete for a paved display and storage area at 923 Bangor Road, but asked the applicant to resolve Maine DOT access concerns and update trip-generation analysis to current standards before final approval.
The Ellsworth Planning Board declared the P.E. O'Halloran Inc. major-use site development application administratively complete on June 3, while identifying outstanding technical items the applicant must resolve before final approval.
Applicant representative Andrew McColla told the board the proposal would create a roughly 2.5–2.6 acre paved area on a 13.9-acre lot at 923 Bangor Road (tax map 75, lot 13-1) for display, storage and sales of storage containers and sheds; he said there would be no permanent building, no sanitary sewer, and no proposed well water use for the display area. "There is no proposed permanent building here. There's no proposed sanitary sewer or subsurface wastewater disposal system here. There's no proposed well water use," McColla said.
Board members pressed the applicant on driveway access and Maine Department of Transportation review. Staff and the applicant said DOT had reviewed the proposed southern entrance and found it unsuitable under access-management standards; the board emphasized the northerly driveway width, turning radius and whether an increase of 10 feet indicated on the DOT permit application must be resolved to accommodate delivery trailers. McColla said he would review the DOT comments with the owner.
A board member also flagged the project's trip-generation analysis: the applicant used an older (sixth edition) trip-generation reference and compared the site to new-car sales; the board recommended updating the analysis to current (11th edition) ITE guidance or, where helpful, directly counting existing trips to estimate demand. The applicant agreed to revise the trip-generation page and the driveway-width details.
The board discussed a requested landscaping waiver (applicant argued screening would undermine the site's display function) and signage options; members noted existing off-site vegetation provides some screening and that city ordinance language on building-face signage is limited. The public hearing drew no public comments and the board voted to find the application complete for the purpose of final-plan review.
What happens next: Applicant to address DOT-access comments, update trip-generation work to current standards or empirical counts, and provide final plans for the next hearing and packet.
