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Planning Board finds Domain indoor riding arena application complete; public hearing and site visit to be scheduled
Summary
The Planning Board determined that the Domain family’s application for an 85×140 indoor riding arena is complete and set a public hearing and site visit. The board noted the structure is treated as an agricultural building (allowing the proposed height) and must undergo site review because it exceeds 3,000 square feet; applicants said the arena will serve their 15 boarded horses and host a few clinics annually.
The Planning Board voted to find complete the application from the Domain applicants for a new indoor riding arena on their established horse boarding farm and instructed staff to schedule a public hearing and a site visit.
Board staff explained the background: the applicants had previously sought a variance from a 35‑foot height limit, and the appeals process clarified that agricultural structures are not bound by that 35‑foot limit; the board therefore treated the proposed 40‑foot arena as an agricultural structure. Because the proposed building — roughly 85 feet by 140 feet and substantially more than 3,000 square feet — falls under the ordinance definition of "intensive agriculture," it requires site review and the board’s completeness determination before a public hearing.
Representatives of the farm described the proposal as an indoor riding arena to allow safe, year‑round exercise for horses in Maine’s winter conditions. They said the arena would sit roughly 250–300 feet back from South Road, be sited well away from the nearest neighbor (a school), and be an unheated Clear Span metal structure with a canvas cover anchored to concrete footings to meet snow‑load needs. The farm currently boards about 15 horses; the applicants said they expect to host about three to four clinics per year and that they have additional parking/trailer space on an acquired parcel across Pine Rest for overflow.
Board members asked about traffic and parking impacts for clinics and larger events; applicants said existing parking and the nearby parcel would accommodate trailers and overflow parking and that typical usage would be modest. After discussing traffic, setbacks and program scale, the board moved to find the application complete and to schedule public notice, a public hearing and a site visit; staff (Chip) will post required notices (the board noted public notices must be issued at least two weeks before the hearing).
What happens next: Planning staff will arrange and publish the public hearing and site visit, and interested neighbors may appear to comment at that hearing as required by notice procedures.
