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Planning board approves three excavation/fill conditional‑use applications after neighbor concerns about sewer lines and access
Summary
The Mount Desert Planning Board approved three conditional‑use permits for excavation or fill at Delights Road and two nearby Leeward Way/Harborside parcels, noting erosion controls and requiring follow‑up historic‑preservation correspondence for one lot; neighbors urged caution because of a shallow, ruptured sewer line and heavy truck traffic on a shared lane.
The Mount Desert Planning Board on April 8 approved three conditional‑use applications for excavation and fill — one at 19 Delights Road and two at adjacent Harborside/Leeward Way parcels — after site inspections, public comment and board review of section 6 and shoreland zone criteria.
Application 03‑2026 (owner: William Fibben; agent: Berdick and Associates) covers terrace stabilization and corrective grading on a steep lot at 19 Delights Road. The applicant described a corrective plan of terrace boulders, fibrous‑rooted plantings, extended gutter drains and grass pavers to reduce erosion and improve drainage. The board used the short‑form review, found the application complete and voted to approve the permit.
Two closely related applications (04‑2026 and 05‑2026) for lots owned by the Clement and Linda McGillicuddy Revocable Trust were also approved. Agent Emma Kelly said both lots had been used as construction laydown areas and proposed regrading, improved topsoil, terraces and replanting with native species to stabilize slopes and create family‑friendly lawns. For the second Leeward Way lot the board included a permit condition requiring a physical copy of correspondence from the Maine Historic Preservation Commission (an archaeological review) to be added to the file.
Neighbors raised two recurring concerns during public comment: (1) heavy truck traffic and contractor access on a shared driveway (Leeward Way) and how contractors will protect and restore the lane, and (2) subsurface infrastructure risks. Multiple residents noted a sewer line rupture in 2024 and said there are at least two sewer pipes and several buried electrical cables crossing the area. One resident, who said he handled the 2024 sewer rupture, told the board the sewer pipes run shallowly — about four to five feet near the driveway — and urged extreme care during excavation.
Agent Emma Kelly said the project team will mark appropriate access points, restrict construction outside the driveway right‑of‑way, and communicate with neighbors; she described plans to remove excess construction fill, scarify compacted layers, import loam and revegetate disturbed areas. Board members emphasized the need for contractors to manage truck traffic and minimize damage to the shared lane and asked staff to ensure erosion‑control measures and sanitary protections are documented in the permit package.
Each application was reviewed against the town’s section 6 standards for compatibility, erosion and sedimentation control, water quality and shoreland criteria where applicable; board members found those standards had been met or the items were not applicable for the proposed work and approved the permits by voice vote. For the Leeward Way lot the board noted outstanding archaeological correspondence that will be added as a permit condition when received.
The projects were approved using the short‑form process; the board directed applicants and contractors to coordinate with neighbors to limit construction impacts and to exercise caution around identified subsurface utilities.
