Planning board grants land development permit for 30-unit permanent supportive housing at 205 Corporate Drive

The City of Bangor Planning Board on June 16 granted a land development permit for a 30-unit permanent supportive housing building at 205 Corporate Drive after concluding the application met the city’s land development and environmental standards.

Chair John Boucher opened the meeting and the board heard an overview of the application from Dan Diffin of CVMR Engineers, who represented the owner, Bangor Housing Development Corporation. Diffin summarized the project as a single-story, 19,100-square-foot building to be accessed from Corporate Drive, sited on about five acres, and designed with roughly 11 parking spaces and four peak-time on-site staff. “We did meet that with 60.1%,” Diffin said, describing the stormwater capture and treatment strategy required because the site sits in the Birch Stream urban-impaired watershed.

Planning officer Anya Collette told the board the application was complete and that fees had been paid. Members questioned staff and the applicant on a range of technical points, including parking calculations. Member Ted Brush asked, “What is supportive housing?” Diffin responded that permanently supportive housing provides long-term housing for people experiencing homelessness and clarified that residents are not necessarily limited to people with disabilities.

The board then conducted a multi-part review of the required findings (Parts 1 through 5) — covering erosion and sediment control, parking and loading, utilities, lighting, landscaping, potential impacts to abutting or downstream properties, and consistency with the Government and Institutional Service District standards. For each finding the board took a motion, seconded it, and recorded roll-call votes. Member Janet Jonas moved the final decision, which Member Tricia Hayes read into the record: the project meets the requirements for a land development permit for a major site development, a conditional use, and a major SLOTA modification. The motions passed by roll call with all members present voting in favor; Chair Boucher noted two board members were absent.

The permit approval incorporates the project’s SLOTA amendment and the stormwater treatment plan that addresses the urban-impaired stream requirements. The applicant is expected to coordinate with code enforcement and the Bangor Water District for final utility connections and permitting steps.

Next steps: the applicant may contact code enforcement for guidance on permits and implementation. There was no appeal or further procedural action recorded at the meeting; the board’s vote is a land-use decision that the applicant may rely on for subsequent permitting and construction steps.