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Planning board denies Wabanaki Campground continuance without prejudice after months of delays
Summary
After noting multiple continuances and outstanding completeness conditions, the Freedom Planning Board voted May 15 to deny the applicant’s request for another continuance of the Wabanaki Campground conversion application, effectively ending the application until a new filing is submitted.
The Freedom Planning Board voted May 15 to deny a requested continuance for the Wabanaki Campground conversion application, a decision board members said was prompted by repeated delays and unsatisfied completeness conditions that stretch back to January 2024.
Selectman’s representative Lehi Babb moved to deny the continuance without prejudice; Jane Davidson seconded the motion. Board members described a long history of continuances and incomplete submissions. One member said the applicant had asked for continuances “seven times in 15 months,” and others said the board had repeatedly told the applicant what materials were needed but had not received them.
The chair and several members stressed the procedural difference between a continuance (postponement of a hearing) and an extension that starts the statutory completeness clock. The chair noted she had authorized an extension earlier “erring on the side of caution” because the application had been deemed conditionally complete in January, but members argued the conditions had not been met and asked for a clear vote to remove ambiguity.
Lehi Babb summarized the board’s motion to deny the continuance "without prejudice," which means the applicant could refile; members discussed whether a denial might be cleaner than continually granting continuances. The board voted on the motion and the chair announced it carried.
Board members and public commenters also raised enforcement questions and outstanding items — including stormwater/drainage documentation, septic and Department of Justice certification issues tied to the applicant’s cooperative ownership structure — that remain unresolved. The chair said the planning board will not ask for additional actions of Wabanaki until the applicant files a new application; the board also discussed sending written notice of the action to the applicant, selectmen and zoning officer to document the decision.
The decision ends the current application status; if the applicant returns, the board will treat a new filing as a new application unless the applicant specifically requests otherwise.
