Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Subdivision Modification topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Planning Board approves Pembroke Ridge subdivision despite newspaper notice error
Summary
The board approved a one-lot subdivision from a larger lot after staff confirmed soils and access, despite an initial newspaper notice that transposed map/lot numbers. One member expressed concern the error might have misled affected neighbors, but the board concluded corrected notice and website posting satisfied public-notice obligations.
The Bristol Planning Board approved a subdivision modification to create a single lot off an existing large parcel after staff confirmed soils testing, road turnaround and map placement — but not before a brief dispute over public notice.
The proposal would create a new lot off Lot 46 in the Pembroke Ridge/Snowball Hill area. Staff said the required soil work and turnaround were on file and that the map and lot description had been made available to the board.
One board member raised concern that the first newspaper notice incorrectly transposed the map and lot numbers, which could have caused residents who would be affected to miss the notice. The member said that, because the wrong lot number ran in the initial publication, potentially impacted neighbors might have been disadvantaged.
"I think I need more discussion — I don't quite understand," the member said, urging additional time so anyone who might have been misled could be heard. Other members said the newspaper corrected the listing in the following week and that the town posted the corrected agenda on the website as soon as the error was discovered.
The board took a formal vote and approved the subdivision modification. The chair said the board had done due diligence — correcting the newspaper notice and posting the corrected agenda — and that if the town wants a stricter internal timeline for notices it can amend bylaws in the future.
The board signed the maps as required and recorded the approval; members also discussed process improvements to help avoid similar confusion in future notices.
