Camden planning board finds 88 Elm Street pre-application complete, schedules site walk

The Town of Camden Planning Board voted to find the pre-application for the Homestead at 88 Elm Street complete and set a site walk for Monday, Aug. 10 at 11:00 a.m. The vote followed a detailed public presentation by the applicant’s engineer and more than an hour of board questions about drainage, utilities and neighborhood impacts.

Stacy Ann Gordon Barber of Gartley & Dorsky Engineering and Surveying, speaking for 88 Elm Street Realty LLC, described the plan to renovate an existing building into two units and construct two three-story multifamily buildings, bringing the lot to a total of eight units. "88 Elm Street Realty LLC intends to redevelop the approximate 1.1 acre parcel with additional residential units," Barber said during the presentation. The applicant said utilities are available on-site, the team received a Maine DEP Tier 1 permit for approximately 4,629 square feet of wetland impact, and an Army Corps of Engineers permit remains pending.

Board members pressed for additional technical details that will be required before final approval, including a pre/post drainage analysis, clearer topo contours and the exact relationship of abutting buildings. Allison McKellar, a planning board member, asked the applicant to show where site runoff ultimately flows and warned the board must ensure the town’s existing drainage system will not be overwhelmed. The board’s completeness vote allows the applicant to proceed to final submission with the understanding those items will be addressed in subsequent materials and during the site walk.