The Damariscotta Planning Board held a marathon session, including a public hearing for a new commercial enterprise on Route 1B. There were also more questions and answers on the Stepping Stones site plan, a tentative approval of Inn Along The Way’s site plan with some necessary permits and financials to be provided, a minor change to a garage to allow a small summer residence, and a perplexing issue involving a subdivision.

The hearing for a Dollar General and a Sherman Williams paint store at the corner of Biscay Road and Business Route One opened the session. The property is owned by Carl Poole, and is currently home to a hot dog stand.  According to the plan, there would be two entrances, one on Biscay and one on Route 1B.  There were several questions about the type of businesses, as there is already a discount store in town less than half a mile away and a hardware shop that offers paint about the same distance away.

Stepping Stones addressed a few issues in its site plan, and faced the same barrage of questions from largely the same group of neighbors it attracts every time it appears on the agenda. One difference was the departure of a tenant who had lived in the property for a number of years. At the planning board’s request, Executive Director Marilee Harris developed an application form. One of the tenants refused to sign the agreement, which asked if the tenant agreed with the mission of the nonprofit. When the tenant said she was not in agreement and would not sign the form, Harris gave her the option to vacate the property or sign the agreement, and she said she would leave.

This became another issue for the opposition, who attempted to ascertain whether the nonprofit’s mission had anything to do with the tenants’ religion. Harris said it did not, and that the mission was to provide housing to people earning less than $17,000, to give them a chance to improve their situation. The departing tenant did not identify what part of the mission she was opposed to or why she refused to sign the agreement.

Inn Along The Way uses a community design in which older adults live within a neighborhood-style setting of small homes, a tea room, cafe, an inn, an art center and a farmstand, as well as a small working farm, and hospitality cottages for caregivers’ respite. The inn and farmstand and other amenities bring the outside world into the assisted living community. It is located at the former Chapman Farm, which is visible from Main Street. Additional buildings will come in phases as financial needs are met, but presently, Inn Along The Way is ready to begin construction on its first phase. It requires a few state permits, and a financial statement. Its site plan was approved pending those items.

The small apartment project on Griffin, in part of a garage, was approved pending a letter from the fire chief. The plan already includes hard-wired smoke and carbon monoxide detectors, and windows constructed to look like the six up-six down style of window dating from the early 1800s.

The applicant for the Dollar General/Sherman Williams project on the Poole property requested several items be waived, including the number of trees for screening, the location of the parking lots, the width of the sidewalk on the service side of the structures, a minor change to the grade of the driveway on the Biscay Road side, and the number of parking spaces. These were favorably heard, but when the company wanted stronger lighting, there were several questions. Some of the proposed lighting is more than five times what the town allows.  The board members suggested other ideas, such as more light poles, low-level lights such as bollards, or other options.  As this was a preliminary review, no action was taken.

An attorney for Wells Fargo discussed what Town Planner Anthony Dater said was an inadvertent but illegal subdivision on Abbie Lane. Three property owners purchased land from a single family, and as they were not members of the family, their land was termed an illegal subdivision under state law. It was decided that the attorney would provide a survey and site plan for all three properties, since the Wells Fargo property is the one that most immediately affected; the bank is unable to close a sale until a clear title can be arranged. A buyer has been waiting since autumn, the lawyer said.

 The meeting ran three hours.