In the wake of the Damariscotta Planning Board’s decision Dec. 4 to approve the project at 435 Main Street, on Dec. 6, selectmen approved a set of recommendations which would have prohibited waivers on requirements for parking in front of buildings.

The recommendations were put forth by the Planning Advisory Committee, an ad hoc committee empaneled to advise selectmen on site plan review and land use ordinances and possible form-based codes. The memo was sent to selectmen Nov. 29 and forwarded to the planning board Dec. 4, but at that time, the selectmen hadn’t yet met to agree to the recommendations, and so the planning board decided not to weigh the recommendations in its approval of the development.

The first recommendation from the PAC was: “First, immediately, the PAC asks that the current Planning Board decline to make any waivers of Town ordinances with respect to applications made for the C-1 and C-2 zones of the town.” It went on to say the committee believed prior waivers undermined the intent of the site plan review ordinance, and said the waiver requested by 435 Main Street “would permit exceptions to the Ordinance that conflict with essential requirements in the Ordinance (and set an) unfortunate precedent that undercuts the direction clearly articulated” in the site plan review ordinance. 

The planning board agreed to the waiver to allow parking in front of buildings, largely due to the recommendations from Fire Chief John Roberts, who said it was important for safety reasons that fire and emergency vehicles are able to pull up to the front of a structure. That waiver passed 3-2. The planning board approved the entire application unanimously.

Several citizens spoke against the planning board’s action, including former selectman Dick McLean, who said the planning board was “running amuck. It is your job as selectmen to rein in a planning board that is running amuck. They answer to you.”

The Planning Board, during its meeting, pointed out that the waiver process was also part of the site plan review ordinance, in anticipation of the objections. They also said safety, not aesthetics, was the paramount concern in planning.

The PAC also recommended that the land use committee be charged with developing a draft ordinance before June 2018 to be voted on at town meeting, and that the land use committee review town ordinances with a view to recommending longer term ordinance improvements “that align with Damariscotta community values as documented in the Heart and Soul report.”

Selectmen approved the recommendations 3-2, with Louis Abbatoni and Mark Hagar dissenting. The two said they wished to see primary materials that were used to make the recommendations before they could vote to approve them.

In other matters, the selectmen agreed to hold off until January to discuss a possible boat launch on Biscay Pond; agreed in principle to prohibit the use of one-time plastic bags, plastic containers and plastic ware of all kinds; agreed to a lease-to-buy agreement for King Eider’s Pub to purchase the small triangle of land in the parking lot to be used as outdoor service; accepted the easements from the Sherman Williams-Dollar General project for sidewalks on their properties; and discussed the use of the lower federal, rather than the town, standard for height above sea level  for the proposed restroom in the Waterfront Park area.