Planning Board OKs Bradley Estates application as complete; schedules Oct. 7 public hearing and Sept. 16 site walk

The Saco Planning Board on Sept. 2 found complete an application by Big Ledge LLC for Bradley Estates, a proposed 94-lot single-family subdivision at 321 Lincoln Street, and scheduled a public hearing for Oct. 7 and a site walk for Sept. 16 at 8 a.m. Chair Matt Provensel convened the action after the applicant described a revised plan and staff confirmed supplemental materials had been uploaded.

The application covers roughly 52 acres and proposes about 1.1 miles of roadway, sidewalks on all public streets, a 10-inch water trunk main, gravity sewer with a new pump station, underground utilities, two gravel wetland stormwater facilities and additional soil filters. “This parcel is around 52 acres,” said Drew Gagnon of Goral Palmer, who spoke for Big Ledge LLC. The plan identifies about 13 acres of wetlands and several stream crossings; the applicant said the project will be reviewed under the Maine Site Location of Development Act and coordinated with the Army Corps and Maine Department of Environmental Protection.

The board emphasized outstanding items staff and peer reviewers flagged. Assistant City Planner Shannon Chisholm told the board an uploaded wastewater-capacity letter initially landed in the wrong file but was included in the record and that the applicant provided updated checklists before the packet deadline. Board members pressed the applicant on: potential encroachment into 100-foot IF&W buffers, which the applicant said had previous agency coordination and additional requests for updated agency responses were pending; preservation of noted American chestnut stands, which the applicant said some would be preserved and some fall in the development footprint; and phasing, including which phases must be built before the pump station goes online.

The applicant described deed restrictions prohibiting accessory dwelling units, saying staff recommended the restriction to limit traffic growth and to keep the development below state thresholds that could require a traffic movement permit. “Deed restrictions such as those being proposed are still allowed under LD 02/2003,” Chisholm said. The developer also said a staged construction entrance off Route 5 for heavy equipment is likely to keep construction traffic off residential streets.

Board members and staff identified several items to be addressed during the review process, including a traffic peer review by VHB, financial-guarantee details for phased improvements, a landscaping/tree-preservation plan to protect notable trees, clarification about open-space conveyance and whether Parks & Rec will accept the dedicated land, a lighting plan, and additional conservation-commission input. The board voted 7-0 to find the application complete; Jim Moyer moved the motion and Joyce Louie Clark seconded. The board also voted 7-0 to schedule the Oct. 7 public hearing and to hold an on-site visit on Sept. 16 at 8 a.m. Conservation Commission members will be invited to join the site walk and staff will seek their draft comments ahead of the hearing.

Next steps include the city’s technical and peer reviews (traffic, conservation, public works), updated agency correspondence on buffers and wetlands, and submission of a phasing narrative and clarified financial guarantee calculations. The board directed staff to place the project on the Oct. 7 agenda with a draft findings checklist for board deliberation.