South Berwick planning board reviews redlined zoning changes, hears request to allow home‑business signage and approves change‑of‑use waiver

At a Planning Board meeting in South Berwick, members reviewed attorney‑redlined revisions to multiple zoning sections and heard a resident ask the board to allow signage for a home‑based garden‑design business.

A resident who identified herself as operating a small appointment‑based garden‑design business said the town’s current minor home‑occupation permit “doesn't allow us any form of signage” and asked the board to reconsider the permit parameters so small entrepreneurs can display appropriate, building‑mounted signs. She told the board her venture, Old Main Gardens, would be office‑based and that a major home‑occupation permit would be disproportionate to her needs.

Chair (identified in the transcript as the meeting’s presiding member) asked staff to follow up. “Tony is going to look into this and will come back to us and tell us what we can waive, what we can't waive,” the chair said, offering staff review of sign‑size, placement and whether an ordinance amendment will be required. Board members asked whether signs could be building‑mounted rather than in front yards and raised safety and visibility concerns for properties on curves such as the business’s location on Berwick Road.

The meeting’s consultant, identified in the discussion as DiCarlo, led the board through the packet of redlined ordinance revisions. He said the redlines add many new definitions and reorganize Table B to separate minimum lot sizes from density requirements so the town’s regulations align with state statute. “When you're seeing it in red, it's all new language,” DiCarlo told the board, and he walked members through changes to R‑4 and R‑5 lot sizes, shoreland/frontage provisions, and wording that would allow existing septic systems to be expanded rather than requiring full replacement.

DiCarlo also outlined proposed subdivision standards intended to improve walkability: stronger block and pedestrian‑access rules, reserved 20‑foot easements through long blocks for utilities and pedestrian paths, and a requirement that new growth‑area subdivisions provide active‑recreation open space and street‑trees (roughly one tree per 50 feet of new street). He told the board these standards include waiver pathways for small subdivisions and rural areas.

Board and staff procedural actions included approval of meeting minutes (the board recorded a roll‑call vote and approved the minutes) and a motion to rule application MSP‑26‑003 complete. The board then considered a waiver/change‑of‑use request for a separate application and voted to grant the waiver; staff said grant of the waiver allows the applicant to proceed with the change‑of‑use but that the business still must complete building and permitting requirements.

Consultant and staff noted the town's planning position turnover: the planning staff position is vacant and a new planner is scheduled to start July 8. Multiple items — including detailed definition language, some ADU provisions and a sketch application flagged by SMPDC — were held over for further review and a future public hearing. SMPDC's memo to the board identified missing items (service letters, financial capacity documentation and a landscape plan) that applicants must address before the board advances those applications to preliminary review.

The board directed staff to draft the specific provisions members agreed are ready for public hearing, to return with sign‑permit options for the home‑business request and to ensure applicants respond to SMPDC comments before formal review. The meeting adjourned after members thanked staff and the consultant.

Next procedural steps: staff will prepare drafted amendment pages the board approves for public hearing and will notify abutters and advertise hearings as required; the board will revisit definitions and the remaining redlines after the new planner begins work.