The final plan for a 35-lot subdivision near Route 4 was approved last week by the Planning Board, with a number of conditions to be reviewed by the town attorney before construction of Samville Estates may begin.
One contingency, and the primary sticking point still unresolved, is creation of an emergency-use-only road, built to town standards, between Samville Estates and the adjacent 18-home Meadow Pond Estates. The status of that road is an issue that has concerned Meadow Pond homeowners from the start.
Other items that still need to be in place, according to board Chair Greg Zinser, include a signed agreement with the South Berwick Water District; an upgrade of Industry Drive, the subdivision’s access to Route 4; a report from MSAD35 on the school district’s capacity for more children; and location of gang mailboxes and a bus stop, if they are planned.
Mick Land Development’s cluster housing plan first came before the Planning Board in April 2022, and has gone through multiple evaluations by South Berwick and Berwick officials since then. House lots on the 174-acre parcel are in South Berwick but a second egress for emergency vehicles, required by South Berwick zoning ordinances, falls within the boundaries of Berwick.
The land owner and developer, Carol Mick, was in attendance last week when the board moved the plan forward after the board verified the Samville Homeowners Association’s contract and stormwater management documents were successfully updated by Mick’s representative, Ken Wood of Attar Engineering.
Letters from the South Berwick Fire and Berwick Police departments were shared ahead of the meeting, as required. Fire Chief Nick Hamel wrote that “for emergency purposes, Samville Estates must be accessible from both Industry Drive and Meadow Pond Estates, and all streets should be built to the town’s standard.”
The main concern of Berwick Police Chief Timothy Towne was increased traffic on Route 4, particularly vehicles from Industry Drive turning into and out of the subdivision onto the highway.
Industry Drive, a private unpaved road straddling the Berwick/South Berwick line and leading to the Samville subdivision, must be brought up to Berwick road standards, according to the Berwick Planning Board.
Mick Land Development still owns a right of way from the cul-de-sac of Meadow Pond Estates to the Samville property. This has been a concern for residents of Meadow Pond Estates because the proposed plan uses the right of way for the second access to the subdivision, and the residents fear the additional traffic will create an unsafe setting for their families.
“Not using this town road, Meadow Pond, which homeowners in the new subdivision are going to be paying taxes on, is not clear to me,” said Sandy Guay, the developer’s attorney. “On what basis is the condition that doesn’t allow…full access by residents of the new development relative to your zoning ordinance and requirements under site plan review?”
Wood also expressed dissatisfaction, saying, “You are really putting my company in the position of assuming an awful lot of liability for trying to design a subdivision that doesn’t meet the standards of your subdivision and zoning ordinances with a single lane emergency-use-only second access. I’ve never seen a board do this.”
“My concern is that forcing all the traffic through Industry Drive doesn’t meet the ordinance requirements, though it does meet the fire chief’s letter,” said Wood.
“The safest thing now is to move forward with these findings,” Zinser responded. “You’ll have an opportunity to weigh in on them, and our attorney will assist with that particular review as to whether what we are requiring or suggesting is grounded in law.”
The board voted unanimously to approve the final plan but not the “findings of fact,” the final document that outlines and summarizes the developer’s and planning boards’ agreements. The parties will address whatever necessary amendments may be required before the findings of fact are drafted and shared before the next meeting. Home owner Tony Palazzetti, representing Meadow Pond residents, stated that if the right of way is developed as an emergency-use-only second access, most of the demands the homeowners have made through their attorney, Mark Lawrence, will be dropped.
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