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Poland Spring contests appeal
By M. Dirk Langeveld
,
Staff Writer
Saturday, March 22, 2008
PARIS - The Poland Spring Water Co. has taken its case for a trucking facility in Fryeburg to court for the second time in two years.
The company is contesting a decision by the Fryeburg Board of Appeals to uphold a Planning Board decision prohibiting the construction of a facility on Route 302.
"I think all parties would like to reach a conclusion," said Philip Ahrens, one of three attorneys representing Poland Spring in the case against the town and Western Maine Residents for Rural Living, a group opposed to the facility.
The development would cover three acres of an approximately 60-acre parcel and include a 1,300-square-foot stone building, concrete truck pad, and 34-foot-tall storage silo. Water would be piped in from a Denmark aquifer, and a maximum of 50 trucks per day would be filled.
The Planning Board granted the permit, but the Poland Spring document claims that the Board of Appeals overturned the permit after a challenge by Western Maine Residents. The group has raised concerns over effects the facility may have on traffic, noise, pollution and further development in the rural residential zone.
The matter went before Oxford County Superior Court in Paris but was remanded to the Planning Board to determine whether the facility would constitute low-impact growth.
"The court found that Poland Spring had met all of the criteria in the zoning ordinance," Ahrens said. "The court somehow believed that there was a requirement or standard in the comprehensive plan that Poland Spring somehow also was required to meet."
The Poland Spring appeal argues that the Planning Board had no authority to impose the low-impact standard, which it claims was "unconstitutionally vague."
The Planning Board voted Nov. 13 that the facility did not constitute a low-impact use. The Board of Appeals upheld the decision Jan. 28.
Poland Spring charges that the Board of Appeals "acted arbitrarily and capriciously, made errors of law, abused its discretion, exceeded its authority, and reached a decision that was not supported by substantial evidence."
The company is asking the court to reverse the decision and order the Planning Board to grant approval for the project. Poland Spring Water Co. is owned by Nestle Waters North America. |
CLICK HERE To Show/Hide Discussion Thread - (3 Comments)
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Posted By:Terrence at March 22, 2008 5:43 AM (Suggest Removal) After a couple of trips through Fryeburg, I can see why they don't want "50" heavy trucks a day over the roads. I nearly took the bottom out of my car!
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Posted By:info at March 22, 2008 6:01 PM (Suggest Removal) Did the reporter speak to the opposite sides in this dispute? I see no comments from the Town of Fryeburg nor from the Western Maine Residents. What happened to balanced reporting?? Does it even exist? One tends to wonder with one sided articles like this.
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Posted By:Tax Payer at March 22, 2008 10:42 PM (Suggest Removal) No wonder Maine is a dieing state!
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