SANDY RIVER PLANTATION – A state land use regulation commissioner gave Saddleback Ski Area the go-ahead last wek to clear six new ski trails.

According to Marcia Spencer Famous, a senior planner at the Maine Land Use Regulation Commission, the commission unanimously voted to approve the first phase of the resort’s development plan. It includes clearing six new trails, two of which start up the mountain at just under 2,700 feet and four that begin below the base lodge and are extensions of existing trails.

The new trails are part of a grandiose plan developed by the mountain’s new owner, retired Farmington geology professor Bill Berry, who bought the mountain in a nine-way partnership with his wife, Irene, and their children last September.

The day after the approval, work had already begun, according to Saddleback’s Web site. The two upper trails will be serviced by a new double chairlift next season and the four lower trails will provide skiers and riders with more beginner terrain, it noted.

The commission also gave Berry permission to continue the operation and maintenance of the resort as well as 18 more months to get his development plan in. According to Catherine Carroll, director of LURC, the established development zone set more than 10 years ago would have expired at the end of April, and the 18-month extension gives Berry time to assess his property and thoroughly plan its development.

Berry has until October 2005 to submit the remaining phases of his development plan, said Spencer Famous, who added that if the plans aren’t all in by then, the mountain owner could request another extension.

LURC is trying to allow the new owner a reasonable process and not hold him to time constraints ordered by permits granted to the previous owner, Donald Breen, Famous said.

Already she said, Berry has submitted a plan to expand the mountain’s base lodge. The application will be decided on by staff and not go before the commission, she added.

According to the mountain’s Web site, which has a sketch of the proposed lodge posted, construction for the expansion should begin this summer and will keep in mind the mountain’s “rustic charm.”

Another major project expected to come before LURC is a 120-room hotel and conference center with a swimming pool and restaurant.

Other coming attractions planned at Saddleback, according to the site, include the replacement of the South Branch T-Bar with a double chairlift, a terrain park with a half pipe, a tubing park, added snowmaking, an ice skating pavilion and the widening of the Silver Doctor Trail for dedicated race terrain.

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