OXFORD – Some residents of Tiger Hill Road attended a Planning Board hearing Thursday to oppose a planned 12-lot housing development on the road.
John and Maryanna Palmer, owners of Palmer Development Corp., want to create a 13-lot subdivision on their 35 acres on Tiger Hill Road.
There would be 12 house lots ranging from 2.03 to 3.27 acres. The remaining lot would be a common area for a detention pond.
Eleven of the house lots would be reached from a paved road built to town standards and ending in a cul-de-sac.
One lot would have a driveway on Tiger Hill Road.
Residents expressed concerns with both the wetness of the area and the poor visibility drivers would have pulling out onto Tiger Hill Road.
The proposed road leading into the subdivision would be very close to the crest of Tiger Hill.
After opening the meeting with a moment of silence for longtime Planning Board member Thomas Ryan, who recently died, Chairman John Palmer excused himself from the public hearing due to his involvement in the matter.
Darryl Brown of Main-Land Development Consultants spoke on behalf of the Palmers. Brown, a licensed state evaluator, said the area is typical for this part of Maine.
His soil tests showed the area to be glacial till, with an impervious layer of hardpan at about 2 feet below the surface.
He said septic systems would have to be designed around this.
Charles Howe, whose property abutts the Palmers’ lot, challenged Brown’s tests.
“I seriously doubt that you bored a hole there and got a legal reading,” he said.
He claimed the area was too wet with runoff from the hill.
“I’ve lived there for 20 years and every year it’s been a bog hole until June 1,” he said.
Brown said his tests using a hand auger and probe were “perfectly acceptable methodology.”
The area “meets the minimum standards for wastewater disposal,” he said.
He found the area where the pond will be created to have a “fairly decent grade” of about 5 or 6 percent, he said.
Howe asked if Brown had measured the distances from proposed leach fields to existing wells on abutting land.
Brown said he is “very aware of the rules and regulations. You can rest assured that septic systems will be in total compliance with any laws.”
Robert Heikkinen, who lives across the road from the Palmers’ lot, said, “It would be very scary to see another driveway on that hill.”
Howe agreed that people drive very fast on the road and visibility is poor.
Planning Board member Walter Mosher told residents that if the subdivision is in compliance with the town’s ordinances and the Department of Environmental Protection approves the storm water permit, the board has no choice but to approve it.
He assured them, though, that the board would walk the land to see how wet it is before taking any action.
Comments are no longer available on this story