By Scott Taylor,Staff Writer

LEWISTON – A north Lewiston housing subdivision is back on track, according to the developer.

On Monday, the city Planning Board approved changes to the College Green subdivision, a 44-acre subdivision of 11 lots of between 1.7 and 6.45 acres.

The subdivision off College Road and north of Stetson Road could break ground this spring, according to developer Michael Gotto of Technical Services Inc.

Zoning on the land would allow buyers to build houses of about 1,300 square feet.

“I’m trying to keep it in the middle- to upper-price range,” Gotto said. “It’s a pretty nice neighborhood, and I want to keep it that way. We don’t want to see a bunch of mobile homes out there.”

The city approved Gotto’s original plan in 2002. That plan called for eight lots total, but Gotto said work was delayed by state permits. Since the land includes almost 20,000 square feet of wetlands, the proposal needed approvals from the Maine Department of Environmental Protection and the Army Corps of Engineers.

“So it’s been a couple of years trying to meet those wetland regulations and playing with the site impacts,” Gotto said.

Gotto set aside a five-acre common area in the subdivision to meet wetland regulations.

That area, which will be left undeveloped, will include a conservation easement to make sure it stays undeveloped.

That additional environmental work convinced Gotto that he should build more lots. The original plans had called for eight lots of up to 10 acres.

“When I first looked at it two years ago, I didn’t think there was any way to reach the upper parts of the property,” he said. “But the more I walked the land with regulators, it just made sense to add three more lots. That also helped overall with my costs and timing.”

Plans also call for building a new road off of College Street into the subdivision.

“The way it’s set up, none of lots have any access onto College,” he said. “So that’s going to be the first step. If we can get the contractor out there, we hope to have the road open in August. Then we would expect building to start in the August to September range.”