NEW GLOUCESTER – The town’s first bed and breakfast, under review by the New Gloucester Planning Board on Tuesday, will face a public hearing next month.
Shannon Ehrich of New Gloucester and Alton Warren of Gray submitted the site plan and septic design for the proposed seven-guest establishment, which would be named the Chandler House Bed and Breakfast.
The home, located in Lower Gloucester’s historic district and named in the National Register of Historic Places in the 1970s, was built in 1903. Over the years the 15-room home at 337 Intervale Road has served as a family residence. In the 1960s, it was a private school, the Village School.
Plans for the building call for sprinklers and a 600-gallon storage tank of water to be installed. Lacking public water and townwide sewer services, New Gloucester relies on private wells for water supply and individual septic systems.
Railings to a front porch on the existing building would be constructed of wood, instead of vinyl, the board agreed.
The barn, a former Baptist church that was relocated and attached to the home, would serve as a banquet facility during the fair-weather season, using off-site catering services.
Parking would be available for up to 62 vehicles on a back lawn. No exterior changes would take place, but a 2-by-3-foot lighted sign is proposed.
In other business, Dennis Waterman’s after-the-fact, three-lot minor subdivision on the Ethel Sawyer Road was approved. The subdivision was part of a 65-acre parcel where the first lot was created in 1995. In 1996, the parcel was believed to be eligible for a 40-acre exemption that existed in state subdivision law then. However, a portion of the parcel was in a shoreland zone along the Royal River and was not exempted.
New Gloucester Town Planner James Isaacson stated that the private roadway was “perhaps the worst road in town,” in a memo to the board.
Recently the roadway improvements were approved by the town’s code enforcement officer and public works director. In addition, a road owner’s maintenance agreement has been drawn up.
In other business, the board grappled with a proposal by the town of New Gloucester to construct a 24-foot diameter, eight-sided gazebo behind the New Gloucester Library in memory of former Selectman Robert Leighton, who died several years ago.
The gazebo would be constructed of wood and have cedar roof shingles, granite steps and artificial deck timbers.
Fund-raising efforts are under way to raise up to $30,000. In-kind donations are sought to offset the cost of the project. So far, $7,800 has been raised.
Planning Board Chairman Jean Libby said she worries about granting approval without the funds in place to complete the project.
Jim Fitch of the gazebo project said the approval is needed to begin ground breaking and foundation installation work. The fund-raising effort would be helped by the approval now, he added.
The board agreed to hold a public hearing on the gazebo project and the Chandler House Bed and Breakfast on June 7 at the Lower Gloucester Meeting House.
Comments are no longer available on this story