ANDOVER – A large crowd is expected to attend tonight’s public hearing on a proposed nine-lot subdivision on 5,398 acres in Gardner Brook Valley off Route 5.
The project proposes lot sizes between 500 and 700 acres.
“This is the biggest project to hit Andover,” Planning Board member Leon Akers said late Friday afternoon.
He added that planners began work several months ago on the application from MaineVest LLC of Bedford, N.H.
“We don’t know officially what they plan to do with it yet, but they indicated to us verbally that they would sell the lots for use as woodlots, but the timber’s gone,” Akers said.
The land transfer between the prior owners and MaineVest, he said, took place “a few days before” Maine’s new liquidation-harvesting rules went into effect. The rules substantially eliminate liquidation harvesting.
“Wood there is in the process of being cut, so there won’t be any timber on it, probably, when people are to buy it,” Akers said.
MaineVest is represented by engineer Tom DuBois of Main-Land Development Consultants Inc. of Livermore Falls. DuBois, who was on vacation, could not be reached for comment last week.
“We’ve done preliminary work on the application, and reviewed it, but we don’t consider it to be complete,” Akers said. “There are a lot of questions to be answered.”
According to an Aug. 1 letter from DuBois to Andover planners, MaineVest does not propose to construct any buildings or structures on the nine lots.
Instead, he stated, “These lots will be created and sold, with the buyer responsible for building construction. The project is to be developed and sold as is.”
Even though Andover planners have yet to approve the project, Northern Acres, according to its Web site at www.northernacres.com/sundayriver.htm, is currently marketing the nine lots for sale on behalf of MaineVest at prices ranging from several hundred thousand dollars to nearly $4 million.
Some of the questions planners have pertain to rights of way and Gardner Brook Road, which Akers said “is quite steep in places and very narrow, because it’s between the brook and a bank.”
“It’s never been anything but a logging road. In my opinion, it might be a sticking point, because our subdivision ordinance, which was strengthened at town meeting, states that subdivision roads must meet town road standards,” he said.
Although Gardner is the name of the brook and valley, Akers said the project is called Gardiner Valley Subdivision.
The land is between Route 5 and Lone, Long, Puzzle and Little Puzzle mountains, but Akers said he wasn’t sure if one or more of the mountains are included in the acreage.
“Part of the land they bought is in Newry, so we will be contacting Newry planners,” he said of the MaineVest land purchase.
An Internet search for MaineVest, turned up a Web site for Northern Acres, a division of James W. Powers Inc.
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