NEW GLOUCESTER – The seven-member Planning Board held a workshop with the town attorney to clarify its legal duties.
Attorney Patrick J. Scully of Portland talked about issues of bias and fairness that govern applications before the board.
“Applicants are entitled to unbiased information presented in an open public meeting,” he said. And the board’s decision must be based on evidence presented to the board during those public sessions. The board cannot go out of the public meeting forum to get additional information that is considered a violation of an applicant’s due process, board members learned.
Scully said developers should not be communicating with any board members outside of meetings.
Abutters must be notified in advance of an application to give them the same notice that a public meeting notice provides, including site walks made by the board, Scully advised.
Though the board is not obligated to take public comment during public meetings, it could in some cases be prudent to give an opportunity to those affected to let their concerns be known, he said.
The board is expected to make a decision based on the evidence in an application that meets subdivision and site plan approvals defined in town ordinances. And a written decision with findings that comply with ordinances and subdivision regulations should be rendered with all applications, he told them.
Conflict of interest issues and Maine’s Right to Know statute were also discussed.
In other business, the board granted approval to DBD Development Group Inc. to subdivide an eight-acre lot on Jason Road into three small cluster lots.
Finally, the board continued discussions with Oz Associates, which proposes to subdivide 22 acres into four commercial lots on Sabbathday Road.
Engineer Thomas Saucier of SYTDesign Consultants of Cumberland must reconfigure lot lines, straighten road details of paving, provide information on a working fire pond and include a road owners’ association plan.
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