MINOT – The Planning Board gave final approval to two subdivisions Tuesday night and deferred action on a third.

Approved were Goodwin Acres, Reggie and Ben Pratt’s three-lot subdivision on Goodwin Road, and Bill Turner’s 12-lot subdivision, Verrill Homestead, located off Grange Avenue.

Several neighbors spoke at the public hearing on plans for Goodwin Acres, seeking assurances that new houses built in the subdivision would be of quality equal to what currently exists in the area.

Board Chairman John Geismar said the board has no power to regulate what might be built, but noted that the lots with fine views toward the Little Androscoggin River likely wouldn’t be cheap, so development on the lots would likely match the views.

The board was concerned that a future owner of lot 1 might build in a flood-prone area and was also concerned with how an easement allowing continued agricultural use of the lowland section of lot 1 might play out.

Thus the board conditioned its approval on the deeded easement being exclusive and also stipulated that no building permits would be issued until the town received an engineer’s documented proof that the proposed building met flood plain requirements.

In giving its final approval for Verrill Homestead, the board limited the tree-cutting area of the subdivision’s five upland lots to 10,000 square feet on lot 5, 15,000 square feet on lots 6 and 9, and 20,000 square feet on lots 7 and 8.

The public hearing on Verrill Homestead was held on Aug. 1, following which the project has been under review by the Maine Department of Environmental Protection.

The boards’ main concern Tuesday night was with how practical the DEP’s stormwater-control licensing procedure would prove to be. The DEP license for the subdivision requires a homeowners association that will be responsible for the upkeep of stormwater-control features in the subdivision. The homeowners association will have to return to the DEP every five years for a license renewal. While the board could do nothing about the requirement, it was concerned that the town could wind up bearing responsibility.

The board deferred action on Gary McFarland’s 12-lot Brighton Hill Acres subdivision because the plans, which the board reviewed more than a year ago prior to mandating them to the DEP for approval, showed that the DEP has drawn a no-cut zone across all the road frontage for lots 11 and 12.

The board advised McFarland that it couldn’t override the DEP and suggested that he see if the DEP would lift enough of the no-cut zone to permit driveway access to the two lots.