WILTON — Six Planning Board members unanimously approved a site plan review for a Dollar General Store recently. The vote followed approval of a waiver for parking spaces.

The Tennessee-based corporation brought an initial proposal before the board in June, but it was not a completed application, Chairman Michael Sherrod said.

A public hearing and walk on the property was held July 3.

Some drainage and entrance location issues needed solutions before project engineer Travis Letellier of Northeast Civil Solutions Inc. in Scarborough could bring a completed application to the board in August.

The company proposes to develop a 9,100-square-foot building at 409 U.S. Route 2. It will be one of Maine’s first Dollar General stores.

After receiving the board’s approval, Letellier said construction would likely begin this fall, stop in the winter and finish for a June opening.

Although town ordinances require 46 parking spaces for a building this size, Letellier sought a waiver for 40 spaces, with two reserved for handicap parking.

Most members thought 40 spaces was sufficient for this type of store, but Keith Shoaps and Maxine Collins questioned whether two handicap spaces were adequate.

Collins suggested one handicap space for every 10 spaces, or a total of four.

Letellier was asked to check the number needed according to federal standards for a facility this size.

The board voted 5-1 to grant the waiver and later made their request for four spaces or the number needed by federal standards, whichever is higher, as part of the conditions for approval of the project.

One issue that has slowed the project involved receiving Maine Department of Transportation approval for an entrance on Route 2. 

Located near The Big Apple where a turning lane was recently added, the entrance would not have been approved by the MDOT without the recent lane work, Letellier said.  The alternative would have been an entrance from the Munson Road, he said. MDOT provided a waiver for the Munson Road entrance.

Another issue was stormwater drainage from the site, he said. A stormwater plan  includes building a 20- by 30-foot pond with a maximum depth of 4 feet behind the store to hold and slowly release runoff from the site, he said.

Munson Road abutters, Joe and Victoria Kinsey, voiced concerns that their property is lower and water drainage often turns their driveway into a lake. Catch basins under Route 2 toward Hayden Shoe Store, intended to carry water in the opposite direction, no longer work, Victoria Kinsey said.

While empathetic to their concerns, the board thought the developer had made a good effort to address a stormwater plan. After water leaves the property, it is up to the town, Sherrod said. The board encouraged the Kinseys to talk with the town manager.

abryant@sunjournal.com