FARMINGTON — A proposed central heating plant for the University of Maine at Farmington campus will come before the Farmington Village Corp.’s Appeals Board on Thursday.

A public hearing is planned for 7 p.m. Thursday, May 7, in the water department’s office at 137 High St.

The university proposal to build a plant at Quebec and Perkins streets received approval from the town Planning Board in March.

The proposed site falls within the zoning plan of the Farmington Village Corp.

When people apply for town approval on a project, the checklist for those within the zone includes a permit from the corporation.

The corporation’s Planning Board voted to not allow construction of the plant on Feb. 25, Jane Woodman, business manager for the Water Department, said Tuesday.

The corporation Planning Board discussed the change of use in the proposed location which is now a parking lot in a residential zone. It also determined there is a zone within the Farmington Village Corp. for industrial use but this is not part of it, she said.

The board made the decision without representation or any presentation from UMF, she said.

The corporation Planning Board members attended the town’s public hearing on the project on March 9 to see the presentation given, she said. The town Planning Board gave approval for the project after members visited the property.

With more information, the corporation Planning Board reconsidered its Feb. 25 decision but determined it was still non-conforming, she said. The university had 30 days to appeal the decision.

In the appeal, received April 7, UMF contended the initial findings of the corporation’s Planning Board were erroneous, she said. One of the strongest points of the appeal is that according to the zoning, educational use is allowed in a residential zone, she said.

Woodman said it is unknown whether the corporation could stop the proposed project. The issue has never been pushed, she said.

The Farmington Village Corp. zoning plan could be put to the test, she said.

The corporation trustees are keeping an eye on the situation and attorneys for the corporation and those for UMF have discussed the issue, she said.

The Farmington Village Corporation zone stretches from Horn’s Corner, just north of town on Main Street, down to Tannery Brook near Lake Avenue, and from Fairview Avenue to the east all the way to the river.

abryant@sunmediagroup. net

Copy the Story Link