BETHEL — The Board of Selectmen unanimously voted Monday to draft a letter to a Westbrook construction company stating the town won’t take action against it for not meeting the setback requirements for the Family Dollar store.

Code Enforcement Officer Jeff Warden told the board that Benchmark Construction, general contractor for construction of a Family Dollar on Mayville Road, said the bank will not offer financing for construction because a survey indicated that the building does not meet the town’s site plan requirements.

“The site plan says that the Family Dollar building needs to be set back 20 feet from the property line shared with the Rite Aid on Mayville Road,” Warden said. “A survey indicated that the building is 19.9 feet away from the property line.”

Warden said the difference between the building’s placement and the required distance is “only an inch and a fraction, which, in my opinion, can be within a margin of error.”

A Benchmark Construction employee said the letter would allow the town to acknowledge that the Family Dollar building “does not meet the code 100 percent, but that the town won’t take action against Benchmark Construction for any future issues.”

Selectman Don Bennett said, “I see no reason to make a change or do anything to stop them from continuing building the store. I think if we didn’t draft the letter, we’d have an even bigger crowd here at our next meeting saying, ‘What the hell are you doing to business in town?’”

The board voted 4-0 to draft the letter, with Lloyd Sweetser absent.

In other business, the board voted to renew the liquor licenses for the Mill Hill Inn and Gideon Hastings House.

mdaigle@sunmediagroup.net

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