NEW GLOUCESTER — The Planning Board will hold a public hearing on Day One’s application for a 12-bed residential treatment facility for adolescent boys at 7 p.m. Tuesday, May 1, at the New Gloucester Meeting House.

Day One is proposing a substance abuse treatment center for males ages 14 to 20 at 934 Intervale Road, a property previously used as a single-family home and lawyer’s office. It would replace a similar facility in Buxton.

The Department of Corrections, parents, counselors and school personnel refer clients to Day One for its six-month intensive treatment program.

An administrative appeal filed by three residents was upheld by the New Gloucester Board of Appeals on April 10. The Board of Appeals ruled in favor of the code enforcement officer’s determination that the proposed use was similar to others in the rural residential zone.

The ruling paved the way for the Planning Board to review the application, which was deemed complete in January, to proceed to a public hearing and site plan review.

However, on April 20, resident Michael Rawlings-Sekunda filed a request for the Board of Appeals to reconsider its decision based on zoning ordinance language and licensing requirements.

Town Planner Scott Hastings said the Board of Appeals will meet May 8 to address Rawlings-Sekunda’s request. 

Until then, the Planning Board will proceed with the public hearing and decide whether to hold off on a decision until the Board of Appeals has finished action on the reconsideration request. 

The Planning Board has 35 days from the close of the public hearing to render a decision on the application.

The Planning Board typically includes seven members, but has two vacancies. Chairman Don Libby will recuse himself based on his relationship to a cousin who will work at the facility. The remaining four members will make a quorum.

Planning Board members also include Jean Couturier, Erik Hargreaves, Charles Burnham and Ben Tettlebaum.

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