MINOT – The Planning Board has decided to postpone until December signing the plans for developer Gary McFarland’s Brighton Hill Acres subdivision.
Planners were primarily concerned with the delay in the Department of Environmental Protection’s final review of the 14-lot, 60-acre subdivision. McFarland’s representative, land surveyor/designer James Barker, told the board it appeared that the DEP was reconsidering its restriction that limits the amount of land that could be cleared on each lot.
The DEP’s interest stems from the subdivision’s location in the Taylor Pond watershed and, according to Barker, the DEP initially wanted to limit clearing to 15,000 square feet per lot as a way to minimize runoff into Lapham Brook, which connects to Taylor Pond. Barker said there was a question of whether the DEP had the authority to place the limit.
Road Manager Arlan Saunders, who a month ago had asked that the plans show the location of underground utilities as a condition of approval, noted that the plans, as drawn, place the utilities in the ditches of Pleasant Drive, the subdivision’s road. This, he said, meant the plans would not provide a clear record of where it is safe to dig.
Saunders said that when the road comes up for acceptance as a town road, he will need “as built” drawings showing both the location and the depth of the utilities.
The Planning Board also met with Code Enforcement Officer Ken Pratt to devise a way to keep track of the number and type of businesses in town operating under the “home occupation” provision in the land-use ordinance.
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