Standish Planning Board advances campground, camp foundation; tables water district and subdivision items

The Standish Planning Board approved a four-site campground on Richville Road and a foundation for an existing camp at 122 Sandy Cove Road, and tabled two other applications pending site walks and more information. The board also opened a public hearing on a zoning map amendment for a property across from the town office.

Key points

• The board approved a four-site glamping campground at 703 Richville Road, with a condition that the access way across the field be widened from 12 feet to 16 feet to address fire department concerns about the long driveway.
• The board approved a full foundation under an existing non-conforming camp at 122 Sandy Cove Road to convert it to a year-round home, with no expansion of the footprint.
• The Portland Water District's application for a new chemical storage building at the Sebago Lake water treatment facility was tabled until after a site walk, with a board member raising questions about chemical containment, drainage, and restroom facilities.
• A 12-lot subdivision off Richville Road proposed by Herb Meadows, LLC was tabled pending a site walk and outstanding items including stormwater permitting, a third-party engineering review, and fire chief comments.
• Public commenters raised concerns about water demand and aquifer protection related to the subdivision, and about road standards for the campground access.
• The board opened a public hearing on a request to rezone a property across from the town office from industrial to the standard commercial zone; no members of the public commented.

Next steps

• Schedule a site walk for the Portland Water District chemical storage project on October 19 at 5 p.m.
• Schedule a site walk for the Herb Meadows subdivision on October 26 at 4:30 p.m.
• The subdivision applicant will submit updated materials, including stormwater permit application documents, test pit results, and updated traffic information, ahead of the November meeting.
• The board will revisit the tabled water district and subdivision applications at its next meeting, or in December if more time is needed.

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