Bangor issued a permit to build a 60-unit subdivision near Essex Woods in error, a judge found last week.
Penobscot County Superior Court Judge Patrick Larson vacated the permit issued in September 2022 and sent it back to Bangor’s planning board in an order issued Oct. 10, nearly a year after neighbors Brian Ames, Sandra and Dwight McIntosh, Laurie Cote-Dunn, Jeffrey Gray and Melissa Bolduc filed an appeal in October 2022.
The project was set to bring 30 duplexes to a 12-acre parcel near Broadway, Essex Street and Interstate 95. The judge’s move does not necessarily kill the project, but it will lead to delays after the developer announced she will give one home away to a military veteran.
Neighbors objected to the project during public comment at four planning board meetings in 2022, arguing that it would increase traffic, dilute water pressure and lessen access to wildlife and outdoor space.
Construction started earlier this year. Some trenches and holes have been dug, along with moving other dirt. The project was expected to wrap up in late 2024, Maine Woods Development owner Emily Ellis said. The neighbors named Team Properties, LLC and the city in the appeal. Team Properties is part of Maine Woods Development.
The planning board misclassified the size of the project and did not explicitly outline its reasons for approving the permit, Larson said. The project was originally labeled as a major subdivision but was changed to a minor subdivision during the application process.
Maine’s Freedom of Access Act requires boards to make a record of why a decision was made, which the planning board did not do when the scope of the project changed, said Larson, who added that the project should have been considered a major one because it requires new private streets.
When the project returns to the board, separate votes should be taken on each standard, with facts made explicit, the order said. Before the board decides on issuing a permit, it must decide if the subdivision is a planned development or attached residential use, the order said.
Surrounding homes are in a low-density residential zone and the neighbors who filed the appeal are steadfast in their belief the subdivision is “too intense” for the zone, the neighbors’ attorney Charles Gilbert said.
New buildings must conform to the existing neighborhood and the project will not be able to do that, Gilbert said. City staff did not respond to a request for comment.
The developers have not planned their next steps, but it is likely the project will be delayed and not canceled due to the decision, said Ellis, who reacted to the order by saying that the neighbors have a piece of Bangor but are denying that privilege for other people.
“It’s just frankly, disappointing because the only real issue is that people that live around the neighborhood don’t want it in their backyard,” Ellis said.
The application for permits for the subdivision will need to go back through the Planning Board, Gilbert said. There are new board members since the first approval in September 2022.
Work at the site to adequately take care of stormwater will happen with a permit from the Maine Department of Environmental Protection, Ellis said. The home giveaway to a veteran will still happen, but she doesn’t know the timeline. The application is open through Oct. 20.
“I’m a woman of my word and my intention is to have a great place for people to live in Bangor, Maine, and they will,” Ellis said.