KENNEBUNK — A developer has proposed a 54-unit, age-restricted community on Alfred Road in West Kennebunk, and the Planning Board has scheduled a site walk for Oct. 3 at 8 a.m.
Maine Planning Associates, working on behalf of applicant Property Partners, LLC, presented a sketch plan for the “Cottages at Forest Meadow” at the board’s Sept. 28 meeting. A sketch plan is the first step in bringing a development proposal to the town, giving the board a chance to provide feedback on the main concepts before a formal application is filed.
The single-family development is intended for homeowners 55 and older, with a single-story ranch-style model and a two-story model. To create a community-friendly feel, the plan places units close to the road, adds front porches, and includes sidewalks, walking trails and open space.
The property is listed under the Estate of Roger R. Camire and the Estate of Jean C. Camire. Property Partners is a brokerage firm.
The site covers about 85.74 acres of forest, meadow, and wetlands. The development would occupy about 18.65 acres, leaving roughly 67 acres as open space.
Nearly all board members raised concerns about the traffic a 54-unit development would generate.
“Fifty five-year-olds are still working,” said board secretary Janice Vance. “Is the plan to allow them to have children?”
Robert Georgitis, owner of Maine Planning Associates, said the applicant has not decided whether to bar full-time residents 18 and under or to allow up to 20% of units to be sold to buyers under 55, with restrictions still applying.
Georgitis said a 55+ community would generate 60% less daily traffic than a standard subdivision, since residents make fewer trips for school and work.
Board Vice Chair Richard Smith said his concern was the cumulative effect of development in the area.
“My concern about traffic is the cumulative effect that is beginning to snowball up there, in that area, attacking Thompson Road intersection both with Alfred and Alewive roads,” he said.
The project is one of several recent proposals in this part of West Kennebunk. Later the same night, another developer proposed a 20-unit subdivision on Alfred Road. Two months earlier, a different developer proposed a 192-unit mobile home project on nearby Alewive Road.
The applicant requested and received three waivers.
The first allows the applicant to identify significant existing vegetation and tree lines rather than inventory every tree on the parcel with a diameter of six inches or more.
The second allows sidewalks to be placed next to the curb instead of including an esplanade, which the developer said would make winter maintenance easier.
A third, allows soil survey test pits to be concentrated in the areas designated for roads, the engineered sewer system, and the reserve and stormwater systems, rather than covering the entire parcel.
Board member Avnish Puri asked whether an environmentalist had been consulted on the tree identification. Georgitis said no, but noted the site includes maples, red maples, pines and firs.
Georgitis also said he is awaiting a response from the Maine Natural Areas Program, part of the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife, about any protected species on the property. The department has documented the threatened spotted turtle in York County.
The proposed subdivision will be served by public water and a shared engineered wastewater disposal system.
