WATERBORO — Folks who live in the neighborhood near the intersection of Chadbourne Ridge Road and Route 5 in North Waterboro say a Dollar General store opening there would mean noise and safety issues, as well as light pollution. Some say the store is a bad fit for an essentially rural area.

The project was the subject of a planning board public hearing Wednesday, which drew a full house to the Waterboro Central Fire Station, where the meeting was held. The planning board approved the plan earlier this fall, but then rescinded its approval after realizing it had skipped the required public hearing. Also, due to miscommunication at town hall, the safety concerns of the fire chief and public works director about the project were not relayed to the board prior to their earlier decision, according to Town Administrator Gary Lamb.

Waterboro resident TammyJo Girard, who is also a selectwoman for the town, lives on Bird’s Way, two-tenths of a mile away from the proposed project. She said the turning radius of delivery trucks means they’ll have to swing out into traffic, creating safety and traffic issues. She noted the historic nature of the area, too, with its old sawmill and nearby church, and said the business will create light and noise pollution.

Nancy Roberge, whose family owns and plans to rent out a nearby farmhouse, said her ability to rent it will be hampered if a Dollar General is nearby. She said lights from traffic would shine into the bedrooms, and that, combined with the noise, would be a deterrent to potential renters.

“I may not be able to stop Dollar General,” she said, but she urged the planning board to see to it that the company follows through with the project the right way.

Businessman Todd Abbott agreed that residents’ concerns are valid, but he pointed to the fact that the store is allowed under Waterboro’s zoning rules. He said he hopes a balance can be struck in which residents’ concerns are addressed while too many restrictions aren’t imposed on the business.

“You can’t keep the town in the 1800s,” said Andrew Orr.

Judy Wirth, who lives on Clark’s Bridge Road, said the area is like a village.

“We don’t need another low-income type (store),” she said. “We need to keep this town from looking like one end of Sanford. I’m upset, and I am definitely against it.”

Jack Seery said it seems to him the planning board is in a hurry to act on the proposal.

“I think there are a lot of serious concerns here, and I think it’s worth months of negotiation if that is what it’s going to take,” he said. Seery opined that if the company doesn’t want to engage in serious negotiations, “they don’t belong here.”

Others wondered about the lack of design standards in the town’s ordinances. Planning Board Chairman Tim Neill said such standards have been proposed, but town meeting voters have always rejected the proposals.

While the proposal for a 9,100-square-foot dollar store is allowed under Waterboro’s zoning rules, both Fire Chief Matt Bors and Public Works Director Douglas Foglio have expressed public-safety concerns over the project.

And it appears the public works director might have the last word on the matter. Under Waterboro’s highway-entrance ordinance, the road commissioner ”“ now the public works director ”“ may issue a permit as long as the project is designed so it will “adequately protect and promote the safety of the traveling public,” according to the ordinance.

Foglio said as currently proposed, the project doesn’t meet safety requirements. He said there’s not enough room for a tractor-trailer delivery truck to maneuver Chadbourne Ridge Road and the store parking lot without snarling traffic. He said he’ll not issue a driveway-entrance permit unless the applicant either widens Chadbourne Ridge to make two lanes on one side, or creates a delivery-only entrance for trucks on Route 5. Foglio prefers the latter option, and pointed out both the Hannaford supermarket and a strip mall in south Waterboro have delivery-only entrances. He said that would also offer room for firetrucks to enter if needed.

Bors said as currently configured, firetrucks can’t maneuver there and there’s no room to provide a water-tanker shuttle. There are also no alternatives, such as a hydrant or other viable water source, he knows of nearby.

Folgio’s authority on the highway-entrance permit is separate from the planning board’s action and would come into play if the project were to be approved to the extent it was ready for a building permit. Codes Enforcement Officer Glenn Charette said he would be unable to issue a building permit unless a highway-entrance permit is obtained.

Dollar General, a Tennessee-based, so-called “small-box” discount retailer, examined several parcels in Waterboro and chose the intersection of Route 5 and Chadbourne Ridge to take advantage of the traffic flowing in and out of Lake Arrowhead, a large residential subdivision nearby, as well as commuter traffic on Route 5.

The company has applied for stormwater permits from the state. The store, a metal building, would have 40 parking spaces. It is one of several Dollar General stores planned in Maine. Currently, according to the company’s website, Dollar General has 11,500 stores in 40 states.

The company representing Dollar General, Northeast Civil Consultants, will pass the concerns on to the company.

The planning board will schedule a meeting sometime in the new year.

— Senior Staff Writer Tammy Wells can be contacted at 324-4444 (local call in Sanford) or 282-1535, ext. 327 or [email protected].