SACO — Last week’s Saco Planning Board meeting was attended by nearly 100 residents, a number of whom spoke during the public hearing portion of the meeting to express opposition to the controversial Lincoln Village development — a proposed 332-unit mixed residential unit that would sit between Lincoln and Bradley streets. After two hours of public testimony, the board moved to continue the public hearing at their next meeting on Oct. 17. The board also moved to continue review of the development application, kicking a final decision on the project further down the road.

The saga of the Lincoln Village development began in fall 2022, when the development applicant, Graiver Homes, brought the initial site plan before the Planning Board. Since then, the project has secured preliminary approval, but still needs to secure final approval from the board in order to move forward. Over the summer, the community group Save Saco Neighborhoods mobilized to amplify public opposition to the project. The group gathered 172 signatures for a grievance petition that detailed their concerns, securing enough support to force a special public meeting to discuss them. The petitioners take issue with both the development itself and steps taken by the Planning Board during its review, including the vote process that took place during the project’s preliminary review.

That special meeting took place on Sept. 26 and was also widely attended by residents.

At last week’s Planning Board meeting began, Planning Board Member Joyce Leary Clark addressed a key allegation brought by the grievance petitioners. Members of Save Saco Neighborhoods say that Leary Clark’s deliberation on the Lincoln Village development project poses a conflict of interest because she works for the same law firm as City Attorney Timothy Murphy, who has offered legal advice on the project.

Leary Clark said that she has been clear about the fact that she works for the same firm as Murphy since she joined the Planning Board and doesn’t understand why it has now become an issue.

“To my recollection (Murphy) hasn’t advocated for our against this proposal in any way. But if the board believes it’s not appropriate for me to sit (with the rest of the board members), I’m certainly happy to go sit in the audience,” she said. Other members of the board expressed that Leary Clark should continue to deliberate on the Lincoln Village development with the rest of the board.

The crowd then heard from Drew Gagnon, a project manager for the site’s developer, Gorrill Palmer. Gagnon presented updates to the project since it received preliminary approval, highlighting the changes the firm has made to mitigate landscaping and traffic concerns.

For example, the applicant has added 5,000 wetland species habitats and plant bulbs to the development. It has also added 29 additional trees to the plan. “That’s above and beyond what was approved for preliminary,” said Gagnon.

Members of Save Saco Neighborhoods then kicked off the public hearing by presenting some of the same issues that were discussed at the grievance petition hearing. Comments from Bill Kany and Inga Browne, two members of Save Saco Neighborhoods, were met with thundering applause from the crowd. Clapping was a consistent feature of the public hearing thereafter. Almost every resident who spoke received applause.

Over a dozen Saco citizens spoke during the public hearing, bringing up a wide range of concerns — from potential school overcrowding to influence on local housing values to environmental impact.

Elena Littlefield said spoke at the public hearing to provide the view of the “common man.” She echoed what others had said about Saco’s inability to safely absorb the increased traffic created by the development. “None of the people who live in this neighborhood signed up for having a 700 car parking lot in their backyard,” she said.

 

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