A housing and commercial development plan for part of Gorham Country Club. Contributed / Gorham Planning Department
The latest big housing development plan to tee off in Gorham calls for a mixed use subdivision with 284 housing units plus commercial lots on land at the former Gorham Country Club on McLellan Road.
Troiano Properties has filed a master plan with the Gorham Planning Department for The Residences at Gorham Country Club. The mixed-use development would be built on 38.3 acres of the golf course in the South Gorham Crossroads District zone, which allows housing density.
The McLellan Road proposal comes on the heels of plans for a 391-unit housing development on Robie Street. A contract zone for that project was sent for Town Council approval this week.
The former golf course parcel has 1,950 feet of frontage on McLellan Road and lies within the state’s Narragansett Game Sanctuary. The proposed subdivision is abutted on the north by land the Maine Turnpike Authority is eyeing for a connector from the Bernard P. Rines Bypass roundabout on South Street (Route 114) to turnpike Exit 45 in South Portland.
The Gorham Planning Board will hear details about the Troiano proposal at its meeting at 7 p.m. Monday. No Planning Board action is anticipated next week.
A plan filed on Feb. 12 from Troiano representative Sebago Technics said the project would be built in six phases.
Phase 1 calls for 59 townhouse units in three-, four- and five-plex attached units. In Phase 2, 10,000 square feet of commercial space would be constructed, including space for a gas station and drive-thru business, such as a bank or restaurant. Ninety apartments in six 15-unit buildings would be built in the third phase, and another 15,000-square-foot commercial space is proposed for the fourth. Phase 5 phase calls for 75 apartments in five 15-unit buildings, and the final phase includes 60 apartments in four 15-unit buildings, a clubhouse, pool and dog park.
“This vision cannot currently be achieved due to the lack of public water and sewer in the area and the limitations that certain current town ordinances present to higher-density, multifamily developments, particularly apartments,” Daniel Riley of Sebago Technics wrote.
The developer hopes for a revision to the town’s septic ordinance to allow clustered septic systems for Phase 1 and hopes to extend public water and sewer 5,500 feet from the intersection of Shirley Lane and Brackett Road. But Tom Poirier, community development director, said Tuesday a separate project at Shirley Lane and Newton Drive by another developer has yet to be approved that would extend public water and sewer to Brackett Road.
Public sewer would be advantageous for Phase 2 of the golf course development, Riley said in his letter to the Planning Department.
The developer also hopes that as a mixed-use development, the project would get an exemption from growth ordinance rules limiting the number of permits granted in a year to 10.
Meanwhile, the Planning Board Monday voted to recommended to the Town Council a contract zone for KV Enterprises for its Robie Street development. That project calls for 391 housing units that includes 96 single-family dwellings and 295 multifamily units. The contract zone agreement allows up to 15 single-family building permits per year, an increase from the 10 allowed in the growth area, and one multifamily phase to be allowed in a 24-month period.
The Planning Board vote was 6-0, with David Walsh absent.
The development’s main entrances will be on Robie Street and Bramblewood Lane. But, the contract zone adds an access into the development from White Birch Lane.
The contract zone must be approved by the Town Council. Planning Board Vice Chair William Benson said any council change in the language of the agreement would send the contract zone back to planners for revision.
The council also must approve access to the development from White Birch Lane, which leads to town-owned property at an athletic field and parking lot behind Village School. If it scuttles that access point, the contract zone agreement would be sent back to planners, according to Council Chair Suzanne Phillips.
Increased traffic and construction vehicles in neighborhoods have been an issue among neighbors.
Village Elementary School is on Robie Street and neighbors are concerned about the project’s impact on children’s safety. They favor a White Birch Lane entrance into the development.
“White Birch Lane is a necessity,” Robie Street resident Kevin Thompson said.
But use of White Birch Lane, which intersects with heavily used New Portland Road, upsets residents there.
“Traffic on New Portland Road is a disaster,” Donna Hill of New Portland Road said.
Tim Profenno of New Portland Road would like to see an entrance into the development farther down New Portland Road towards Brackett Road, but Vincent Maietta of KV Enterprises said a conservation restriction in the land’s purchase agreement prevents that possibility.
Town Councilor Phil Gagnon wants a design that addresses traffic issues and eliminates undue pressure on neighbors.
“The Planning Board is ignoring the elephant in the room,” Gagnon said.
Rick Willey of Elizabeth Street sees no positive aspect for the town from the Robie Street development.
“We already need a new high school,” Willey said.
The first phase of the Robie Street project with 43 single-family homes was granted preliminary Planning Board approval on Feb. 5.
Copy the Story LinkComments are not available on this story.
Send questions/comments to the editors.
