BIDDEFORD — The Biddeford Planning Board has decided that a proposed eight-unit subdivision at 226 Guinea Road would be considered a major subdivision at a meeting Wednesday.

The unanimous decision will allow the applicant, Van Hertel Jr., of Buxton, to move forward with the project’s design, including the submission of a preliminary subdivision application package.

The proposed subdivision calls for the development of six lots located in the Rural Farm zone, with two additional units located in the abutting Suburban Residential zone.

The six rural lots, comprising an area of eight acres, would be accessed by three private ways stemming off Guinea Road, each leading to two units with their own individual driveways. The remaining two lots would each have a driveway on Guinea Road.

Project Manager Bill Thompson of BH2M Engineers, who is also heading the development of an 1,800-square-foot Starbucks coffee shop at the Five Points intersection, said each lot of the clustered subdivision would be roughly 20,000 square feet.

Each unit would be served by either a drilled well or extended city water access, and would be equipped with individual septic systems.

The board was tasked with determining if the proposed subdivision qualifies as a “major subdivision.” Per city ordinance, a major subdivision qualifies as one including proposed roadways and the extension of sewer and water for five or more units.

Biddeford resident Carol Brown, who lives across from the site, said she is concerned about potential blasting and water runoff as a result of construction. She said the area contains a lot of natural ledge that would need to be cleared to make way for the development.

“With the blasting, how would it affect those across living from them? How would water runoff affect our wells?” she asked. “Is it going to be safe for our environment and for those living around?”

Biddeford City Planner Greg Tansley addressed Brown’s concerns, saying Biddeford has some of the strictest blasting ordinances in the state.

Tansley said blasting companies are required to notify all abutting residents within 250-500 feet as to when blasting will take place, and signals will be sounded before any blasting work occurs.

He also said crews are required to offer drinking water tests for wells before and after blasting occurs, something he urged residents to have performed if they are concerned about their water quality. 

“If you ever get a blasting notice that’s offering that test to you, my advice would be to have that done,” he said.

In addition, companies are required to offer pre- and post-blasting surveys to homeowners, during which residents can document on video the condition of their home foundations prior to and after blasting occurs.

“The blasting companies that typically work in Biddeford and in the area are very good at what they do,” Tansley said, noting that, since the ordinance was put in place in 2007, he’s only received one complaint regarding a cracked foundation due to blasting work.

Board member Clement Fleurent voiced his concerns regarding potential water runoff as a result of the construction of impervious surfaces, such as roads and driveways that don’t allow for water absorption.

Tansley said, per city ordinance, the rate of water flow of a property post-construction cannot exceed the rate of flow prior to construction — although the quantity of water may increase, the speed cannot, he said.

“That doesn’t mean the quantity can’t increase … our ordinance really focuses on the rate of the flow,” Tansley said.

Following the board’s decision, the applicant will now have to prepare a submission package to the board, including a wildlife study and designs for private ways, in addition to changing a planned 50-foot buffer along Guinea Road to a 75-foot vegetative buffer.

— Staff Writer Alan Bennett can be contacted at 282-1535, ext. 329 or [email protected].