TOPSHAM
The Planning Board Tuesday got its first look at a proposal by the scrap metal recycling company Grimmel Industries to build a new road and access the property from Route 196 instead of through the Pejepscot Village neighborhood.
The current gate through Pejepscot Village Main Street would be locked, only accessed occasionally. Michael Gotto of Stoneybrook Consultants representing Pejepscot Industrial Park LLC — doing business as Grimmel Industries — said the company is looking to have the Route 196 serve as the primary access road to the property. Gotto said they want to extend an access road 1,450 feet, connect to an existing road that will be upgraded about 1,250 feet and build a new rail truck transfer facility.
“The idea is that since we already have rail service down here, there are large products that come from the state of Maine on rail and we want to be able to take those products off the rail, put it on a truck at the transfer facility,” which is why they want a better graded access road and improved rail. The transfer facility will be a roughly 2- acre area paved by the waste treatment plant, and the rail will be extended about 900 feet so trucks can be parked right next to the rail. There are no structures proposed other than pavement. Review of the project is subject to state Department of Transpiration site law, Gotto said, and then the applicant will come to the town for final approvals. He doesn’t anticipate a traffic movement permit from the Maine Department of Transportation because peak hour traffic is less than 100 vehicles, with a count of 66 vehicles at peak hours. The 22 trucks counted during peak hours, were doubled to account for truck traffic.
The improvements to the transfer facility and rail proposed by Grimmel Industries were up for sketch plan review by the Planning Board, an informal process that allows applicants to get feedback and hear concerns from board members and planning staff before submitting formal applications. Gotto said because of market changes occurring within Grimmel Industries, it expects to see an increase in rail use. It should generate two or three loads a week, he said. Asked by board member Bruce Van Note if operation will be limited to daytime hours, Gotto said the applicant is looking to operate 24/7 and won’t be seeking any restrictions at the site.
Developer Dan Catlin of Commercial Properties, who has an option on property at 86 Topsham Fair Mall Road he plans to close on in a couple week, was up for sketch plan review for a proposed approximately 10,000-squarefoot retail building next to Woody’s Performance Center across from Panera Bread.
While he has been in talks with a possible single tenant, Catlin said Tuesday it is more likely the building will be home to multiple tenants — which will be market driven. Still in the marketing stage, Catlin said he will have commitments when he hopefully breaks ground sometime in the 2015 construction season. Currently he plans for the building to look much like the Mattress Firm building also housing Firehouse Subs and AT&T he completed down the road in November 2013.
Tuesday night, Kevin Clark of Sitelines showed the board two alternative designs for the property — one that includes a drive-through for the building. There is a proposed shared entrance for the new construction and Woody’s Performance Center, directly across from the Panera Bread and Village Candle entrance to the mall.
Catlin said earlier Tuesday that no leases have been signed, but “The tenants that I’m thinking about would exceed the threshold of 100 trips per peak hour,” which would trigger an MDOT traffic movement permit which he is currently tackling as well.
There were east- and westbound turning lanes delineated on the Topsham Fair Mall Road when it was rebuilt, Catlin said. Most discussion Tuesday night centered around the curb cuts of the new access road planned and how many movement lanes it should have, as well as layout of parking and vehicle flow between Woody’s and Catlin’s site. The board and Clark agreed more discussion should take place regarding the interior vehicle movement.
dmoore@timesrecord.com
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