WESTBROOK—Blue Spruce Farm developers Risbara Bros. will have to wait until 2017 to receive final approval for its Phase 2 project, which will bring 110 additional apartment units onto the large subdivision.

The approval process, originally starting with plans for a much larger Phase 2 this spring, has been met with constant scrutiny from surrounding neighbors, who have railed against the project’s size and scope.

A Planning Board public hearing Tuesday yielded comments from only a few residents, including neighbor Peggy Quinlan who repeated a previous statement referring to the entire Blue Spruce subdivision as an “architectural abortion.”

The board opted to continue the public hearing on Risbara’s site plan into the next meeting, which Chairman Ed Reidman said would not likely occur until January.

However, the project appears poised to receive approval from the Planning Board once Risbara acquires permits from both the Maine Department of Environmental Protection and the Maine Department of Transportation. Due to the addition of Phase 2, Risbara Bros. had to request modifications to both permits.

Rocco Risbara said Wednesday that his company received confirmation this week from MDOT that it agreed with Risbara’s traffic engineer’s report and recommendations and would be issuing a permit modification.

“The MDEP is working on our application and will likely take a few weeks before they can tell us when we would get the modification to the permit,” he said, adding that the Planning Board has historically granted final approval once receiving “assurances from the permitting agencies that the plans are generally acceptable.”

Nancy St. Clair, a civil engineer working for Risbara Bros., presented the updated site plan to the board. Phase 2, called “Autumn Woods Apartments,” features 108 units in nine buildings on a parcel formerly owned by resident Daniel Chick. His former home will also be renovated into two apartments.

In response to previous comments, minor tweaks were made to the final design prior to the meeting, including an additional two-toned color scheme for some buildings and changes to some of the buildings’ orientation in order to face the private road.

In November, board members Rebecca Dillon and Robin Tannenbaum pressed the developers on doing more to break up the scale of the buildings, which are three stories. Many, including Quinlan and other neighbors, have argued that Risbara’s project does not fit in with the surrounding neighborhood, which is made up of mostly single-family homes.

Phase 1 of Blue Spruce Farm, under construction since last year, includes just under 200 units with a mix of apartments and single-family homes. Since construction began, it has been the centerpiece of a community-wide fervor regarding growth and development, including calls for a development moratorium and changes to the city’s land use ordinance.

Quinlan also called Phase 2 “an insult to the neighborhood.”

“I am heartsick,” she said.

Throughout the approval process, the Planning Board has also pressed Risbara on details including recreational space, traffic safety, and building setbacks.

During Tuesday’s meeting, landscape architect Keith Smith presented his updated plans for landscaping, including a previously announced plan for a community garden and dog park. His landscaping also calls for planting trees along the apartment buildings that, once grown, will “bring buildings into scale.”

St. Clair said the city’s Recreation and Conservation Commission, which reviews all recreation and open space plans for developments, is in support of Risbara’s open space plan.

Resident Mike Ross took issue with Risbara’s traffic study, which he believes is not accurate. The traffic study, conducted by analyst Bill Bray on Oct. 24-25, showed less traffic along Spring Street than during a previous 2012-13 study, he said.

It’s unclear what impact the recently opened Landing Road will have on the nearby traffic. The road, just across from a main entrance to Blue Spruce Farm, runs between Spring and Stroudwater streets and will provide a shortcut for many commuters.

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