ELLSWORTH, Maine — After meeting for more than three hours Wednesday night, the local planning board decided to hold off on making a decision on a controversial condominium project proposed for Parcher Street.
The planning board’s next meeting is scheduled for 7 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 6, according to Ellsworth City Planner Michele Gagnon.
More than 80 people, most of them residents of the surrounding neighborhood, attended the board’s meeting Wednesday night at City Hall. Members of the board questioned project representatives and then held a public hearing before deciding after 10 p.m. that they should wait on making a decision so fatigue would not be a factor in the outcome.
The condominium proposal for Parcher Street would consist of 10 total units built in the shape of an “L,” with seven units on the long side and three units on the other.
Residents from the neighborhood and other parts of the city who attended the meeting spoke against the proposal, saying that the development would be inconsistent with the surrounding single-family homes and likely would pose traffic and parking problems. Project developers said they are willing to put in between 15 and 22 parking spaces on the property, depending on the planning board’s preference.
Opponents of the project also said they are concerned about the effect the development would have on stormwater runoff onto abutting properties and on the city’s water and sewer system in the neighborhood. The heads of the city’s water and sewer departments, who attended the meeting, said they were confident that the water and sewer lines in the neighborhood could handle the added capacity.
