Saco Planning Board Meeting - February 24, 2026
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Saco Planning Board Meeting - February 24, 2026
The Saco Planning Board met on Tuesday, February 24, 2026, at 7:43 PM (adjournment) to review several development applications and discuss legislative updates. The agenda included a sketch plan for an elderly housing development at 1015 US One, a site plan for converting office space to residential at 100 Main Street, a preliminary subdivision for 986 Portland Road Phase 1, and a request to table the Phase 2 application. The board also discussed the implications of LD 1829, a state housing law. All votes were 7-0 unless otherwise noted.
Consent Calendar
- Approval of Minutes (February 17, 2026): The board adopted the draft meeting minutes as edited, with a correction to strike "public water" from a description of lot connections. Motion by Jeff, second by Jim; passed 7-0.
Public Comments & Testimony
- No members of the public spoke during the public comment period or during the public hearings.
Discussion Items
1. Sketch Plan – 1015 US One (Elderly Housing)
- Applicant: Rob McSorley, Sebago TechNet, representing 1015 US One Inc.
- Proposal: A sketch plan for 84 elderly housing units in three-story buildings on a site combining 1015 and 1017 Portland Road. The plan includes a future connection to Dom Marie Drive (though not agreed upon), a pedestrian connection to Blue Haven Motor Court, and a gravity-fed sewer stub-out. The site currently has a non-conforming building.
- Board Questions & Comments:
- Jeff asked about dumpster location, parking, and the north entrance from Route 1. The applicant noted a second dumpster would be added and that turning movements for fire apparatus would be analyzed.
- Jim raised concerns about multiple LLC ownership, mailbox locations, and parking adequacy. The applicant confirmed a joint LLC would be formed and parking would be approximately 1.5 spaces per unit.
- Joyce requested buffering along the north (commercial) side; the applicant proposed a fence and hedge.
- Chris noted the need for large caliper trees for buffering, improved pedestrian pathways, and additional accessible parking spaces.
- Jeff expressed support for infill but concern about losing commercial zone; he suggested including the Blue Haven parcel in the future to create a unified elderly community.
- No formal vote: The sketch plan was presented for preliminary feedback; the applicant will address comments in a future detailed application.
2. 100 Main Street – Office-to-Residential Conversion (Site Plan)
- Applicant: Drew Ulawski, Haley Ward, for 100 Main LLC.
- Proposal: Convert vacant second-floor office space (former call center) into six one-bedroom apartments (approx. 500 sq ft each) within Building 3 of the Saco Island development. No exterior changes. Parking provided in shared lot; traffic and water capacity deemed adequate.
- Staff Clarification: Staff noted the application is solely a site plan, not a subdivision or conditional use, due to vested rights under a prior master development plan.
- Waiver Requests: The applicant requested waivers from many site plan checklist items (e.g., lighting plan, traffic analysis, utility plan) due to no exterior changes. Board discussion:
- Jeff questioned the waiver for lighting if any exterior changes exist; applicant confirmed none.
- Jeff also requested a more detailed financial capacity statement and a traffic peer review given the new Route 1 traffic pattern.
- Catherine asked about trash disposal; existing dumpster will be used.
- Joyce noted previous similar approvals and supported waivers.
- Vote: Motion by Jim, second by Joyce to find the application complete and grant waivers as requested, with additional items for clarity (lighting, financial capacity, traffic review). Passed 7-0.
- Public Hearing Scheduled: March 17, 2026. Motion by Jim, second by Jeff; passed 7-0.
3. 986 Portland Road Phase 1 – Preliminary Subdivision and Site Plan
- Applicant: Jeff Amos, Tier 9 Consultants, for Cloverleaf Development LLC.
- Proposal: A three-lot subdivision and private right-of-way (hammerhead turnaround) within the Portland Road zoning district. This is Phase 1 of a larger project; Phase 2 involves a separate application. The plan includes a 224-foot private road from Portland Road, stormwater drainage to an existing gravel wetland, and a road/easement maintenance agreement.
- Wetland Issues: The applicant responded to third-party wetland review comments by increasing a stream setback from 75 to 100 feet. DEP and Army Corps permits are in place. Staff confirmed the wetland delineation is accurate.
- Board Questions: Jim asked about stormwater management for the hammerhead; applicant confirmed drainage to the existing pond. Jeff noted missing documents (road/easement declaration, financial capacity) but later confirmed they were submitted and reviewed on screen.
- Vote: Motion by Jeff, second by Joyce to find the application complete. Passed 7-0.
- Public Hearing: Opened and continued to March 17, 2026, to allow staff time for peer review. Motion by Jeff, second by Jim; passed 7-0. The board also requested staff draft findings of fact and conditions of approval.
4. 986 Portland Road Phase 2 – Request to Table
- The applicant requested to table the Phase 2 application indefinitely to address comprehensive comments. No formal review had occurred.
- Vote: Motion by Jim, second by Jeff to continue review to a future meeting as determined by the city planner. Passed 7-0.
5. LD 1829 Discussion
- Catherine asked about training on LD 1829, a state housing law with a July 1, 2026 implementation deadline for municipalities. Staff indicated that ordinance changes are being developed by the long-range planning committee and will come to the board for review. The current ordinance remains in effect. Jeff expressed concern about jurisdictional restrictions, and Councilor Nate Johnson noted the city is awaiting final rules. The board agreed to communicate with the public to avoid misconceptions.
Key Outcomes
- The board approved the minutes from February 17, 2026, with edits.
- The sketch plan for 1015 US One received preliminary feedback; no formal action taken.
- The application for 100 Main Street was found complete, waivers granted, and a public hearing scheduled for March 17, 2026.
- The application for 986 Portland Road Phase 1 was found complete, public hearing opened and continued to March 17, 2026.
- The Phase 2 application for 986 Portland Road was tabled indefinitely.
- The board discussed LD 1829 and will await further guidance from staff and council.
Meeting Transcript
Good evening, everyone. Thank you for joining us this evening. Anything to add on this before we begin? I'll pull up of the sketch plan. Um I know you guys had it in your packet, but I'm just gonna pull it up on the screen for you right now. Great. Honor we have the applicant with us this evening. Um good evening, Rob McSorley with Sebago TechNet. I'm representing the applicant 1015 US One Inc. or limited liability corporation uh coming before you to present a sketch plan to you as shown on uh I assume the monitors uh to the side here. Um the sketch plan that we have provided to you was a result of some preliminary meeting that or coordination that we had with the uh city uh back in late July of this year. We actually presented uh on an online meeting two uh layouts that uh had um some units that uh kind of backed up to the commercial area to the north, and also a layout that included a cottage type product. Um the uh one of the comments from staff recommended that we do not butt up against that north property line and that we position our residential buildings closer to the residential use to the south. So we kind of reconfigured our site. We limited the amount of units that we have on the portion to the north and located those more southerly. Uh the buildings that you see there are three-story buildings. We had a lot more uh lower uh two-story duplexes and uh of course the cottage units at one time. Um staff recommended that we look at going vertical versus uh more units to open up the site a little bit more, and so we we have done that. The prior configurations kind of had uh ended in an a dead-end T section uh rate where you see the two larger buildings that are labeled 24 uh unit buildings. Uh we did have a T section there, and then we had a uh parking lot to continue around one of the comments that staff had recommended is to make a connection to Dom Marie Drive, which is the uh road to the um east on the plans or to your right. Um we uh would love to make a connection to Domerie and connect to the utilities there. We had uh some extensive coordination with the developer of that property uh that did not prove fruitful, and um so we were unable to come to terms to make those connections. However, per staff request what we have done is provided for a future connection uh down at the property line there. That's what you see on the plans, both for pedestrian and for vehicles in the future. Um of the other things they had uh requested, though not shown on this plan, is to provide a pedestrian uh access through the site also for the uh adjacent uh Blue Haven uh motor court, which we would be more than happy to do. Uh one of the things that uh we would be looking at we would like to gravity feed down into Domarie, but it looks like we're going to have to pump up to uh Portland Road. We will provide a stub out to be able to pick up uh the Blue Heron Motor Court, their sanitary. Uh that system or that property currently has about five different septic systems on site, and uh we would hope to clean that up a bit. Um there was I know that when we talked to staff, they said that the project would require conditional use approval as it would be multifamily residential project, which we we don't have an issue with. We did have some comments from the city engineer uh that might be in your package. Uh there was nothing really substantial. Um we would address all of those, of course, when we go through the process for a full uh detailed plan set and whatnot. Site distance is not a problem on either road. Um they're flat and there's wide open in either direction. Um there is a concern relative to uh future paving that will happen this year on uh Portland Road, and what we would do is try to coordinate to make whatever work that we need to have done out there, probably would be just a water main connection and reconfiguration of the driveway. Everything else would be pulled off the power poles on our side of the street, or the connection to the sewer would be a manhole that is already stubbed out to the property. I touched on most of the highlights there, and um would be more than happy to get your input relative to the plan that we've laid out and how you see we could move forward. Great, thank you, sir. Board members, any questions for the applicant? Jeff? Thank you, Mr. Chair. Um first question I had uh the dumpster that you have laid out. I know it was the uh to comment brought up by the Department of Public Works. Um is this a dumpster that the residents will be bringing their own trash to to be collected, or will you have like a maintenance team that will bring it from each building? The I was just wondering in the sense because it's it's a fairly large campus, if you will, and if elderly are planning to have to bring it from their building all the way to the dumpster, I didn't know if that was gonna be problematic, or if we should be looking at you know, two dumpster locations or something. We actually have thought about that, and as you come in right there, there's a good spot to have a another dumpster to the front that staff or uh residents could dump on their way out from the the their trunk of their car or whatnot and be easy to hit be had. But that's a great suggestion, and we've already uh looked at that to add that. Okay. Um my next one I had um just looking at the site.
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