Saco Planning Board Meeting: September 1, 2026 - Departmental Training and Housing Law Update
Saco Planning Board Meeting: September 1, 2026 - Departmental Training and Housing Law Update
The Saco Planning Board convened on Tuesday, September 1, 2026, at 7:00 PM for a regular meeting. The main agenda item was a continuation of training from the August 11th session, featuring representatives from Maine Water, Code Enforcement, Economic Development, and the Police Department. The board also discussed upcoming state-mandated housing law changes and administrative updates.
Consent Calendar
- No items were on the consent calendar.
Public Comments & Testimony
- No members of the public were present to speak.
Discussion Items
- Maine Water (Marcus Snip, Manager of Engineering): Presented on water capacity and pressure considerations for different development types. For single-family homes, approval is almost always given. Multi-unit and commercial projects require hydraulic studies to ensure adequate pressure and flow capacity, especially for fire sprinklers. The system is gravity-fed and generally has sufficient capacity, but older infrastructure (1950s-70s average) can cause pressure issues. Developers must obtain a capacity-to-serve letter and final approvals before construction. The board discussed how pressure drops with increased demand, the role of pipe sizing, and how homeowners can address low pressure (e.g., booster pumps or replacing old service lines).
- Code Enforcement (Dave Toomey): Explained his office's role from start to finish: reviewing initial inquiries, ensuring conditions of approval are met during construction, and coordinating with other departments before issuing certificates of occupancy. Communication between departments is key to enforceability. The board discussed enforcing conditions like stormwater management, gutter prohibitions, and setback verification.
- Economic Development (Tracy Desjardins): Described her role as a one-stop shop for developers, guiding them through the process, offering grants (small business, facade) and revolving loans, and working with planning and codes to ensure compliance. She noted that Saco is seeing mostly small businesses and that larger companies look at TIF districts. The city owns only one lot left in the industrial park.
- Police Department (Chief Jack Clements): Covered traffic calming, pedestrian safety, and connectivity. The department reviews site plans for emergency access, sight lines, 911 addressing, and sidewalk connectivity. Deputy Chief Huntress chairs the Traffic Safety Committee and provides input on speed tables, crosswalks, and road design. Driver behavior was highlighted as a primary factor in safety issues.
- Planning Department Updates (Charles Telman): Reported that the long-range planning committee has started analyzing new state housing laws (LD 2003, LD 1829, etc.) that will require significant zoning amendments. Key changes include allowing up to four dwelling units per lot by right in growth areas, with no minimum lot size for accessory dwelling units and no planning board review for projects with four or fewer units. The board discussed challenges around density, lot coverage, subdivision definitions, and maintaining community character. Staff is working systematically to develop compliant and sensible zoning.
- Administrative Updates: The board reviewed a proposed transition to postcard noticing for public hearings, which is expected to be more efficient and cheaper. Upcoming site walks (September 15 at 0 Ricker Road) and a joint meeting with City Council were noted.
Key Outcomes
- No formal votes were taken.
- The board expressed appreciation for the training and will continue to collaborate with Maine Water, Code, Economic Development, and Police on future projects.
- Planning staff will continue developing zoning amendments to comply with state housing laws, aiming for adoption well before the July 1, 2027 deadline. The board will review and comment on proposed changes.
- The city will transition to postcard noticing for public hearings pending City Council approval.
- A quorum was confirmed for the October 6, 2026 meeting (with one member absent).
- The board will schedule a second joint meeting with the City Council before the end of the year.
Meeting Transcript
Good evening, everyone. Ladies and gentlemen, esteemed members of the Planning Board and valued community representatives. Welcome you all to this evening's Assembly of the Circle Planning Board. As chair, it is my privilege to convene this gathering dedicated to the thoughtful planning and development of our community. Today we come together with a shared commitment to shaping the future of our city in a manner that reflects our values, respects our heritage, and fulfills the needs of our residents both now and in the future. As we engage in our deliberations, let us remember the profound impact these decisions will have on the lives of all, keeping in mind we are residents like you. It is our duty to maintain transparency, fairness, and inclusivity in our proceedings, ensuring that the voices of all are heard and respected. Together, we must embrace the responsibility entrusted to us by our community, working diligently and thoughtfully to chart a course that phospers growth, prosperity, and harmony. With that, I would like to call this Tuesday, September 1st, 2026 Socco Planning Board to order. I look forward to the productive discussions and meaningful outcomes that lie ahead. Thank you. With us this evening, myself, Matt Prevenzel, the chair of the board. And we have our vice chair to my left, Joyce Larry Clark, along with planning board members Jeff Brochue, Catherine Pelini, and to my right, Jim Lawyer, and Chris Gagden. We also have our planning board, or excuse me, our city planner, Charles Telman with us. And yes, thank you. With that, we will look to review our previous meeting minutes. Which appeared to not be on the agenda. So we'll just add that for next time. Okay. I just wanted to confirm that. Thank you. So we'll have that for our next meeting in September to review. Our next item is our after the fact packet, but I don't believe we have any this evening. Item five, consent calendar, no items on this item as well. So with that, item six, our planning board public hearing guidelines. This is a document developed by the board and city staff outlining the procedure in place for our public hearings held. This explains the purpose of the public hearings in the outline procedure of reviewing an application, public comment presentation and meeting duration. This is a document published online along with hard copies available in the auditorium for review. And if anyone has any questions on those, please let us know and we'll do our best to answer them. Item seven on our list is our public comment period. Our public comment period is an opportunity to hear from members of the public. We limit this agenda item to a total of 15 minutes for items or topics not under planning board review. The planning board appreciates public comment and recognizes that public comment about matters before it can help the board understand neighborhood concerns, review an application, or help understand additional items. Those wishing to make statements about an application currently under planning board's review are asked to provide those statements during the applicable public hearing period. Comments are limited to three minutes per person. However, if there are multiple members of the public looking to speak, we may reduce that time per person to accommodate all speakers. When speakers are at the podium, we do have a sign-in list for those wishing to speak. And with that being said, if anyone is here that would like to discuss any uh planning board topics, please come to the podium and state your name and address for the record, and we will do our best to take those comments and adjust them accordingly. So seeing no members of the public with us this evening, we will continue with our agenda. Number eight, our next item is our public or excuse me, our planning board training. Um we have some training this night uh this evening, and with us we have some representatives from the city of Socco, Maine Water, um, CODS, Economic Development. Um one for my team. No one from no one from planning. Um so with that, I'll turn it over to Charles. I didn't know if you had a special order, you want to introduce everyone. Uh we can go from there. Yeah, so we have uh a few folks from a few different departments. Um I don't want to speak out. So we have Chief Clements from the police department, Tracy uh Disjardens from the economic development, Dave Toomey from Codes, and then Marcus Snip from Main Wal Maine Water. Um so at our August 11th training, uh we had a few kind of other elements that people had asked questions about, whether it's how uh will the planning board relates to code enforcement, economic development, what is the police looking for, and then we also had some questions regarding kind of our public water service that you know Rosalie uh said that Maine Water would be better for answer to answer.
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