By Cliff White
Staff Writer
A Tuesday meeting to discuss a Hollis subdivision evolved into a forum on the role of planning boards in shaping community development, and the encroachment of suburbanism into what was once considered rural Maine.
Van Hertel seeks to develop a 29.5-acre parcel of the 64-acre plot his family owns off Deerwander Road by creating the 16-lot Bradbury Ridge subdivision, which would allows 30,000 square feet per lot.
A preliminary hearing by the Hollis Planning Board was attended by several residents angered by what they considered to be an encroachment into the rural nature of their existing community.
“I moved out here thinking I was living in the country, and you guys are taking it away from us,” resident Erik Johnson told the planning board.
Two of the town’s selectmen, Stu Gannett and Ben Severance, also attended the meeting and challenged details of the plan.
“If the board approves years of extremely small lots it will take years to see the effects of those lots on the surrounding area, but those size lots give people fewer options,” Severance said. “If these are going to be priced as starter homes, we’re talking about people who don’t have huge economic resources, and we’re fearful as members of town government that if the wells and septic systems have to be replaced down the road, the residents won’t have the means to fix that, so that the town is forced to step in.”
Board member John Wood disputed the idea that the planning board could shape what type of development occurred in the town, saying, “It’s a private property issue.”
 “As long as the proposed lots comply with local ordinances and state law, property owners have the right to develop their property the way they wish. We don’t have any control over what is brought to us. Over the last eight to 10 years we have approved all kinds of subdivisions, and the town is constrained from doing something like making all houses be at a certain price range or above. All we do on the planning board is follow the zoning regulations,” Wood said.
Hertel’s subdivision plans have changed since first brought to the board, with the total number of lots increasing from 10 to 16, while the size of the lots decreased from around 40,000 square feet to around 30,000 square feet. The state size minimum for individual lots in a subdivision is 20,000 square feet.
According to the current plan, the lots are on either side of a 1,450 foot road ending in a cul-de-sac. The plan would call for the development of 13 acres, leaving 16.5 acres, split on each side of the cluster, as undeveloped land to be left in its natural condition. One of the more contentious parts of the proposal is its call for individual wells and septic systems for each lot.
“It seems you have an awful lot of wells and septic systems awfully close to each other, so why not plan instead for a common septic system and well?” resident John Mattor asked Bradbury Ridge project manager William Thompson of BH2M Engineer.
Resident Gene Thompson was concerned for wetlands close to the property.
“There is wetlands property nearby which could become contaminated,” Thompson said. “We need to make sure that doesn’t happen.”
Wood defended both the right of the applicant to call for individual wells and septic systems for each lot, as well as the reason the town’s ordinances allow such development to occur.
“The reason this cluster is developed the way it is, is to keep the design looking relatively rural,” Wood said. “By doing this type of thing – creating a cluster – on a large lot, it can prevent the town from having the kind of development which would require a sewer system, and the town has said it does not want a sewer and water system.”
BH2M’s Thompson defended the project’s plan, saying the clustered lots would preserve more land from development, thus maintaining the pastoral nature of the area.
“This plan creates more open space that will never be developed and will be left in its natural state,” Thompson said. “We’re trying to work within the ordinances and find a compromise that will make everything work.”
Johnson was not satisfied with Thompson’s answers.
“I wouldn’t allow such a development,” Johnson said. “If you’re going to have a cluster, why not go for it and really have a cluster. It seems like you’re just making it to barely satisfy the rules. Down the road, these could be awful-looking houses.”
Selectman Gannett said the development might not be in the best interest of the town because the cost of a lot would make it affordable toward younger families who would bring more children to the school system, costing the town money.
“The more developments like this are allowed, the more costs increase for our infrastructure,” Gannett said. “Maybe I’m wrong in discussing that, but I’m trying to look out for all the people in the town.”
Planning board member Julie Larry disputed Gannett’s comments.
“I like the fact that I can live near someone who is wealthy and someone who is not,” Larry said. “In the city, this might not be the case. I think it’s one of the benefits of rural life, and I would hate to see this town act in such a way where we would only allow $450,000 houses or above.”
Wood looked to explain the difficulty of balancing his personal opinion of what kind of development the town should allow with the role he must play as a member of the planning board.
“If I had my druthers, I wouldn’t allow any development in this town at all. I’d want the town to remain the way it is and not change a thing,” Wood said. “The problem is, landowners would say to me, ‘You can’t tell me what I can or can’t do with my land.’”
Hearings on the Hertel subdivision will continue at future planning board meetings.
A site walk, earlier postponed due to snow, is to be rescheduled for sometime in the near future. Plans of the development are public record and are available for viewing at the Hollis town hall.