The Bangor Savings Bank parking lot, at 100 Main St. in Damariscotta. The Damariscotta Planning Board voted 5-0 during a meeting Monday, April 7 to approve a reconstruction plan for the parking lot. The plan includes 22 parking spaces for bank staff and customers, as well as green space on the north end of the property near the Damariscotta River. (Piper Pavelich photo)
Following months of feedback, plan revisions, and meetings with town officials, representatives from Bangor Savings Bank received approval to reconstruct the parking lot behind their downtown branch location during the Damariscotta Planning Board’s Monday, April 7 meeting.
The planning board held a public hearing on the plan at its April 7 meeting, which garnered comments from two abutters to the property at 100 Main St.
While resident Lissette Griffin, who resides at 60 Main St., said she is in favor of the project, she wanted the planning board to have on record that she is disputing the property line that separates 60 Main St. from 100 Main St.
She is working with a surveyor to gauge exactly where the property line is in regard to Griffin Lane, which begins next to 60 Main St. and extends to the rear of the Bangor Savings Bank parking lot.
“I’m here not to stop the project, I’m happy that the project can go through … I’m glad that this is going to be over, really. It’s been a lot of hours researching everything,” she said. “I’m sure they own some part (of Griffin Lane) … They cannot prove (they own it). I cannot prove it yet.”
The property line dispute will not affect the project, said Damariscotta Town Planner Michael Martone.
“I recognize and I think the (planning) board can appreciate that the property line is disputed,” said Martone. “My understanding is that the applicant essentially is staying away from disputed land.”
Sevee & Maher Senior Engineer Jeffrey Read said during the meeting that construction is proposed to begin about 20 feet from the contested property line.
Resident Wayne Moore, another abutter to the bank’s property, gave a brief comment voicing his approval of the project.
Following the public hearing, the planning board reviewed the application and discussed its compliance with the town’s ordinances.
An application for the project was first submitted to the town in January 2024. It included a proposed public access launch into Great Salt Bay, the body of water to the north of the property. The public access launch was only possible if Damariscotta voters approved accepting the land donation from the bank.
On Feb. 9, 2024, developer David Latulippe, who represents Bangor Savings Bank, withdrew the site plan due to uncertainty from the planning board’s members surrounding the town’s ability to accept a donation of land in the parking lot that wouldn’t have full public access.
Bangor Savings Bank acquired the property proposed for parking lot renovation and the business that formerly operated at 100 Main St., Damariscotta Bank & Trust, in December 2020.
Representatives from Bangor Savings Bank presented revised plans for reconstructing the parking lot to the Damariscotta Planning Board during its meeting on March 2.
Damariscotta Town Planner Michael Martone (left) points to a rendering of Bangor Savings Bank’s proposed parking lot reconstruction during the Damariscotta Planning Board’s Monday, April 7 meeting. The project, which the planning board approved 5-0, will reduce the current parking from 45 spaces to 22 spaces, but will promote more green space. From left: Michael Martone and Damariscotta Planning Board Chair Jonathan Eaton and board member Jenny Begin. (Piper Pavelich photo)
The approved renovation project will disturb less than one acre of land within the 1.36 acres owned by the bank.
The portion of the project on the north end of the property near the Damariscotta River will convert 25 feet from the shoreline into a vegetated surface to promote green space within the parking lot design.
The project will provide 22 parking spaces for Bangor Savings Bank staff and customers, a shift from the original 34 proposed parking spaces. Four spaces will be constructed and dedicated to Best Thai Restaurant, at 88 Main St, as the bank owns the parking lot behind the restaurant.
The proposed 34 parking spaces exceeded the 120% of the allowable use of the square footage of the bank. According to Damariscotta’s land use ordinance, four parking spaces are allowed per 1,000 square feet gross floor area of a building, which is the sum of the floor areas within a structure.
The gross floor area of Bangor Savings Bank’s 100 Main St. location is 4,500 square feet, according to documents submitted to the planning board. The required amount of parking spaces is 19, according to Martone, and the project’s 120% parking limit is approximately 22 spaces.
The 22 approved spaces is a reduction from the parking lot’s current capacity of 45 spaces.
“We’re fine with the 22 (spaces). We’ve been working on this for about four years,” said Latulippe. “We’re fine with striping it that way.”
The board voted 5-0 to approve the application on the condition that Martone review the most recent application submitted to the town one last time to ensure it is in line with the board’s findings.
Planning board Chair Jonathan Eaton said the project is fairly straight forward and will “do nothing but improve things.”
“Things are what they are … this is an improvement to an existing parking lot, a reduction in the amount of parking lot, and a reduction in some of the traffic getting out of there,” he said. “It’s a win-win all the way across the board.”
Read said he hopes construction will begin as soon as possible, and the goal is to have the project complete in time to provide parking for the Damariscotta Pumpkinfest & Regatta, which is scheduled to begin Saturday, Oct. 11.
The next meeting of the Damariscotta Planning Board is at 6 p.m. on Monday, May 5 at the Damariscotta town office, at 21 School St.
