Waldoboro resident Matthew Moody plans to establish a boat and RV storage business at the Hendrickson Roofing Inc. property on Route 1.
The Waldoboro Planning Board heard from Moody during a preapplication meeting Wednesday, June 10.
Moody plans to construct one storage building and add up to three more, depending on demand.
He has a purchase-and-sale agreement in place to buy the 5.1-acre property at 2818 Atlantic Highway. The sale is scheduled to close in late July.
“The ultimate goal is to have three to four buildings to store boats and RVs in. It would primarily be used in the offseason, September to June,” Moody said.
Moody envisions a 10-year plan for the whole project. A lobsterman, he said he has been thinking about starting the business for three to four years.
The property is on the southbound side of Route 1, at the base of a large hill. A 20-by-20 office building currently stands on the property.
Board member Barbara Boardman asked about the grade of the property.
Moody said he had a contractor look at it recently and is still gathering information. “West of the office is pretty level and that is probably where the first building will go,” he said.
Moody’s goal is to bring a formal application to the planning board’s July meeting.
Boardman said it would be important to include information on the types of surfaces on the property, as well as stormwater plans.
“This kind of storage requires a lot of hardscape and that would be important information to include, how that all works and where all the water goes,” Boardman said.
The property is in Waldoboro’s Commercial A zone, according to Max Johnstone, a planning consultant to the town.
Board Chair Scott Simpson said the formal application should emphasize plans for the first one to two years of development, but information on future plans would help the board determine if the property is suitable.
Simpson said that if Moody does want to expand in a few years, he will likely have to come back and update the board.
Moody said that if he needs more property to build more buildings, he thinks he could acquire more land from an abutter with 11-12 acres of property.
Board member Jim Russo asked if Moody has any plans to clean up the property.
Moody said the sale contract requires the current owner to clean up the property. “It is part of the contract and hopefully that will be happening,” he said.
Russo asked about traffic issues. “I’m concerned about traffic coming in and out. It’s at the bottom of a big hill. It might be tough to pick up speed,” he said.
Moody said he has consulted with the Maine Department of Transportation about the driveway.
“They did not see an issue with the traffic and said if it doesn’t work for me, it would be about $10,000 to widen it and move a guardrail,” Moody said.
Simpson asked if the existing entrance would be large enough to accommodate boats and trailers.
Moody said he does not plan to store large boats at the property, gearing it more toward what people can tow with their own vehicles.
Board member John Kosnow asked about the environmental and aesthetic impacts of the project. “What type of buildings are you looking at?” he said.
According to Moody, the storage buildings would have metal roofs and metal siding. While he plans to store some vehicles outdoors, the majority would be inside. “The first building would be parallel to Route 1,” he said.
Moody said the storage building would be outside the 100-foot setback and measure approximately 120 feet in length.
“There will be a 14-by-20 overhead door on one side of the building and on the other side of the building will be the same thing, a roll-up door,” Moody said.
Boardman said she is in favor of the building running parallel to Route 1 so it can screen the property from traffic.
“I like the idea of using the buildings as a screen, especially if there is going to be outdoor storage. The ordinance itself is vague about screening, but it should be nice to look at. Not everybody likes to look at white wrapped boats,” Boardman said.
Board member Ted Wooster asked about the property’s water supply and if the business would offer cleaning services for RVs and boats.
“There is no water on the property. Right now we don’t plan on offering that as a service. We are planning on having people come in, drop their vehicles off, and we will store them until they are picked up,” Moody said.
