By Abigail W. Adams
Tony Casella (left) and Karl Olson present their plan for a three cottage development on Davis Island to the Edgecomb Planning Board Thursday, May 21. The subdivision application has not yet been approved. (Abigail Adams photo) |
Developer Tony Casella and his agent, Karl Olson, submitted a completed application for a three-cottage development on Davis Island to the Edgecomb Planning Board Thursday, May 21. Sewer lines, one of the issues that stalled development of Casella’s proposed 48-unit hotel at the same location, were the primary concern expressed by planning board members and their counsel, Chip Griffin, in moving the application forward.
“We’re in favor of this project,” Chairman Jack French said. “We just need to make sure all our ducks are in a row.”
The planning board approved a series of waivers of application requirements requested by Olson and Casella and scheduled a site visit for June 2.
The planning board requested Casella and Olson return with additional information on the development’s plan to access sewer lines, which have been a source of confusion in Edgecomb since sewer lines were first extended from Wiscasset to Davis Island approximately 10 years ago.
According to the subdivision application, Casella’s new development intends to tie into the sewer lines that pump wastewater from three separate developments on Davis Island to the Wiscasset Water District.
The new proposed residential units are projected to generate approximately 800 gallons in wastewater per day, according to the application.
The Wiscasset Water District submitted a letter in 2013, when the planning board was considering Casella’s hotel proposal, which said it could service the 48-unit hotel. The letter was resubmitted as part of Casella’s most recent application.
Sewer lines were extended to Davis Island from Wiscasset as part of a Tax Increment Financing district, a public-private partnership to spur economic development, in an arrangement made with Roger Bintliff, the previous owner of some Davis Island developments.
According to the TIF agreement, the Wiscasset Water District will process 51,000 gallons of wastewater per day – 20,000 gallons for the private developments on Davis Island and 31,000 gallons for Edgecomb.
The developments on Davis Island – the Sheepscot Village and Resort, the View at Sheepscot, and the Townhouses at Davis Island – pump their wastewater to Wiscasset. Casella is also part owner of the View and the Sheepscot Village and Resort. While outside of the TIF district, Casella said he intends to tie the proposed three new residential buildings on Davis Island, named the Village at Sheepscot, into that sewer infrastructure.
According to Casella and Olson, the amount of wastewater processed with the addition of three new units still would not surpass the 20,000- gallon-per-day limit.
The issue of sewer lines is not under the jurisdiction of the planning board, and the proposal ultimately rests on the approval of the Edgecomb Board of Selectmen. According to French, the planning board is requesting additional information about the sewer lines to help clarify a murky subject in Edgecomb and answer questions that have been outstanding for nearly a decade.
French said he hopes the additional information will put the project on firm footing when it is presented to the selectmen so it will win their approval.