New duplexes proposed for farmland off Thompson Road in Kennebunk: Here's the plan

KENNEBUNK, Maine — A local landowner is looking to build 13 housing units in an undeveloped field on Thompson Road.

Site evaluator Jim Logan of Longview Partners in Buxton told the Kennebunk Planning Board on Feb. 12 that his client, James Howard, is seeking to subdivide a 27-acre property into three lots and construct a new home and a combination of duplexes and stand-alone units on them.

The three lots would be 6.2 acres, 1.2 acres, and 19.5 acres, and the duplexes would be 2,400 square feet each, according to town documents.

Howard, whose family has owned the land for generations, would live in the new, two-story, single-family home proposed to be built on the 6.2-acre lot with frontage on Thompson Road, according to Logan.

“He wants to live on the family farm and would like to construct that for his own use,” Logan said of the proposed residence.

The 1.2-acre lot, which would have a single duplex on it, is also proposed for the roadside, according to Logan. The applicant would hope to sell this lot to help fund the construction of a road from Thompson Road to the 19.5-acre lot, where five other duplexes are proposed to be built farther onto the property, he added.

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The new road would be 22 feet wide and would include a culvert mitigating a wetland in that area, Logan added. He acknowledged the applicant will need approval from the town’s fire chief.

The property is located on your right, if you drive north of the West Kennebunk Fire Station at 80 Thompson Road, Town Engineer Chris Osterrieder told the Planning Board during its Feb 12 meeting.

Osterrieder said that the project, if approved, would change the landscape in the area.

“Visually, this is going to be something different,” he said, “but it is in an area that’s suitable for growth.”

Osterrieder added that Thompson Road already has sidewalks, as the area has been “experiencing growth in recent years.”

Osterrieder noted the field is associated with wetlands. The second lot contains 9.5 acres of wetlands, while the third lot has 3.3 acres.

“That will be a primary concern,” he said.

Logan addressed the wetlands, noting that the applicant can meet the West Kennebunk Village Residential Zone’s obligation for 20,000 square feet per lot.

“We have enough upland on this property,” he said.

Logan added there is enough upland to build as many as 30 units at the site, according to the lot size requirement.

“We’re proposing 13,” he said. “We feel pretty modest in our approach here.”

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Logan added that his client wants to keep lots of open space in place.

“Even more than is necessary,” he added.

Planning Board member Janice Vance asked Logan if Howard would be open to deeding the open space to the local land trust or some other entity to preserve it for perpetuity. Logan said he would have to check, noting that his client is a “pretty independent individual.”

“I think, in his mind, once it’s approved, it will be protected in perpetuity, particularly for as long as he’s in that house, overlooking it,” Logan added.

Planning Board member Robert Metcalf suggested if he truly wanted to preserve the land, Howard could put in his plan that no further development could occur on the property.

“That’s easy,” Logan said.

Logan said each duplex will include a garage and other opportunities to park. He added that the applicant intends to rent out the five duplexes.

“Those five duplexes would be constructed primarily as workforce housing,” Logan said. “They’re intended to help fulfill an unmet need in this town.”

The board will take a site walk at the property this Saturday, Feb. 17, at 8 a.m.

While the public has not yet had the opportunity to weigh in on the proposal, at least one resident is making her opinion known ahead of any hearing the board will schedule. In a letter to the Coast Star after the meeting on Feb. 12, West Kennebunk resident Susan Bloomfield opposed the project, calling it “breathtaking in size and home to countless species of plants and wildlife.”

In her letter, Bloomfield called for environmental assessments to occur prior to any proposed groundbreaking at the site.

“This property has been privately held and has not been properly surveyed by an unbiased source,” Bloomfield wrote.

This article originally appeared on Portsmouth Herald: New duplexes proposed for farmland off Thompson Road in Kennebunk