Developer’s appeal to overturn Saco Planning Board decision on 321 Lincoln St. housing project denied

An appeal filed by the developer of a proposed mixed residential development off Lincoln and Bradley Streets in Saco has been denied in Superior Court, spelling a possible end to a long and contentious review process that was decided after multiple approvals had been granted.

Judge Thomas R. McKeon issued his decision on Aug. 22, 2024. He noted that a site plan approval had been granted by the Planning Board on June 29, 2023, and that “substantially similar” standards for site plan and subdivision review were considered by the Board as it deliberated.

After approval was granted by the Board for the preliminary subdivision plan on Sept. 5, 2023, a public hearing and review of the final subdivision plan commenced on Oct. 5, 2023. Continued to the Board’s Oct. 17 meeting, “(t)he Board found the project did not meet five different standards required for subdivision approval,” according to McKeon’s Aug. 22, 2024 decision.

McKeon went on to consider each of the five standards:  

·         • Wastewater,

·         • Aesthetic standards,

·         • Conformance with local ordinances and plans,

·         • Traffic, and,

·         • Impact on adjoining municipality.  

He determined that observers were left to ponder how and why the Board chose to change its findings between the preliminary plan approval and the final plan denial: “The findings do not identify new evidence that may have caused the change in position,” he stated in the decision. “If the appeal were to come down to these two standards (wastewater and aesthetic standards), the court would remand for additional findings to determine the basis for the change in position.”

McKeon echoed that statement for two of the other standards cited by the Board in its denial of the final plan: conformance with local ordinances and plans, and impact on adjoining municipality – stating that the record of the Oct. 17 meeting being silent on these issues would prompt the court to remand for further findings.

The linchpin that led to the denial of the appeal was the fifth standard, traffic. In laying out his reasoning, McKeon stated that, “…Developer had the burden to persuade the Board. The Board remained unpersuaded and can identify evidence on which to base its decision…The Board’s decision regarding the traffic standard is affirmed.”

The court’s findings bring an apparent end to a development proposal that occupied the Board and the City’s Planning Department for nearly two years. Residents of surrounding neighborhoods vigorously opposed the project, pointing to concerns with traffic, the impacts of 332 units of new residential development, and a lack of consistency with local ordinances and plans.

Loni Graiver, President of Graiver Homes, Inc., has left the door to further action.

“We are evaluating our options to appeal in the Law court as well as the possibility of bringing a lawsuit seeking up to 10 million dollars in federal court against the city of Saco and a few individuals that were the leaders of a well-organized anti-growth group who successfully intimidated and bullied planning board members to vote this beautiful development down,” said Graiver when contacted prior to the Labor Day weekend.

Graiver’s is the second large housing project to be denied by the Planning Board for the 52.7 acre property at 321 Lincoln St. Owned for decades by the trust that administers the Kimball Health Center, the property was put on the market in 2017. A Massachusetts-based developer put the property under option and applied for review with the City, but the project was ultimately denied by the Planning Board.

Graiver purchased the property in March, 2022 for $1,499,999 and pursued approvals for a project that is allowed within the Medium Density Residential zoning district. For a time it appeared, over the course of fifteen meetings of the Planning Board between Sept. 20, 2022 and Nov. 7, 2023, that the subdivision was likely to succeed.  

“I have not had a chance to digest the ruling with regard to the Lincoln Street Development,” said Mayor Jodi MacPhail in a statement provided to local media, “but I fully support our neighborhoods and hope all sides can find a mutually accepted agreement that will work for all parties involved going forward.”

n Bob Hamblen can be reached at rhh0918@gmail.com