Planning Board - Regular Meeting

meeting for August 6, 2025. Board introduction, please. Lisa Laroo, planning board member. John Deo, chair. Rick Lyles, vice chair. Mike Hangy, member. Mark, member. Matt Uchier, member. Now, Matt within not here. Don't wait. You'll be voting. Did my seat just get hotter? Yes, it did. Okay. Yes, it does. Uh, staff introductions. Sarah Beley, deputy city manager. Morales, planning department. Robert Green, code enforcement officer. Thomas Canon, fire inspector. Andrew, deputy code officer.

Okay, thank you. Uh, item number two, preliminary plan review of a major use site development and a new or existing subdivision entitled Nova Plaza for applicant owner JC Cowboys Realy LLC. the proposal to construct a two-story mixeduse building with four commercial units on the first floor and three residential units on the second floor and a standalone observation platform. The property is approximately 1.49 acre lot located at 99 Bangor Road, tax map 59, lot 50 in an urban zoning district. Is there someone here representing JC Cowboys realy?

Yes. And actually the developer and owner of JC Cowboys is here with us on Zoom. I know he'd like to open up the uh Welcome Mr. Are you Toby? Hello. I'm great. Thank you. Nice to see everyone again. So just to be clear, no, I am not Toby. I'm Robert Frank. Toby is on vacation this week, so he owes me an ice cream after this evening. Oh, more than that, I'm sure. Probably more than that. The floor is all yours. All right. All right, Tommy, go ahead. It depends on how you do today, Rob. I I suppose we're a little rusty.

Hi everyone. My name is Tommy Tran. I am the developer for the Nova Plaza. Uh like I am extremely excited uh to be here with you all. I know that I had an opportunity to visit or meet with some of you guys um at an earlier time. Um just a little bit about myself. Um I had uh came to Ellsworth to visit some uh family member that have moved to Ellsworth and um had a chance to uh meet the local as well as uh see some of the um things that were happening in Ellsworth. I I went to the church there and um I I really fell in love with the city. Uh I I think it has a great potential uh and I love what's happening to that city. is very very beautiful and would like to contribute and and be a part of um this uh growing excitement here in Ellsworth. Um I named basically you know I I I'm creating this plaza here to be uh you know to also help with the economic situation um with Ellsworth to to help and and contribute. Uh I named the the plaza Nova um after my daughter. So, we're definitely in this for the long run and uh we want to be a part of this uh community.

Great. Thank you, Tommy. So, would you like me to roll right through just a quick rundown and then you'll grill me with answers? That's how it usually works, right? Take as much time as you need to. All right. Tell us all about Well,

that happened, didn't it? All right. So, this is Nova Plaza. Backing up again, my name is Robert Frank. I'm actually a professional engineer and senior principal at WBRC in Bangor, Maine. Um, I'm here on behalf of Toby Mishu, who for mentioned is on vacation this week. So, u I've uh I'm actually the uh project executive. He's the engineer and David Woodward was the project manager and landscape architect that put the packet together. And I heard some folks mentioning next time they'd like a like to work in a binder. So we'll make sure that happens next time so you don't have to to do it on your own at home.

That would be very much appreciated.

I'll skip over the general note sheet. So the the project this is the existing uh boundary and topo survey. Currently, the property has two structures, a a single family home and a and a single family mobile home. Uh both of those uh this is the the removals plan. Uh the areas that are hatched are shown to be within the tree removal limit. The dark gray area is the removal of existing drive and parking and the two structures are also to be removed. uh the layout plan which you have in your set sheet CP 101 shows the new uh the proposed uh development structure um it's a uh 6,928 footprint. It's two stories. Uh the first floor is about 5,313 square feet of retail combined with 1315 square feet of what we're calling or classifying as fast casual restaurant. That designation is very specific due to the uh traffic generation. We have to stay within those parameters. Um there's also uh an egress stairwell and then the second floor has three uh fairly comfortable residential units and that puts the total gross square footage at 11,630 ft. Uh there are outdoor patios on the ground level as you can see. See if the pointer works here over in this area to the right or the southeast corner. Um and then on the the rooftop there are actually uh rooftop patios in deck for the three units. They are serviced by the single stair and there's a connecting corridor on that second level. Uh the front cover sheet of our application does have a conceptual rendering of what it would look like from uh from the main drag. We do have two entrances. One is limited to right turn entrance only. Um it does

allow circulation around the building for deliveries axis as well as fire. We did provide two uh turning movement diagrams that show that both your ladder and engine uh do fit around uh the building uh for life safety and and fire access. Um the proposal really is to get folks in, get them parked and enter the building. And then employees are generally expected to park in the back. Service and deliveries in the back. Um the bottom right corner shows a small observatory platform. Um the view is probably not as important as its purpose which will be to allow folks to do their social media snapshots etc. as they arrive in Ellsworth. Um it does have a view uh in the fall of the railroad and the trestle etc. uh that our our client has found quite interesting in the corner and um we think that'll be an added amenity to the property. Uh we did include a grading plan that shows existing and proposed contours. Generally speaking, the uh drainage patterns uh will they it basically flows in all four directions or all three directions. We're a triangular shaped parcel here. Um we have designed with roof uh drip filters as well as uh under drained uh edge filters on parking. uh runoff will continue to go in the same three directions and our post-development runoff is just slightly below pre-existing conditions. Uh this is the utility plan. Uh we are showing uh municipal water connection that includes domestic and sprinkler. Uh we are proposing a new hydrant due to the distance away from the the next nearest adjacent hydrant at over 500 ft. It's about 630. So immediately uh as you turn into the property, if you were responding, uh chief and crew would be

able to pull on the hydrant just near the right turn entrance only into the property. We also have uh and we do have uh capacity to serve letters from the water district as well as the sanitary. The sanitary will be uh a force main tie-in. Uh we will have a private uh pump station on the property that'll tie into the uh the main that's out in Bangor Road. Other utilities include on-site propane which will have an underground feed to the building. We do have grease traps for the fast casual restaurant as required by code and the rest of it is tied in uh in a traditional sense with sewer exiting out the front into that private pump station. Uh other than that there there is a culvert crossing and we did provide uh lighting isometrics in the set for the on-site lighting all of which have either cut offs or downward-facing uh fixtures and I believe the cut sheets were provided as well in the packet from a planting perspective which is here. Um we do have two uh buffer requirements. One is the parking area buffer. Uh we've provided the I don't know if I can zoom in here. We'll try it without blowing up the screen. So the parking buffer um you can see the requirements uh for seven trees and 54 shrubs. We've provided the the we're proposing that required amount. And on the rear and side buffer which is to the west uh residential abuter we have five trees I'm sorry seven trees and 27 shrubs which exceeds the minimum requirement of five and 15 and the rest are ornamental plantings uh and in and amongst the uh uh the property interior as well as in the

curved islands in the parking lot. of the reindeer. Uh we are taking advantage of the remaining uh tree line in the rear. Again, it's a very tight parcel, a difficult parcel from its shape. Uh we were able to get this uh put in here and we'll be retaining any uh tree line or buffer that is not impacted by development. Uh in your packet, you do have pre and post runoff uh diagrams. This is the pre-development plan. And you can see the sub areas that essentially go off in all three directions. And here again in the post, the same is true. And there are full printout of the hydrocads in your packet that show the pre and post runoff meeting the uh the pre-existing condition. Uh these two diagrams CP 2011 and two are the uh this is the ladder truck turning exhibit that shows the ability of fire to uh get around the building. And here is the engine engine 7. And then finally uh this is the uh lighting uh isometric sheet that shows property line uh lines are respected for glare or uh lighting runoff. Uh the the minimum max uh ratios are all met and the property is well lit. We also have uh building mount ground mounted lights pedestrian scale in around the building to complement the parking lighting. And the only lighting that that uh goes over is at the entrance which is to highlight the uh incoming turning movements and that will slightly go into the Bangor Road rightway to cover that intersection. Uh in your packet just to clarify this

is a minor developmental subdivision. It's three it's actually four units. Um this is the second I'm sorry this is the fourth floor the four retail spaces on the first floor um all retail and with the fast casual I believe targeted for tenant space number four you can see the egress stair to the right and then this is the upper level these are the three units um that that are proposed on the second floor of the residential. It's our understanding that tonight is a preliminary review and we'll uh consider the completeness of the application. Um we intend to complete design drawings after formal approval which we would anticipate to happen after approval of the preliminary set and understand that we may need to create myars for uh your signature and delivery to the to the registry. Those may be based on these conceptual plans and if changed uh when we finalize we would expect to update those in the registry but we would uh anticipate that at the the subsequent meeting that that would be the de facto uh subdivision plan if you will that would require your signature for going through the major sake plan review. And I think that's it for drawings. Um, and I know we'll be running down through the uh completeness of the application. I don't know if you wanted me to just kind of touch on the highlights of the uh the review criteria or if you wanted to debate deliberate those and then ask questions as we go. What what would you prefer? Chair.

Well, I think we'll go right to questions. Okay. Unless there's something else you No. No. I think we've uh provided all the questions with all the highlighted answers in the packet. So hopefully the the questions will be able to be infilled. Questions from the board. I talk. You got to go first. You can go. I can go. Yeah. You sure? Sure.

Okay. Um some traffic oriented questions. You know, you depend a lot on pass by traffic using the facility, which I mean I get that right. It's a major tourist route. Is there any uh allowance or you know anything that takes into account the fact that people with RVs might want to be stopping here uh on the way out of town or anything like that? I mean it is a major tourist route. There's a lot of RVs and they stop at a lot of different places and this looks pretty tight to me and I was just wondering what happens when an RV pulls in and you know in that right turn in thing.

Right. We don't have designated right uh if they are exiting. They'd certainly be able to follow the uh the travel path that the fire apparatus would go. there is room in the back to pull out of the way and uh in front of employee parking maybe for a quick quick stay, but uh um having faced the same issue back many many years ago when we did the DOT rest areas, not knowing what ratios would would go in there, it's tough to calculate that. So, right, uh we did not specifically designate RV spaces, but they can encircle the building. Is there is there room or is there room or a possibility of doing that? I mean again I mean who knows how many will actually stop.

I think the only place for a pullover would be similar to any uh national fast food chain that doesn't have designated spaces. Usually in the rear of the building there's there's extra width in the in the rear of this building. We do have uh probably three travel lane equivalents to the rear where the employee parking are where you can see the turning radius that a larger vehicle or two or possibly three could pull out of the way without impeding. Well, there are those one, two, three, four, five, eight, whatever spaces back there which are employee. Yeah,

those are going to be all employees because those I mean those look like they would be space enough for an RV or whatever. Yeah. Or either perpendicular in front or we might be able to extend the length of one or two of those to accommodate that. Yeah, it would be good if if there was some sign indicating that. I would think even if it was just a temporary pullover area uh noting that the employees are not coming and going and and they'd have that opportunity to queue up over there. Yep. Well, Go the um the in and out um entrance exit at the left side of the drawing here. Um one lane in, one lane out, correct?

Uh have you given any thought to the need possibly for a right turn lane and a left turn lane? Not allowed. No, we we ran this with uh the state doesn't allow with SU company and the type of entrance we have. We we um we fought for more entry and we were uh given the location, the site distances, we're kind of pushed back to a tighter uh given the fact that you can encircle the building. Um people can queue up exiting out the the exiting traffic will back up on the property which is our problem. No, I get that it's not a DT problem. And so,

well, it's only a problem if if in fact I mean it's a problem, you know, if if in fact there's some sort of impact on the on the street itself. you know, people not being able to get get in and correct slowing down or whatever. Um, and the left turns, the left turns coming out are especially problematic in terms of Yes. of queuing whatever. Yes. Well, you know, always in general, but but here here in specific, right? Right. Uh, if you try to go in and out some of the like uh friends and family, which is a grocery store on down the street, you know, it has three lanes and it's getting out of there and going across is right is rough. that that is um it's a great location, but sometimes who said it was who was said it wasn't allowed.

If you look in the traffic section in our application, you'll see dialogue related to uh the high accident location analysis, the turning and we spent quite a bit of time with Diane Orbido at SU company to come up with this current configuration. Okay. I I didn't and you know I didn't remember seeing anything about two exiting lanes though. Is that you probably didn't see those in the packet because they never made it before your eyes. We were we were we were curtailed to what's currently on the application. I don't know why you would be prohibited to do that.

Uh number of entrance and confusion at the entrance. Um right now we have uh a right turn entry that allows traffic to move in from uh westbound traffic. And it's iron not ironic it's interesting to see that in the traffic counts I think there were 2018 they're not present day but the morning peak and the evening peak are almost identical and they're they're quite high as you have experienced boy I you know I we've had we've had two lanes out in other places I don't I that we're not allowed doesn't sound right to me. Yeah I guess I guess I'd like to see some discussion of that out sure

in the open somewhere. Yep. We can see if we can pull that out of the narrative. Yeah. Cuz I believe I mean in your packet I mean MDOT has basically turned this over to the city as far as approving the entrance because it's in the urban compact. I believe I read that. So what's happened is that the they did not assume jurisdiction due to the traffic count. So it did not require full traffic movement permit. So at this point it is the board's jurisdiction on approval. But the uh I'd have to go into the packet here. The discussion about traffic movement permit. We did have correspondence from DOT. They approved the current configuration, if you will.

Um there was no mention of improving it with additional exit only. And again, that's a um that's a condition that would favor the applicant for sure. Uh but it would um it would not jeopardize the pass by traffic which is their concern. They're really looking at what's happening on the pass by lanes. Wow. I guess

I mean anytime we we've done when we did the Bangor Mall back in the day, the traffic backs up on site, not on the perimeter. Well, one of the problems though is if if that if that entrance gets tied up at all with stuff like that, then you have u vehicles that are going, you know, towards Ellsworth that want to turn left and they're literally turning left from a traffic lane. I mean, not a center left or anything like that. That's correct. And so it does really impact, you know, what else is going on in that street at that point. But but the but there is an exit and enter on the west side. So there should not be any impediment to folks turning left into the project other than waiting for breaks in traffic.

Well, unless they they decide on their own to say, "Well, I'm going to make this a left turn lane, you know, and I'm tired waiting or whatever." I mean, you know, it it this is I mean, this is a hightraic area with a lot of crashes and so forth at the intersections, and I'm really concerned that this might be just another one, you know, just another location with a problem, which impacts you for sure or the developer, but it also impacts whoever else. So, I I guess I'd like at a minimum to see some some some documentation of why you can't do that.

Okay. then I should say why you're right can't or discouraged we didn't push the issue we were um we were carefully putting this together to um minimize the traffic counts for the size of the development so um I'm comfortable with the layout as is as is our traffic consultant uh we we'd like to proceed with it as is well I would like to see some personally some definition of why you can't do that. I don't think it's the case that that they can't do a thing right this way. I guess I would ask

Yeah, if if um we we can certainly talk about widening the intersection that would require uh an island and a like a shopping center entrance. But if you look at the configuration of this site, it's not a standard parking lot where you're feeding from both sides. Most of it is circulating around the building and queuing up not just at the exiting lane, but also up to the west side of the building. So, you think that most of the vehicles that turn in on the right turn in lane only will go behind the building as opposed to going to the front parking lot in front? It's it's possible. I mean, they can also turn they they should have time to de accelerate and get into the parking in the front.

Again, it's all without knowing exactly which businesses might locate here. It's hard to predict the actual peak nature of that. But so Rick, can you just repeat exactly what it is that you're looking for? I would personally I would have thought that two lanes out, a right turn lane and a left turn out would have been preferable to one exiting lane on the east side. West side. The west side, I'm sorry. Yes, west side.

So basically, yes, he's requesting a shopping center style uh enter exit on the west and we can look into that. You know, for example, I mean, there are there are all kind going back to friends and family, which is just down the road a little bit, has left turn out and right turn out. I mean, they have those kinds of lanes along here. Those kinds of configurations. They probably have a higher traffic count. I think it's may well. Yeah, that would be justification. And I mean I guess were those required as part of their permit or were those informally made because they kind of feel well informally made huge curve.

They have an enormous curb cut opening there that it kind of lends to that you know basically implied that I think that that was required by somebody and I was just trying to figure out who that somebody might be. Yeah. I think just the justification of why you went forward with this design or a little bit um you know a little bit more background about why um you went forward with this design and what the downsides as you

I'll talk to David I know that when we looked at it you certainly have a situation here where right now you have two for exiting traffic which that is the only exit um we have traffic coming from the rear to the west and from the east from the parking lot and right now they're both queuing up for a single exit lane so there's a sense of um stewardship, if you will, as folks exit maybe to take turns with if we have crossovers. We have folks that are coming from the west trying to get to the eastbound exit and the right and you get crossover, it gets confusing pretty quick. We don't have a long throat on this entrance to allow people to queue up and they're coming from two directions and now they're trying to hit two two lanes as opposed to just waiting and weaving into one exit lane. Again, we understand what just happened. We understand the backup will occur on our property.

Um, but that typically is a necessary evil of being in a in a great location maybe. Yeah. Uh, the sight distance of 450 ft and it looks like it goes just kind of the tip of the of the um of the parcel. Can you actually see? I mean, there may be well more than 450 feet, which would be a good thing. Yeah, I I know that was done with someone standing there at the 10-ft setback looking at a three-foot height down the road. So, I I did not personally do that. Yeah.

So, so my question is is it just that 450 ft is it is the tip of the parcel and that was convenient or is the actual available sight distance longer than 450 because 450 was for roughly 45 miles an hour, right? And again, my problem here is that you know the speed limit is one thing and prevailing speeds on these roads is something else. And if you know, for example, that the 85th percentile speed is is 50, then the site distance, you know, for a good design would be, you know, 500 ft. But you may have that is my point,

right? I know that it's at least 450. I don't know if they look past that, but they show that it met the standard for the posted limit, which is the standard we have to meet. I understand what you're saying about driver um behavior. Um when we do schools, we presume that they're going 35 through the through the zone, not 55. And we assume that the local PD is perhaps adjusting the behavior

residential streets and yeah, not major thoroughares coming in from wherever. Rob, on on the site distance, I would ask though I mean this this sheet list 450 ft to the left of the two-way entrance and 450 ft to the left of the oneway entrance. But now you have two entrances. So you have to deal with sight distances from both. U I mean our standards would be 400 ft sight distance in each direction. Is there 400 ft sight distance, you know, to the south of the right turn? I mean, it just kind of indicates the 450 ft sight distance is to the left of each one of these driveways. Uh, on this site map

it say on the site map it says 450 this way, 450 that way. Yeah, it shows in both directions. I believe it shows exceed it shows meeting or exceeding 450 in both, does it not? Right there. Yeah, middle of that driveway. Yeah. And I, you know, I not argue that there's 450 ft. You know, my question is, is there more? Because, you know, the prevailing speeds imply that you might want more. Unfortunately, I don't know. I don't know if we can make them do that because our stand has called for 400 ft.

Yeah. We can only we can only ask him to do what is required. If we're not enforcing it, I mean, the that's he can't plan for speeders. You can only plan for the posted limit. Yeah, we we we can't make them we can't make anybody go to speed and that that is a serious drawback in terms of good design about how do these things work. I think you also may find that DOT psych distance and stanzas are less than ours. Not I'm not sure about the 40 m only at the lower levels like 25 or something. That's why we're at 55. They don't require 550 ft. No. No.

Okay. Sorry. the I think you referred to it as a monument sign at the entrance. Is that something that they're going to block sight distance or is it designed in such a way that you can still see? So, we haven't submitted the design for that. It will meet the the Ellsworth sign standards. Um, it can exceed the height, but typically those are on two pedestals. They'll have the usually the business names on them and the maximum area will basically like a like a shopping center. So literally you might be able to see under you'll see below in underneath. Yes.

And I believe it'll be set back from the property line to be about equivalent to uh 20 ft from the travel lane at its midpoint which is uh behind the driver's uh site. If the um if in if indeed you use or make take advantage of the spaces in the back for RVs, you might want to have a sign out at the where it comes in that says RV correct back there or whatever.

Um let's see. And the fast c the difference between fast casual and fast food is the is the absence of a you're sitting down. You're not driving up. Okay. The drive up window. That's right. Is the point. Okay. I was wondering that myself. Um a fast casual requires more What's that? A fast casual requires more parking spaces than just a regular restaurant than than a fast food restaurant.

Oh, good. So, that means they're meeting a higher standard. I'm good with that. It's like a Chipotle.

Yeah. Right. Um, is there any problem and I and I know very little about what we require with lighting to be truthful. Is there any problem with the lighting that might be useful because of u you know the restaurant and the commercial uses and so forth interfering with the residential uses you know because we have a whole bunch of stuff about you know you can't shine lights at adjacent residential properties and stuff but when they're when the resident residences are literally in the same building what happens to lighting then do we know anybody I

we're not going to blind our residents with Yeah, that's what that would be the clue, right? Tommy probably wouldn't buy my ice cream if I did that. Well, damn. Okay. You don't want to get in the way of that. I I believe the lighting in the packet is all It all points down. It's not going to project on the second floor. It's all okay. Point down as I reviewed it. That was a good answer. Where dark skies were not able to point. Yeah, that's dark skies. It's last term. I couldn't remember where it was, but yes, that's where it starts.

Okay. All right. Um, and tell me again about the treatment or lack of treatment of the wetlands. I mean, there are a couple little wetlands there supposedly. So, we are under the threshold for a tier permit, but we are going to be filing a an advisory and a for the there are three small wetlands on the property and two we we just can't we looked at alternatives we can't avoid. Um the square footage of that impact I believe is in the packet. So, that's a state regulation, right? uh state uh but we don't hit the army corps jurisdiction. There were no vernal pools,

right? It's not a wetland of special significance. Uh Moist environmental did the work for that. So it doesn't sound like it's actually a wetland. There are three isolated pockets that are technically forested wetland pockets, but they don't hit a size that they don't seem to be triggers a permit that we're concerned about. And we but we will be filing advisory opinions um after this meeting with the state with the state in the in for storm water just so that it runs in parallel to your presumed final review so they all kind of come online at once. Okay.

We were just um wanting to have tonight's meeting in case there were any changes. I will note that if we do we're at two spaces more than required for parking and it was very difficult to get the parking in here. If we do widen that entrance with an island in another lane, that would presumably eliminate two parking space and we'd be down to exactly the amount required unless we uh can slide the entrance further to the west. I do believe there are utility poles and wetland impact there that's pushed us where we are, but we will take a hard look at at your entrance request. Um Okay. I know that we were struggling to to meet the standard for parking here,

right? Um, let me see. That's a wetland. The on the trip generation stuff without I marked here somewhere, but there's, you know, you're talking about the peak hour of the generator. And it would be good the the way you've presented it, okay, is fine. Uh at the same time, the peak hour of the generator in terms of time of day may not be the same for the restaurant and the other things.

Well, um that that is the point at which he analyzed the traffic. Yes. But but but but the thing is just you've t which is a good thing actually that you've taken a worst case scenario and you've said that the peak hours of these of these different generators do line up and they actually probably don't but because of the way you've done it. You know it's a maximum here and a maximum here and you've added them together and you've said okay you know this is how many vehicles there are. So you've taken a worst case scenario. So the point is that they probably should mention that in the in the write up.

I I know that we were um again Diane followed the the required standard for DOT for that and I know that when we hit 97 we were concerned it was close to 100. So we did actually send her analysis. I guess the other question is in terms of the 97 it is rather close to 100 and you know you're putting a lot of faith in the accuracy of these models, right? That's why we did send it to John Tero at DOT and he's he's which I thought what would you had he had he said oh no you need one what do you what does what does how does the packet change if you have to do that I mean requires a full traffic movement permit at that point

and which may be a deal killer I mean traffic traffics and so forth yep I mean okay development costs at risk are are a real thing so it it adds to the the risk that our developer faces. So again, this project was designed to to minimize that risk. So it's a not only for um approval process, but for uh improvements that were would be needed if, for instance, if we had proposed a I'm not going to say the name of a coffee shop, but that that was not in the cards. That would have automatically triggered a full movement permit. That's why because it would generate more and that's usually why it's only the the chains that can afford to do that, not not the local coffee shops.

Okay. In fact, I think they even know by name which coffee you mention. They'll tell you how many trips you're probably going to have. Well, if the coffee shops can tell you that if they're right if if they have their act together. Right. Moving on, Don.

Okay. Uh, I'll go back to the the landscaping. I mean, it looks like I you had a really good landscaping plan. Just be cognizant of the fact. And it looks like it was far enough away from from the entrances not to uh impact u site distance, which as just make sure as trees shrubs grow, it doesn't interfere with sight distance. I don't know because I mean you do have quite a bit of trees and shrubs. I don't know how tall those get. We we we put in the most appropriate planning we can for the designated location. Although I will say I've driven by houses that have foundation plings that are eclipsing the the eve height of a roof after 70 years. But they do they will I knowing Tommy and his crew this will be impeccably maintained if it's built.

Okay. Appreciate. Now on the So you have the roof garden on the the resident on both side. You have a roof access on both sides. I mean, are those strictly for the residential tenants? That's right. And the one in the front is more of just a a roof garden, a a living living roof, if you will. Um, it's more for softening the view across the parking lot. You're going to basically see a zero edge. It'll be plantings and you're not going to see below. That's why the units are set back in the back. It's actually an occupied space that'll look back over the the wooded area on the front side. I mean, it's open all the way across. So, I mean, tenants could actually sit out there.

Uh, not on the not on the roof. No, there's um I It's more like a a garden level where you have, you know, more like a window sill height where you're looking out across that higher. They are unable to get onto the roof in the front other than for maintenance. Okay. And they have their own little there's right there's that common connecting corridor that will benefit from the view over that living roof. I think it shows uh the rendering does kind of show it a little bit better that shows the height of that with respect to the openings on the back side. On the river side, they have their own. That's a walk out. Yep. They each have their own patio. Yep.

You can't go from one patio to another. Okay. Um on the I don't know if you want to call the north side of the front side, there's an enclosed portion of that roof garden. It looks like it's enclosed on the looking at it from the road be the left extreme left. Looks more like a sun room maybe.

Yeah, sun room. Oh, right. Yeah, that's actually uh like a community space. Uh they can use it for me, you know, whatever. Just it's a Tommy, what was your thought for that community space? I know you described it's it's a nice it was a leftover space like that space on the far left would be like a office space or a meeting room um in case uh you know staff and I need to discuss things uh and a little bit more like private uh room for us.

All right. Uh, and would you expect or the observation platform, would you would you think anybody would grab a meal and go up there to eat or um that that um is more reserved for um the the apartments um on top? I think he means the platform the the platform that the standalone observatory to the southeast the one overlooking the the trestle is that that's the one you're referring to? Yeah, the observation platform. Yeah. Okay.

Yeah. Oh, the observation platform. Yes. that that's where basically for the general public um to uh take pictures as well as we're going to put signs up um in terms of you know Nova Plaza, Ellsworth and whatnot. That's for uh a little bit more of the marketing side to get people to post on social media. Uh my wife thought it would be a great idea because this will um obviously help promote Ellsworth as well as our plaza, get the name out there so that people uh can uh come and visit. Uh we we're thinking maybe perhaps planting um some fruit trees and things that sort like that so that people can, you know, have have a little place so they can take some selfies.

But Mr. I mean, you wouldn't expect people to I mean, you wouldn't be putting chairs and tables there for people to get something from your restaurant, go out there and eat. Uh, I wasn't planning on that because we do have some um tables and desk I believe on the side of the building uh that they they were going to have a place for them to eat. Okay. Thank you. Yeah. Do you actually see people coming to this development to take advantage of the observation deck and by itself? You mean as a solar sole attraction? Yeah.

I wouldn't be surprised for often times as many people that stop on or near the bridge in the fall to take pictures. I wouldn't be surprised. I know I know that um some of you like lived there for a very long time and maybe perhaps like um like these are people that perhaps are traveling far from the city or you know like different places. So for them like when I went there and I saw the train and then the train track as well as you know um the the foilage and then the trees and the rivers I thought it was so beautiful you know and I took a whole bunch of pictures right and I think that sometimes if you live in an area so long that you forget how beautiful it is. So, I think the observation deck is just an opportunity for people to maybe perhaps uh stretch their legs as well as take some photos and share with their friends that they're they're heading to, let's say, uh Bar Harbor or Arcadia Park, but along the way they they they went to this beautiful plaza and they had a fresh bite to eat and look how beautiful it is. So that was the original idea that you know it's an area that people can kind of rest and then you know um kind of just showcase a little bit of the beauty of Ellsworth

shop and eat but those people would be using other things on the site though hopefully that because otherwise you have another generator that you have not not accounted for. That's right with a loaded question. So just so you know is this a covered platform the observation platform? It does have a roof. Yes. Does that have roof? So, is it 20 ft to the top of the roof or 20 ft to the floor? I It would It would have to meet the the height limit, but I believe we show one set of stair lining. So, it looks like it's about 12 ft of the platform and then you'd have the roof above. Okay. Do you are there reserved spaces, parking spaces for the for the residents?

Uh, or they're not designated, but again, the the parking to the rear is employee and would be uh my presumption would be they'd be designated. We we haven't talked about that assignment specifically. No. Okay. But the combination of all the uses met the I think the standard requirement was 44 and they have 46 for correct all the commercial uses and the

res if you have residences that don't have a marked parking space you could run into a situation where they have nowhere to park because you know the parking spaces are filled or they've got all their groceries and they've got to park on the far end and then walk all the way around. So that might be something to considerate those to help the residents and the workers be able to function. And how many employees are are supposed to be generated with this like two per store maybe? I think it said

and then 1.5 for the for the residences. I think they calculated 1.5. So like seven eight. Look at the parking generation here. So for the tenants and the retail we have 20 and then there's another 19 for uh so for the retail spaces there's 39 and then multifamilies there's one and a half per unit. So there's four or five rather. Yeah. And there's only what seven in the back, right? So they could be

they'll have two employees out back if every tenant takes their assigned space. Yeah, that could be problematic just just for them for the convenience of the people trying to utilize the building that they're not frustrated because the parking lot's full and they may be one and the same if they don't want to travel far for work. There you go. Do you view the residents I'm sorry. Yeah. Is this kind of like worker housing or they're It's market rate. It's market rate. Yep.

Anything else, Lisa? Oh, I got a whole list. I was hoping you guys were You're killing off some of them because you don't want me. I'm done. I got a question about grease trap. Is it that that's a code thing, right? Okay. Yeah. I don't know why I'm pointing at you. You're not the grief captain. He's the grief captain. Well, usually I sit there. Yeah, that's But that's what's Well, we added an extra guy to the table, so you were excuse me. Yeah, change, man. Yeah, it was muscle memory. I got you. Anyway, but the code takes care of the grease trap comment because uh Harris mentioned that in his letter. Yeah. Okay.

Yeah, that that that that's up to the LPI after. We don't need to place explicitly where the where the grease trap goes, but we can we'll we'll have it all taken care of. Okay, we do show it on the utility plan in front of the fast casual restaurant. If you want me to go next, I will. But you know, could be painful. Anybody got a couple questions? Go for it. Anything Mike? No, nothing additional. Okay, get ready.

Be kind. I I will say that this building is quite lovely and I think it would be a great asset to the community. It just it's a very tight space trying to get a lot into a very small space and that is where the the issues seem to be generated right so far. Um so one of the questions I had you were saying that they did the site triangle site distances based on three-foot elevation standing there. I read in section 10 that they actually didn't go to the site. What I read said that they did it off of Google like or Google Google Earth or satellite imagery.

Uh I know that we had a person go down there. I don't know if they designated the distance from the aerial maps and the in the foliage but I know that we had someone go down and look and if not we will have that was the SE sele. Yeah. Su did not we we had a person with WBRC. We're not traffic engineers, but we know how to stand back 10 ft and look at the because they did it. So, it wasn't part of their plan because they specifically said they did not make a site visit. They did it based on just um imagery, right? Um and if we need one of our folks to certify that, we can do that.

Okay, that would be helpful. Um, okay. The mention of the hydrant and is that something that you as the developer are going to be responsible for payment and addition of because there was some verbiage that it needs to be added but I didn't see that it was part of So we do show a proposed hydrant as part of our utility plan as part of the project development. It's not it's not in the um it's not on the property. So it's it's in the city right away. Mhm. But is that something that you guys will be installing and paying as part of our application? Yes. Okay. Um,

now I would presume that it's not a private hydrant that it would then be taken over by the city and we don't pay a hydrant rental on it because it's now benefiting another 500 ft of uh the neighborhood. The city will maintain it afterwards. Um there was uh I saw the list of abutters and whatnot and I had a question about the I didn't see the railroad listed as an a butter on the list or it's under some different name. What are the stepback requirements from a railroad? We treat it as a rear lot. Have you discussed that with the rail? This this rail is uh is this now uh down east

doesn't charge it's a state of Maine Maine central um it was listed on I mean this the state of Maine still owns the rail line state of Maine um controls the quarter my understanding that the um scenic rail has the rights to run an excursion rail on it and and it's not going to be ripped up for rail trail if you will in this location we're we're honoring the rear setback there is no different setback for um

my the reason I asked the question is because I've seen in other communities where rear setbacks were um utilized for next to a rail bed and then suddenly the railroad company said, "Well, wait a minute. You didn't ask us." I didn't see anything in the paperwork that showed that they were specifically asked if they had setbacks because I know of a particular building owned where it was built according to setbacks in another community and the railroad company came in and halted the construction because they actually have quite a large setback requirement for safety.

Yeah. Having dealt with u crossing beneath the rail for the Hollywood casino that we designed um there are restrictions in the rightway of the rail but not additional setback away from the rail except at a crossing which is usually city jurisdiction in the crossing location

and it's usually an over under not a horizontal. So, do you have something from the owner of the rail line that because you you notified all the other property owners, but did you notify and get something a release from the rail company that they agree that the five foot setback is enough? Because you certainly don't want to get in a situation where you move forward and then get the notice of, you know, cease and desist because we have an issue. So, I just want to make sure that that gets addressed. We will address that with a response. Yes.

Okay. Um, then let's see. I just I had a question about uh I've got a million questions, but um I had a question about in reading section 9003. Um I guess Robert, that was a question kind of for you. I was I don't know if I misread whatever, but it was that we might wave the requirement to for them to have um performance bonds because it's sort of a smaller of the projects. Is is that the case or not the case or in that check off list? I couldn't read like you're writing too good. So, oh, it was my check off.

Okay. So, is that going to be like this is going to be they're going to have um we're going to have inspectors that are going to inspect the project during construction, make construction after construction, all of that or or not? I couldn't figure that out. Oh, yeah. You know, we we would be there all the way along every every step of the way for starting with footings in the ground, right? We we will be there for construction. Yes. But I'm talking about like rogue construction to make sure that all that because I just noticed a thing in there that says they probably wouldn't have to put up the bonding for that for like paying to have engineers from our side looking. Oh, generally that's all they they they have somebody that that like an engineer will sign off at the parking lot done to a standard their engineer.

Yes. Okay. That's what I just want to make sure. as as long as somebody you're going to be looking for an engineer sign off approval given by them. We're not going to be involved in that end of it. Yeah. I'm I'm not an engineer, so I can't make that determination. Well, yeah. No, I'm saying that we wouldn't hire. It says we can hire people if we need. No, we don't usually do that for these projects. We we take their um Oh, that was Yeah. 904. It says okay to wave if if okay by the planning board. That's what caught my attention that if we approve it, they don't we can wave the requirement for the bonding. And is that normally the way we do it? I don't think we've ever required a bond. Okay. Forward bond.

All right. Um and I was also curious about sidewalks. There are none here. And I know there's not a lot in town. All over the place, there's not a lot of sidewalks. And but it does say in an urban core section 912C says that they are required unless we wave them. And some of the other areas you don't have to have them if there's not an adjacent sidewalk to get to it. But my thought is that as we get developments that come along, if we don't start asking for them, then there's never going to be anything to connect to. So they'll never use sidewalks anywhere if we don't implement the minimum requirements that it's supposed to be there for an urban project supposed to have a sidewalk. So I do have some concern that even though this is sort of a little out there and probably nobody's walking to it as Ellsworth grows and expands we'll never have sidewalks if we don't start making them occur. So that was a concern of mine. But you don't have room for a sidewalk. Well, we have them internally, but uh there are no You're correct. There are no sidewalks uh in directly in front of us or even nearby in Bangor Road. Um

and the bridge doesn't have sidewalks. Yeah. And with the bridge there, I don't think they they don't want Yeah. They don't have sidewalks on that. No. Right. No. So, it's just a concern that if we always negate it, we'll never get them as we grow. And and we generally have always negated them, which is a problem. Yes, it is. So, I don't know if you ever want to start, but I'm all for it if we ever do. Um, and the traffic issues like we talked about, um, if you add in have you added in in your traffic thoughts, is this restaurant going to offer delivery because that will add traffic stops.

I I I I presume people will be able to, again, I'm not going to presume anything. Tommy, how how are you going to work the uh fast casual? Um my my understanding is that they they don't have like um Uber Eats and Lift over there in Ellsworth. I know I know they have it in Bangor. Um is that correct? We have Door Dash. We have Door Dash. Door Dash. We have Door Dash. Okay. All right. Um I I haven't thought about that. And more is being added along those lines as time goes by.

Yeah. I'm just concerned that if your count is at 97, just under 100, and then we add in these extra deliveries, of course, you could say that that's one less person driving there. So maybe there's an offset for that. And then adding in a few more people showing up for this observation tower, we are really skirting that 100 threshold. So just a little concern. And then in the winter time, you're covering up several of your parking spaces um with your piles of snow, which No, they're they're push back behind. And in the rear, no, in the front you have um up by the right turn only. You show a snow area,

a small snow area that covers up like three parking spaces in the winter, which lasts from November to May. So, a true statement. Um, so that's a concern. And then actually your snow storage areas. There's a teeny tiny one next to the dumpster, a teeny teeny tiny one behind the parking um for the staff and a teeny teeny tiny one to the right of that and then all along the back of the railed and then the front parking places. And with the size of that parking lot, I I did those there's there's a temporary push and then there's a removal. I mean, we've we've been unfortunate. I'm a snowmoiler. We haven't had great winters with snow lately. Y

particularly the closer we get to the coast, but uh as these fill up, they'll have to they'll have to remove. Okay. So, if if there's a winter where we have excessive snowfall, they'll certainly have to remove. I believe that the one in the lower right is a remnant from prior to the right turn entrance configuration. That doesn't make sense to have it partly on and over there. I've got to see if that needs to go away. Okay. So, let's let's look at your snow. But if you're doing remove, you're going to need to cuz that's probably not realistic. Y um will there be in the parking um for the parking that is um facing 1A Bangor Road? Mhm.

Are there going to be curb stops so that people don't try, you know, hit the gas and and jump into the road? Right now, we show curb stops, but they're not a solid curb line. And the runoff is intended to make it between those. You can see the dash lines. Um that basically is intended to sheet flow. Okay. And maybe keep the people on the road, set them up, keep them in the parking lot. Yeah, they would um they they may bottom out in the ditch that's right next to the parking lot. Uh but your point is taken.

Yeah, as long as they don't end up there. and the lighting um diagram. Um the dumpster area, that's for residences and commercial. Do do the residents get to put their trash in your little dumpster? I presume that's for the entire parcel. Okay. So, just make sure there's adequate lighting. Your light, your site diagram with the lighting just showed, you know, just make sure there's lighting because it's dark quite a bit when people need to go get their trash and put their trash in. Make sure that's a safe environment for them to get to.

Um let's see. Um, plantings under snow. Some of your nice plantings are under your little snow areas, too. So, they're going to get squished. Um, um, plant storage. Oh, the So, the front the office on the left of the roof garden. I I was thinking about something. So, you said that's for office management. Is that the one? Yes. Okay. and in it's basically a common space. Um I don't know how Tommy will allocate how it gets used, but it's a separate lockable space that can be used by

I'm sure management would like to have a place to put that. And then on the tenants for the lower area, there's two exterior access storage units in the back um of tenant two. What are those back there? Who are they for? Is that what that is in the back of the building on tenant two? Are you talking the the small areas here? Uh the the box? Yeah. Yeah. That's probably our uh sprinkler riser and our electrical room. Okay. Utility sprinkler. Okay. Um they have to direct.

So the residents don't have access to any kind of like storage areas that they're going to have to get to or anything. Yeah. They'll have to accommodate that in whatever they do to fit out their space, right? Um let's see. Yeah. This is not the this doesn't show any tenant fit out. It's basically a white box that you would typically see on a on a retail fit out. We show the bathroom core and the utility and then anything they do within that would be on their own if they put any partitions or walls or things.

Okay. So, I think that was Yeah. So, I'm concerned with, you know, the additional vehicles with some of the potential generators that are a little higher than we would anticipate because you've added in the thought process of having delivery and having people access that observation tower. And I agree fully with the the one um exit route, you're going to have people that are just going to get so frustrated. Traffic is a real issue and they're going to jump out into the lane because out of frustration. And we're Oh, and the other that was another thing about traffic. One of the things I read was that um the traffic study that was done says that yes, this is a high impact area with very close proximity to a lot of traffic issues. And there in their in their conversation, it says that the DOT and the city of Ellsworth should install a light in the area in that general area. Um and it sort of just said that we need to do that. It needs to be done. Okay.

It's up to main DOT. Yeah, it's under main DOT jurisdiction. There's been lots of conversations over the years about that and it's up to Main D to do it, right? But in the meantime, but in the meantime, we're just still adding more fuel to the fire. This this may push them over well actually with such a high percentage of pass by it doesn't add much to the intersections upstream and downstream but any new trips add and onesie twoosie quickly becomes 10 and 20 and whatever. Yeah. And I I'm not I'm not an expert on traffic by any means, but I would assume

the latest models would actually I can't answer, but I would hope that the latest models would actually include Door Dash and Uber Eats and all that. No way. You don't think so? Not Not yet. No. Because all those models are based on data that is that is submitted by people who want to submit it. Okay. And so what happens is a lot of the data. So, for example, all the pass by data is like 20 years old. And to Lisa's point, it could offset by someone not going from their home to that place. It's conceivable. Or or it's just as easy that, you know, they're sending up people instead of, you know, it's like a new trip. Like, I wouldn't go there otherwise. Yeah. But I'm I'm going to use

I mean, it could it could run both ways. It could be somebody says, "Well, I'll let Door Dash go." or somebody or there may be 10 Door Dash orders whereas instead of just one person driving there. So, it's kind of I know the DOT is putting up a blinking light north street and Shore Shore Road. I know it's not a traffic light, but it is a blinking light. Um so, that is we're getting there um with that. But yeah, all we can do is keep requesting and documenting um that. Yeah, the state basically said that, you know, if Ellsworth wants to pay for a light there, that's their prerogative. And even then, I mean, I don't know what they, you know, they still have to approve it. Oh, sure. Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah.

Well, and what happens with the North Street intersection is it has to, it has to accommodate the railroad thing in there as well, which makes it a really complex light. Yeah. I mean, you think like, oh, this is simple, right? Right. You know, but it's unfortunately not. Now, the one down that that road, whatever that other state route is, that's a lot easier uh intersection to take care of. Yeah. And then you have Whidham Road and Christian Ridge, they're offset. So, you need two and that doesn't work either. So, it's just And aren't they still doing the um aren't they doing this big traffic study of 1A to try to see what kind of improvements?

Yeah. So, they um have been doing a series of safety studies on 1A. The most recent was the Winkmp Paw um change they made. Uh I have reached out to DOT in the past couple weeks asking for an update on that and to be able to have some collaboration on that effort. I think it's still under data collection technically. Um as soon as I find out I'll report back on what the status is but they are doing a safety um analysis of 1A.

Right. And the problem is we want business, we want residences, we want growth, but the DOT and the state is kind of hamstringing us to be able to keep doing that safely. That's a problem. So question for you on your tenants space on the first floor, are those square footages cast in stone or if tenant if a tenant comes in, let's say tenant one comes in and says, I'd like to have space number two also. Is that going to be something that will be allowed? They could they could lease both spaces. Okay. So, basically they can they they're going to be building out their own space. Correct. Okay.

One thing we can't do is allow the fast casual to go larger than it is. That would correct would would cause uh significant potential for u you know traffic related improvements that would jeopardize the project. Okay. So, with with that being said, um they're going to be building out. Are you going to allow outside refrigeration if they need it or is it going to have to be within the tenant space

the with only I believe uh let me go back here. I don't know if we have a lot of room for exterior. That is the most cost effective. Are these things going to be like Airbnb things? Reality? No, I'm talking about the commercial. No, no, I know. I know. That was just an extra add-on. Sorry.

Yeah, it would be pretty pretty tough to get exterior refrigeration. The only place that would it would impede their outdoor patio space for the fast casual, and I don't think they want to do that. Okay. So, are you asking whether or not these walls could be taken out, the interior walls? Well, they don't necessarily have to be taken out. They could be a passageway between them or whatever, which is fine. Doors and stuff. My my concern is that they're going to allow anything exterior of the building like exterior refrigeration or exterior storage or things like that out there. And there isn't really much room out there to do that

with the observation tower. Um, so they're going to be standing like and they'll be able to see out over this thing. What What kind of risk is there with They're waving at the highway and people looking up at the people in the observation tower. That is such a nuanced question. Yeah. That's good. Maybe I'm slow down. Yeah. Yeah. Like uh maybe it'd be better if not a lot of them is sticking up so you know the traffic doesn't um get curious and look up. So interesting. Well, as it is now, they'll just come whizzing by and they won't see the observation. No, they won't.

But under the speed limit, I'm sure I'm sure the PD could stand on the observation tower and they don't go. There you go. Yeah. I mean, but you know, the cosine area is like this. What about like that? I don't know. Seems like it would be anything else, Lisa. Thank you. Anything? I'll open the public hearing if there's anybody here. There's any questions or comments? Doesn't look like there's anybody here. Call the public hearing. Uh Mr. Tran, do you have any other comments you'd like to add?

No, just uh wanted to thank you um everyone for making time and allowing us to connect this plaza. Um, this really does mean a a lot to uh me and my family. I'm not like a big developer or anything like that. Um, just a small guy just trying to to build something and ultimately keep this uh for my family and and like I said to contribute to um Ellsworth and uh to its growth. Um so look forward to working with the city and hopefully it's not just this one and many more together. Yeah.

Well, thank you. I'm glad for the explanation because I was kind of curious about how someone who I think went to Rutgers and was in the metropolitan New York area for a while and moved to Texas happened to decide to build something in Ela. So I thank you for the explanation and hopefully this is success and you build something else. Yes. Yes. Very much looking forward to that. Any other comments from staff? Would you like to make a motion?

Sure. Make a motion that the preliminary plan review of a be accepted as complete um major new site development and new or existing subdivision of Novo Plaza for applicant/owner JC Cowboys Realy LLC. I'll second it. Second all. Thank you very much. Thank you. Thank you, Mr. TR. Thank you. Um, John, would you consider taking staff updates and comments before executive session so we don't have any um business when we come out of I thought that was okay. I thought that was a better idea. [Applause]

Okay. So, we'll go to item number four for staff comments. I go first. Um, so a couple things. Uh the first is uh we have the opportunity to do a group planning board training if everyone is amendable to that. We definitely need Hold on a second. Mr. Tran, you don't have to listen to this. This is going to probably bore you. Feel free to Yeah, so thank you very much. I'm waiting for that ice cream. It's coming. Check is in the middle. Okay. Okay. Start again.

So, if you're all open to it, I'd love everyone to attend this group planning board training um that the state does. It's only the three new members really have to do it, but I think it would be a good idea for everyone to join um as a group session just to make sure we're all on the same page and get a refresher. Is that May 4 or is that something separate? I believe it's main. Oh, okay. Yes. All right.

What is that? we uh need to set a date for it. So, it's hosted it it's um has been in person in the past and it's virtual, but we can actually because we are um elite members or something. We can get the training and have it for our group. So, we would collectively come up with a date to have it. Oh, I see. And would you anticipate uh extending an invitation to other planning boards? I mean if if main municipal was going to be here I mean in the past they've done you know group sessions I attended once at the lousern and there were you know people from all over county we can see what the options are

whether it is in per I mean I'm not sure if it will be in person or virtual or sometimes they're pre-recorded and the ones that we've done in the past have been virtual but um we can see what the options are for that because I know there's an option to like purchase the pre-recording and then we can all just watch it at the same Fine. And I'd rather have a live person so you can ask questions. Well, certainly the main municipal one is live or has been live, but I think I think the idea of inviting

other locals to play along would be great because they really can't afford to send people off to wherever and um and but might also send something to um the Hancock County Regional Planning People as well. We'll look into that and I'll send out Sorry, I said regional planning. That's wrong. Hancock County Planning Commission.

They're a regional planning. And then the only thing I really have um next planning board meeting in September, Charlie will be coming to present an update on the courthouse. um that will be coming to planning board uh most likely in October, but he'll be coming next month to kind of give you a update and kind of an overview of the project before um jump in time. So, in September looks like it's going to be pretty full. So,

be prepared. The only update I have is we have um kind of pivoted on the planning position. Um, we had two really great final candidates for our parks and wreck position. Um, I think there were like a hund something candidates for that position. We narrowed it down to these two. We did not want to lose two. So um, we've hired um, Rody um, Erlandbach for the parks and wreck position. He has a lot of um, uh, strong background, local guy. He's worked in Carabasset for a long time and he's coming back to the area. So, he's working in the parks and wreck and Danielle GIF, we extended the position of um director of planning and urban development to her and she accepted. So, we will be hiring her um as the director of planning and urban development. We changed the position a little bit. Um she's going to um work on a lot of project management. She has a strong grants background. Um, very strong grants background and a strong arbor background. So, she'll probably be the staff person to the Arbor Commission. Um, Britney will continue to be the staff person to the planning board. We're elevating Britney's position to planner. Um, and we'll backfill that with some uh current staff to help with assisting both of them on minutes and things like that.

So, you're stuck with me. So, I can send along Danielle's um resume. She has accepted. She's tentatively starting September 15th, but I can send that along to you all for your review. What's Danielle's last name? GIF. GIF. Gift. Gift. Gift. G gift. Like present. She is a gift to us. Yeah, she is a gift. Is she? Thank you so much. She is not local, but she um

she worked with a counselor for a long time in New York City in the parks and recck department there. and um she purchased land on Branch Lake long before she came up here and visited and loved it and purchased land um on Branch Lake a while ago. And so she's always been her goal to retire up here, get up here um and it just happened a lot sooner than she thought. So she's very excited about that.

Cool. What happened to the what is it? The village partnership initiative. So the village partnership initiative is still in full swing. Um they have been doing a series of uh they being SUL is the consultant that was hired. Uh we had a site visit um about six eight weeks ago with DOT and SU and their subconsultant uh viewshed. They came down and we walked the entire um project limits. They went back to the drawing board and um have done data collection, traffic counts. We are tentatively looking at having our first public meeting on that um in September towards the end of September and we're going to be um initiating probably bi-weekly to you know a couple time maybe a once a month meetings of the project team to get regular updates. So there'll be a lot more going on with that and more updates to come. Anything else?

That's all you're I'll be I'll be coming next month with the uh hopefully our completed draft of the cannabis ordinance for the adult use cannabis. We had the session was what's that? Week ago. It feels like it's been a long time. A lot longer than that. But, uh, we're gonna try to have that at least pretty close to done by next week and then have it available. It's going to go back to the council at their September workshop. Y, which would be the Tuesday um, the first Tuesday of the month because the first Monday is Labor Day. Uh, Labor Day. Yeah.

Well, it sounds like you're really stacking it up for next month. Yes. Unfortunately, I we we got a deadline. It's going to be a long one. We got a deadline on that one. They want it done by September. So, we're going to try to get it done by September. Okay. Kind of along that lines though, considering the new change in hours at city hall, you know, after the packets are ready, you're you're cutting out one day available to the planning board to pick them up. Keep that in mind because if if you're not going to be here Friday, you know, if you know, depending on exactly when they're ready, you know, that's Well, I always like to get them before the weekend. Mhm. Definitely.

I I I'll be having Friday morning office hours and and inspections, so if you want to get in, I can probably let you in. Okay. I just want to make sure I get them before the weekend. We We can get them to And he would like to have them in a book, too. We'll get them for you binder. Yeah, that's my bad. I think I think WBRC has gotten that word, but that's all I've got. Okay. And so technically we want to adjourn it now and then go in executive session. There's there's going to be no decisions made in executive session. So I think we technically have to make a motion to go in executive session then come back out to ajourn. Yeah. So I'll make a motion we go into session with no decisions to be made.