Pine Tree Landfill expansion closer to approval

HAMPDEN – Pine Tree Landfill’s proposed expansion moved a step closer to fruition Monday after the town council voted 6 to 1 to refer the company’s application to the Land Use Oversight Committee for review.

The action came after Town Attorney Tom Russell said that a temporary moratorium on landfill construction could be enacted so that councilors could reword the design standard of the licensing ordinance that was deemed too vague last year by a Penobscot County Superior Court judge.

Councilors also could use the moratorium to work on sections of the ordinance that Russell said he found were stricter than the state’s standards.

Officials decided instead that deficiencies could be addressed either through the LOC review or the Planning Board’s site plan review; by utilizing an ordinance that allows the waiving of a standard that is stricter than the state’s; or by amending a standard and applying it retroactively.

With Councilor Tom Brann the lone dissenter, officials agreed with Councilor Bob Gilberti who said that unless an amendment was needed to better protect the community, “we should move on with the process.”

Once LOC reviews the application and issues a recommendation, a public hearing will be scheduled.

The results of a survey sent out last month indicate that 27 people living on gravel roads are happy with the status quo, while 34 would like to have their street paved.

But Town Manager Susan Bruno told councilors that since only 22 of those who want a change are willing to pay the additional costs, the issue isn’t black and white.

“I don’t see a mandate in either direction, since it’s a foregone conclusion that if a road is paved, taxes will be impacted in one fashion or another,” she said.

With a 63.5 percent response rate, the survey is a “worthwhile effort and a good planning tool,” Bruno said.

Councilors voted to have the Public Works Committee review the study.

Since the primary road in the proposed business park must have a name when the planning board gives a final review to the project on July 25, officials decided Monday to call it Carey Circle after two brothers who helped settle the town.

But because Enhanced 911 rules prohibit names of streets from sounding alike, the moniker may be temporary.

The assessed market value of homes in 17 neighborhoods has been increased from 80 percent to around 90 percent, Town Assessor Vivian Gresser told councilors.

State law dictates that the assessed value of a home be as close as possible to 100 percent, she said.