Lakeshore subdivision plan scrutinized

MARION TOWNSHIP – A state panel will take a key vote Thursday on a proposed 33-lot residential subdivision on a peninsula between Gardner and Second lakes.

Orland Dwelley & Son Inc. of Waite is seeking to develop 9,360 feet of shoreline, including four islands on Gardner Lake and one island on Second Lake.

The area is zoned for general management, shoreland protection and wetland protection. But Land Use Regulation Commission staffers have reviewed the plan and are recommending that the commission rezone the 120 acres to a residential development subdistrict.

Staffers believe the proposal meets LURC development standards and satisfies a demonstrated need in the local community for new residential lakefront lots.

The staff recommendation cites letters from local real estate agents and recent sales history from Orland Dwelley & Son’s similar subdivision in neighboring Whiting.

According to the application, Orland Dwelley & Son owns a 632-acre lot on the Marion Township peninsula.

Approximately 512 acres, including 8,050 feet of shoreline, would remain largely undeveloped, except for a boat launch on Gardner Lake and a possible future homeowners association lodge or storage building.

The applicants will transfer 137 of the undeveloped acres to the Quoddy Regional Land Trust for use as a wildlife sanctuary, according to the LURC application.

The application calls three residential lots on the four islands in Gardner Lake. Two of the islands – including the one at the upper end of the peninsula – would be sold as stand-alone lots.

The southernmost two islands would compose one lot. The island lots would range from 4.47 acres to 20.26 acres.

The peninsula would include 30 lots, 10 of which would be in two clusters of five lots each. Each lot in the cluster would be 0.70 acres. One cluster would be on Gardner Lake and the other would be on Second Lake.

The cluster lots would have no direct shore frontage, but would have common areas of undeveloped land – an 18-acre lot with 1,300 feet of undeveloped shorefront for the Gardner Lake cluster and a 20-acre common with 1,250 feet of shore frontage for the cluster lots on Second Lake.

The remaining 20 lots on the peninsula would all front on Gardner Lake or Second Lake and range in size from 2.7 acres to 6.2 acres.

Orland Dwelley & Son will retain a 337-acre lot – including most of the interior land behind the shorefront lots, 2,400 feet of frontage on Gardner Lake and Second Lake and a 0.4-acre island on Second Lake – for at least five years.

The boat launch on Gardner Lake and a parking area will be constructed on a 2-acre shorefront parcel and will be available to the general public and the lot owners in the subdivision.

The Quoddy Regional Land Trust will hold a conservation easement on the retained lot and will develop trails to accommodate low-impact public use, but will limit development on the lot, according to the application.

The commission has received two letters concerning the application.

Peter Rensema of the East Machias Planning Board told the commission that the only concern he has is the plan to develop the island at the end of the peninsula.

The island is at the Narrows, the only navigable passage between Gardner Lake and Second Lake, and developing it would have cause problems for everyone who uses the two lakes for fishing and recreation, Rensema said. The scenic beauty and abundance of wildlife are “breathtaking,” and development would detract significantly from the pristine beauty of that part of the lake, Rensema wrote.

Jeanne and Dennis Drews of Turner, who own land abutting the proposed subdivision, told the commission they have several concerns about the proposed development, including the effect on wildlife – particularly the environment for eagles.

The Drews are also concerned about the potential of the new boat launch to cause increased traffic on the lake, possibly affecting water quality and making monitoring more difficult for state agencies.

The Drews also expressed concern about an increase in traffic on the Gardner Lake Road, which is the only access to the Camp Tech Road and the proposed subdivision from Route 1.

Sections of the Gardner Lake Road have been deteriorating for years and it is unlikely that the town of Whiting can correct the problem since it would require reconstruction, the Drews said in their June 19 letter.

The commission will meet at 8:30 a.m. Thursday, Aug. 16, at the Greenville Community House on Lakeview Drive in Greenville.