Orono panel tables student housing plan

ORONO – The planning board Wednesday night put the brakes on final approval for a proposed 153-unit residential complex for student housing.

The board was looking for more information on topics including traffic, snow removal and possible noise, and voted to continue the public hearing to November.

Proposed by Peregrine Developers of Rhode Island, the 20.6-acre University Courtyard at Penobscot Commons is expected to have 494 beds spread among one-, two- and four-bedroom apartments to be rented by undergraduate and graduate students as well as junior faculty members. Developers have said the project will have no official affiliation with the University of Maine.

The decision to table the public hearing came after almost three hours of vocal opposition from residents, many of them clutching small protest placards that simply read, “NO.”

Lambris Karris, the owner of two apartment complexes on Colburn Drive, said the housing complex wouldn’t be consistent with other buildings in the area. No other buildings in the area are of the proposed size or require supervising personnel, he said.

“No other structure in town concentrates so many people in such tightly packed quarters,” Karris said.

The neighborhood around the proposed project isn’t really suited for college students, according to resident Steve Colburn.

“I don’t think putting [500 students] in a neighborhood with children and retired people would be a good idea,” Colburn said.

Some residents were also concerned that the plans for a gated emergency access road at the southern end of the parcel cut onto private lands.

Board members made plans Wednesday night to have an independent surveyor look at the land and any disputes over ownership prior to final project approval.

A number of residents said they were also worried the development could negatively affect area property values.

The town’s attorney, Tom Russell, said the planning board couldn’t take property values into account when reviewing a proposal.

“Sure it’s a legitimate concern for people to have, but it’s not within the review criteria of the [land use] ordinance,” Russell said.

In addition to final planning board approval, the project is still awaiting approval from the state Department of Transportation and the Department of Environmental Protection. The project will also need to have a maintenance plan approved by the Town Council.