Town examines housing landsites

EAST MILLINOCKET – Town officials are reviewing parcels of land off Independence Lane and Forest Avenue to see whether they would be suitable for new housing, town Administrative Assistant Shirley Tapley said Wednesday.

Prospective residents have approached town officials and expressed interest in building new houses in town but found no suitable land on which to do so, Tapley said.

So the Board of Selectmen have met with representatives from Katahdin Timberlands LLC, the town’s biggest landowner, to see whether suitable land can be purchased, Chairman Mark Scally said.

“We want to get the land off Independence, but there are some issues there,” Scally said Wednesday. “They want us to go for some wet areas off of Forest.”

Town intervention might help the residents “cut through red tape,” Scally said.

Town officials also hope to increase the tax rolls and population, Scally said.

The town, which is between Medway and Millinocket along Route 11, has about 1,800 residents, Tapley said. Town officials have been discussing expanding housing space in town since November. They first met with Katahdin representatives in December.

The prospective residents have indicated a desire to build fairly large single-family homes, so town officials are considering permitting as few as seven homes on 14 home lots, Scally said.

Town officials prefer using Independence Lane because it has sewer and water hookups and other infrastructure already present, Scally said.

Katahdin officials have expressed reservations about selling the land near Independence Lane, saying traffic noise might be disruptive to residents already there. Town officials disagree.

Scally said he doesn’t know when an agreement might be reached.