Two Ellsworth residents are appealing a state decision to grant permits to a developer who wants to build 36 condos off Beals Avenue.
Last December, a company called LB Ellsworth LLC submitted applications to the state for permits for the condominium project off the southern end of Beals Avenue, near the western end of the Down East Sunrise trail. The 12-acre lot, which is currently undeveloped, is near the city’s busy High Street commercial corridor.
The housing proposal is similar to others in Ellsworth in recent years that have sought to address the demand for affordable housing in coastal Hancock County with high-density apartment or condominium development.
But the appeal demonstrates how the city’s growth and increased demand for services in recent years, driven by more economic activity in Hancock County, has sometimes caused friction with nearby residents. Other examples include a proposal by the state to build a new courthouse on Surry Road, the opening in 2018 of a composting firm on Industrial Road and a low-barrier apartment building on Birch Avenue that caters to people trying to recover from substance use disorder and other behavioral issues.
Dan Black, a partner with LB Ellsworth, said he is confident the state Board of Environmental Protection will deny the appeal and allow the project to move forward.
In May, the Department of Environmental Protection granted the developer Natural Resources Protection Act approval and stormwater runoff approval, but two Beals Avenue residents are contesting that decision.
Carl Brooks and John Partridge, who own homes on Beals Avenue, say the project likely will harm wetlands on the property and streams that connect it to the Union River via Card Brook. Brooks owns a home within 250 of the project property, while Partridge is a direct abutter.
“This lot is the storm drain for Beals Avenue,” The two men wrote in their appeal to the state Board of Environmental Protection, which considers appeals of DEP decisions.
The board is expected to consider the appeal when it meets at the Augusta Civic Center on Oct. 17.
Incidental pollution from houses and vehicles on Beals Avenue run down the street toward the intended development site, the appellants said. Fish in the stream would be harmed by the increased flow of pollution into wetlands on the property and then downstream toward the river, and stormwater runoff into the stream network would increase, they said.
“The wetlands serve as a buffer against storm surges by providing a temporary reservoir for the excess water,” Brooks and Partridge wrote. “The project should not be permitted to fill even one square foot of wetland or in any way impede the wetlands buffering of storm surges.”
Other concerns about the proposal that have been raised by nearby residents include traffic congestion along Beals Avenue. But this past June, Ellsworth’s Planning Board approved the proposed project, with the condition that it not affect water pressure in neighboring homes.
Black said he has been in touch with Brooks and Partridge and is disappointed they decided to file the appeal. He said the parcel his firm wants to develop is zoned for the type of housing he wants to build, and that his project is not as dense as it could be.
“It’s a project I care about, and I think it’s important for the community to have more affordable housing opportunities,” Black said.
