A proposed affordable housing project may create more living spaces, but also more traffic problems for current Butler Road residents. On Aug. 27, the Boothbay Planning Board reconvened their Aug. 21 meeting to begin the first of two sessions on Boothbay Region Development Corporation’s proposed major Butler Road subdivision.

In September 2022, BRDC introduced its concept plan to Boothbay selectmen for bringing affordable housing to the region. The corporation plans to develop a 31-acre Butler Road parcel which over time may result in 162 units. On Aug. 27, BRDC submitted an application to develop a major subdivision for five buildings with four dwellings in each.

BRDC has Steve Malcom as its president, Susan Witt as secretary, and Erin Cooperrider as vice-president. All three have experience in housing projects. After reviewing the application, the planning board decided a site plan review was necessary. So the completeness review was tabled.

The board scheduled the site plan review for 5:30 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 5 at 0 Butler Road. Prior to the decision, the board had questions about project soil studies and parking. Project Manager Chris Taylor of Sebago Technics offered to provide a better soil study explanation at the next meeting. His soil report didn’t include an executive summary, so he received permission to answer questions next month. Parking concerns were brought up by several Butler Road residents. Ron Babcock, like most of the concerned abutters, was worried about the project creating more traffic on the well-traveled road. Babcock compared current Butler Road traffic to a racetrack. “I hope you take (current conditions) into your consideration,” Babcock told selectmen. “Our house is close to a bad intersection. A bad accident bumped off my front steps. You ought to come by sometime and see how bad it is for yourselves.”

Todd Barter has lived on Butler Road for 40 years. He thinks another 300-400 daily motor vehicles trips will make an already dangerous situation worse. He described how neighbors had lost their yards due to high-speed vehicles. Barter also invited planning board members to his residence to view high-speed traffic. “I will be completely honest. I’m against this project,” he said. “It’s not the right place, and I don’t see the community as having the need. Right now, my wife and me are looking to sell.”

The board is considering requesting that the developer provide an enhanced traffic survey. The ordinance requires projects with at least 40 parking spots to provide one. The BRDC project calls for 38. On Aug. 28, Code Enforcement Officer Dan Feeney reported the planning board is asking its legal counsel for an opinion if the town could still require a traffic study with only 38 spots. 

Deborah Bronk is chief executive officer for Bigelow Laboratories. Bronk lives on Barters Island and told abutters she sympathizes with the traffic situation, but she supports the project. She believes it would provide more affordable housing for her staff and the entire community. “I want to speak in support of the project,” she said. “We have a desperate need for affordable housing. At the lab, people are driving from Augusta. This is a huge problem in terms of our future growth.”

The board will hold a “findings of fact” portion of the hearing at 6 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 18 in the conference room.