| Joanne Cole |
The Planning Board approved an application for a single-family dwelling at 81 Sabbathday Road at their August 20 meeting. But the news was the departure of Town Planner Kathy Tombarelli to a new position.
“Kathy is leaving for higher ground,” was how Chair Doug McAtee put it, with a light touch, at the meeting. “I want to thank her for her time. She’s an excellent town planner and we’re really going to miss you,” McAtee continued. “I and the Planning Board want to wish you well in your new job.” Tombarelli’s new position will be in Naples.
Member Steve Libby estimated he’d worked with at least 10 planners over the years, “and you are one of the best,” he told Tombarelli. Libby praised her ability to help applicants while also representing the interests of the Town. “You made our job easier,” added member Erik Hargreaves.
Tombarelli told the board that she wanted to say publicly, “I love the town of New Gloucester. It’s a great town. An opportunity came up that I wasn’t expecting that I just couldn’t pass on.” She expressed thanks for board members’ kind words and added that, this being Maine, she was sure their paths will cross again.
Tombarelli has served as planner since June 2023, a role that includes support not only for the Planning Board but also the Land Management Planning Committee and Economic Development Committee. She shepherded through passage zoning ordinance amendments to comply with the LD 2003 housing law and helped move the Upper Village project forward with investigation and preliminary planning, among other initiatives.
Along the way, Tombarelli streamlined materials and updated procedures for planning and reviews. In keeping with that focus, at the August 20 meeting she wanted to alert the community to new online Code Enforcement portals. Users can now apply for permits (e.g., building, plumbing, electrical), check the status of a permit request or lodge complaints about code violations.
Permit fees will still need to be paid in person at Town Hall, but she and Code Officer Rick Haas have been using the new system, Tombarelli said, and it’s already proving helpful and efficient. Find the portals at the Code Enforcement page of the town website or at the links here and here.
As for the application from New England R & R, LLC for a single-family dwelling at 81 Sabbathday Road, that sailed through. The parcel is the Residential C and Groundwater Protection Overlay District at Map 2 Lot 5-E. Sarah Johnson of New England R & R attended. She plans to put a mobile home on the four-acre parcel, previously site of a commercial use.
Tombarelli and Code Enforcement Officer Rick Haas had visited the property and determined that the application qualified for expedited review. Johnson plans to use the existing septic system, and given the parcel’s location, the board wanted assurances that the septic would meet the Groundwater Protection zone’s more stringent standards. Verification by the code officer was made an explicit condition of board approval.
As for what’s ahead, a complete application had just come in that day for Planning Board review, Tombarelli told the board. She will provide some transitional support, including for the Planning Board, she said. It appears that at least one more meeting is in the cards for her before she heads ‘to higher ground.’
View the August 20, 2024, Planning Board meeting at this link. Find links to meeting agendas, minutes and related documents on the Planning Board page at this link.
