Image / Google Maps
The black outline shows roughly where the Chamberlain Estates duplex development is planned in North Windham. The red location marker shows Manchester Drive, which will be the main access point.
May 11, 2021
New development will add 40 duplex apartments in Windham
Courtesy / Roma Engineering
A site plan shows the location of 20 duplexes, approved by the Windham Planning Board Monday night.
The Windham Planning Board on Monday gave the go-ahead to a development of 20 duplex apartments on Manchester Drive and Basin Road in North Windham, being developed by Robie Holdings LLC.
While Windham enacted a growth ordinance last July that limits the number of new residential units annually to 100, the Town Council on Feb. 9 allocated 20 permits from the reserve pool of 113 units, making the 40 apartments possible.
The development, Chamberlain Estates, is just off U.S. Route 302 and behind an area that includes several shopping centers and big box stores. It's on 14 acres subdivided into three lots, with one of the lots is undeveloped, providing space for future expansion of the housing.
"The goal is to have nice market-rate workforce-type housing," said Dustin Roma, of Roma Consulting Engineers, representing developer Jarod Robie. "We don’t want a lot of turnover, we want people to stay. We think there’s a lot to offer in this part of town."
Roma noted that a variety of shopping and food options are within walking distance. The area is also a short distance from the Sebago Lake Basin.
Chamberlain Estates' main access will be to Manchester Road, and provide parking for 64 vehicles, some of it in driveways and some on-street within the development. While the developer didn't have design elevations available to show what the duplexes would look like, Roma said they will be Colonial-style, with porches and in several colors, with a neighborhood feel.
The Planning Board doesn't have authority over the exterior designs of single-family homes and duplexes, only over multifamily buildings. "I don't think a lot of people realize the Planning Board doesn't have a lot of say" in how a house or townhouse looks, said member Marge Govoni.
Future sewer system questions
The only issue that cropped up at Monday's meeting was a recent amendment to the town's sewer ordinance that requires developers to show on their plans were the conveyance pipe to a sewer system would be.
The town is working with the Portland Water District for a sewer and wastewater treatment system in heavily developed North Windham, which relies on septic fields, even for large shopping centers. But the actual plans for a system haven't been finalized or drawn up. That caused some confusion over what the requirement for a conceptual plan, approved by the Town Council in April, actually means for a developer.
Once the sewer system is built and determined to be ready to use, developers will have 120 days to hook up to it.
Even without the sewer system drawn up, developers now have to plan to hook up in the future, scrapping the septic systems they will install when the project is first developed. Hookups from new developments will help to fund the system, Planning Director Amanda Lessard said Monday.
Roma provided a plan showing where conveyance pipes would go in the developments interior, and said that they'd likely connect to a sewer system on Manchester Road, but some members wondered if what he provided was adequate.
Lessard said that the conceptual plan isn't binding, but more a way to get the fact it will happen in the future on developers' radar. "We want them to think about, conceptually, how it might work for that connection to be made," she said.
The area is surrounded by protected water, including nearby Sebago Lake, which is the water source for the PWD and about 16% of the state's population. The amount of nitrogen in North Windham's groundwater is extremely high, Lessard said.
Planning Board members said that aside from the environmental impact of having a sewer and wastewater treatment system where now there are septic fields, the project will also increase development potential once it's built.
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Anonymous
November 1, 2021
This article is misleading. Long time residents of the area have filed numerous complaints about this development. This article fails to inform the public that this is only phase 1. The developer, Robie Holdings LLC, plans to build hundreds of housing units on this lot. Traffic in this area has long been an issue. According to the Town's long range plan, this area is a commercial zone. Robie Holdings LLC was granted many variances. What did the taxpayers get? Increased traffic in the most dangerous area of town. Increased stress on ground water entering Sebago Lake, increased pressure on the school system, Police and Fire departments. The Basin Road neighborhoods abutting the development will be overrun by apartment dwellers seeking access over private property to Sebago Basin and suffer from increased noise and light pollution. Note that the Planning Board wants to connect Basin Rd to Chamberlain Estates. Basin Rd was not built to town standards, most of it is only 12 feet wide. The town owns part of Basin Rd but most of it is privately owned. This connection is unnecessary. Complaints to the Planning Board from the residents of the Basin Rd neighborhoods are ignored. Anyone daring to complain is labeled a 'crank' and exposed to retaliation by the developer.
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