Plan for new offices in Kittery challenged

From the Portsmouth Herald:
By Dave Choate
dchoate@seacoastonline.com
February 12, 2009
KITTERY, Maine — A proposed building project on Route 1 has some unhappy abutters seeking changes.
Abutters Bill and Eileen McCarthy of Adams Drive have enlisted attorney Patrick Bedard of Bedard & Bobrow as they seek Planning Board alterations to aspects of a plan featuring two new office buildings and a parking lot at 240 Route 1. Bill McCarthy said he doesn't want to halt the project altogether, but he has serious concerns and thinks the project's scope is not right for the area.
"This is not on scale with the neighborhood," he said.
McCarthy said he has an issue with the setback, which he said is supposed to be 40 feet under Kittery town code, and the proposed height of the building. He said the setback from a proposed ramp in the project to the McCarthys' property, which also houses a small bed-and-breakfast, is not the 40 feet it's supposed to be. He cites a proposed ramp next to the building as being inside the setback, a definition the Planning Board has debated due to a long driveway that runs in between the McCarthy property and 240 Route 1.
McCarthy also said the height of the building exceeds limits set out in the town's ordinances.
A Jan. 15 letter from Town Attorney Duncan McEachern to town staff states the Planning Board will be tasked with determining weather the developer's use abuts a residential district, in which case a 40-foot setback would be required, or if it does not and a 30-foot setback could be maintained. A Jan. 27 letter from Bedard outlining McCarthy's position offers that a setback of 40 feet should be maintained between the development and the properties of McCarthy and neighbors David and Barbara Durling.
McCarthy said he's been "frustrated" by the process, which he feels has gone by without the Planning Board critically reviewing the issues he has brought up. He has been unsuccessful in his attempts to get answers from staff at Town Hall, he said.
"I'm trying to muddle through this process, and I'm not really getting cooperation from town officials," McCarthy said.
At the Jan. 8 board meeting, when the issue was last discussed, the minutes indicate that members of the board agreed with a recommendation from Town Manager Jon Carter to move the project along for review by the town attorney and CMA Engineering. According to those minutes, CMA was to be tasked with clarifying the setback and buffer issues for the board.
Town Planner Sandra Mowery said in an e-mail to the Herald last week that she could not comment on the issue because McCarthy had enlisted legal counsel. When reached Wednesday evening, Baudo also said he did not wish to comment on the project.
The Planning Board agenda features an item for the board to discuss and take action on a plenary site review for the project Thursday night at their regularly scheduled meeting.

The Planning Board will be tasked with determining weather?