[mcdude]

From the Baysider

Alton planners continue Conference Center hearing
BY BRENDAN BERUBE
Staff Writer

ALTON

— A scheduled hearing on the Alton Bay Christian Conference Center’s re-construction plans was continued by the planning board last week amid lingering concerns about the organization’s site plan. The Conference Center was slated to appear during the board’s May 18 meeting with a formal site plan for Phase I of its plans to replace a number of cottages that were destroyed in last year’s Easter Sunday fire. The first phase of the proposal would entail the construction of 17 new singleunit cottages and four twounit cottages. With no one present last week to speak to the Conference Center’s application, however, board Chairman Tim Roy said it was his understanding that nothing could be done with the proposal until the Conference Center appears before the zoning board for a variance on parking requirements. Town Planner Sharon Penney explained that representatives from the Conference Center and their engineers had met with town department heads following a design review session with the planning board last month. During that meeting, she said, several issues came to light that will have to be addressed before the board can accept the Conference Center’s application as complete and move forward with a formal site plan review. Unless the Conference Center is willing to extend the design review period, she said, “they’re not ready.” Board member Tom Hoopes moved to continue the formal hearing on the Conference Center’s plans to the board’s June 15 meeting. Given the size of the project and the issues associated with the application, board member Cindy Balcius asked whether it was “really a good idea” to simply continue the case without requiring the Conference Center to re-notice abutters. “It’s not our fault that they weren’t ready,” she said. Pointing out that the application had not yet been accepted as complete, meaning that there was no obligation to re-notice abutters, planning assistant Stacey Ames suggested that the case be pushed back to July, given the fact that the Conference Center had already missed the filing deadline for the zoning board’s June meeting. Withdrawing his original motion, Hoopes moved to continue the case until the board’s July 15 meeting. The remaining board members voted unanimously in favor of his motion.