Greenville Planning Board approves Timberline Subdivision

GREENVILLE — In July the Greenville Planning Board heard a proposal concerning nearly 60 acres of land in Greenville Junction off North Green Street, on the peninsula going into Moosehead Lake on the eastern shore of the West Cove, to be developed into 15 lots of varying sizes making up what is now known as the Timberline Subdivision.

In early August the planning board conducted a site visit with developer Rodney Folsom Jr., broker/owner of the Folsom Realty Group. On Sept. 3 a public forum was held, and the planning board formally approved the subdivision during its Oct. 16 meeting.

Code Enforcement Officer Ron Sarol said the planning board members had the Timberline Subdivision application and checklist of all the information they requested in their packets. “That is complete,” he said.

Planning Board Chair John Contreni said Folsom Jr. has gone through all the steps. “Now it appears this application is complete, are we ready to vote on approval of this Timberline Subdivision?,” Contreni said before a unanimous affirmative vote was taken.

During a July 17 planning board meeting Folsom Jr. said some abutters are interested in purchasing land from him to provide extra space for privacy around their existing properties and won’t ultimately be part of the Timberline Subdivision. He said he plans on keeping about 12 acres to build his family’s primary residence.

In other business, the planning board gave its approval to a fence permit form.

Contreni mentioned a fence ordinance was approved at June’s annual town meeting. “One of the provisions of that is persons interested in putting up a new fence or renovating an older fence need to obtain a fence permit from the code enforcement officer,” he said.

Sarol drafted a form as the town lacked such an application which enables property owners to erect a new fence or replace or modify an existing structure. He said when they come in for the form the code enforcement officer will provide a copy of the fence ordinance.

The planning board approved the form and the accompanying $25 fee, which will need to be approved by the selectboard.

The new fence ordinance says the purpose of the document is to provide regulations for fence installation and maintenance while allowing property owners the ability to install fences for aesthetic, screening, separating, or security purposes. The ordinance is intended to advance public safety, maintain and protect property values, enhance the town’s appearance, and visually unify Greenville and its neighborhoods. The language says that fences are all held to a general standard, regardless of which zone district the barrier is in.

General regulations include permits written by the code enforcement officer are required for fence additions or alterations, property owners are responsible for knowing the exact property lines as determined by survey, fences cannot be in the right of way or on another’s property, the dividers cannot adversely affect traffic visibility on a street corner or a neighbor’s view while exiting a driveway. 

The ordinance says fences cannot be more than 8 feet high without special permission, they need to meet setback and right of way regulations, and cannot interfere with fire hydrants. Fences not currently in compliance cannot be moved or replaced without going through the permitting process.

Sarol gave the planning board packets of information on short-term rental tracking software for the board to consider whether to recommend such a purchase to the selectboard or not. Sarol said he is unsure of the exact price as there are different levels and brands of software to choose from

“We certainly don’t have any firm sense of how many there are,” Contreni said about short-term rental numbers. “I do agree we need some registry and this is just one product that shows us what’s available.”

Sarol said one estimate mentioned nearly 280 rentals, after accounting for duplicate listings. He said some may be outside of the town limits, with these based on post office boxes and mailing addresses.

“I think it’s a tool we are interested in and I think it is a tool we are interested in learning more about,” Contreni said.