Greenville Select Board formally OKs setback amendments

GREENVILLE — To clear up any confusion on whether a series of land use ordinance amendments that change how far away a structure must be from the property lines in certain sections of town were approved in full or not earlier in the month, the Greenville Select Board took and passed another motion on the item during a March 19 meeting.

Greenville Planning Board Chair John Contreni said he brought the proposed land use ordinance amendments to the select board two weeks prior. “(Selectperson Bonnie Dubien) made a good suggestion that we reduce the primary residence,” he said “The setback we had it 10 feet originally and then we reduced it to five.”  

The planning board favored Dubien’s amendment when it was brought up during the board’s meeting earlier in the evening on March 19.

Contreni was not sure if the select board had simply approved an amendment based on Dubien’s suggestion rather than the larger proposal, so the select board voted on the larger land use amendment to formally take care of the piece of housekeeping on its end. 

Under the proposal the residential and village zoning district setbacks may be reduced from 15 feet with a variance from the code enforcement officer, provided certain criteria has been met. The intention is to create more housing opportunities in town.

Enacting any land use ordinance amendments would need to be done via a town meeting vote. Contreni said there should be more to bring forward and the planning board would like to have this done item by item instead of all at once.

In other business, Town Manager Mike Roy mentioned several items in his report. 

Costs for the Fourth of July 4 fireworks display, set for the night before on Thursday, July 3, will likely go up from the $5,000 spent last year, Roy said. The pyrotechnics company emailed Roy to say tariffs and increased insurance costs would likely increase the 2025 expenses.

“A minimum show not held on the Fourth of July would be $7,500,” Roy said, saying a display on the holiday itself would be around $10,000.

Increased Independence Day fireworks costs will be a part of the discussions for the 2025-26 municipal budget.

Roy said several roads across town are in various stages of repair.

Engineer Haley Ward is in the final stages of design for drainage easements for the McAfee and Leisure Life roads. The hope is to get the request for proposals out very soon and go out to bid within 30 days.

A culvert on Foss Street has a hole “There’s a spot where you can put your foot, it’s that big,” Roy said. 

He said a cone is in place now and this will need to be addressed as Foss Street is a town road.

Some Lily Bay Road catch basins have tilted. These are also marked with cones and this travelway is a state road.

Roy said a Shoals Road culvert is blocked by ice, “It looks like an egg coming out of the culvert” and water is going around the blockage. 

“It’s our responsibility and I am addressing it and we’re going to make it safe and passable,” he said.

The YES Project is working at a good pace, in Roy’s opinion, on the project to construct a new community building on the school campus. The building committee has sent out project requests for proposals with the structure being 165 by 66.5 feet with storage areas to be built separately.