BANGOR, Maine — Work on a 60-unit subdivision moves forward after the Bangor Planning Board approved the project at a meeting, Tuesday evening. The decision comes more than two months after a Penobscot County judge placed a stop work order on the build, known as the Maine Woods Project, siding with neighbors who filed a suit against earlier approval of the site.
“They're unanimous at this point, so no sense beating a dead horse,” Jeff Gray, a plaintiff in that suit, said of Tuesday’s vote.
The project will turn 12 acres into a community of townhouses, sold at market rate. Developer Emily Ellis said the project is a way to combat Bangor’s low housing stock.
“We do a lot of talking about affordable housing and we don’t have any,” Ellis said. “So the goal from the beginning has been to provide affordable housing.”
But to Gray, that vision, while admirable, will harm the neighborhood he lives in. Chiefly, he's worried about runoff.
“It's gonna change the historic drainage patterns of the neighborhood,” Gray said.
But this view is at odds with city and state officials. The Maine Department of Environmental Protection has approved the drainage plans of the Maine Woods project with the blessing of Rich May, the Stormwater Manager for the City of Bangor.
“I don't believe this development is increasing any burden on these stormwater systems,” May said at City Hall on Tuesday. “They wouldn't have issued that permit if they weren't doing what they're supposed to be doing.”
Wherever the water runs, neighbors like Gray see the project posing a general threat to the neighborhood.
“If something like this can happen here, it can happen in your neighborhood too,” Gray said.
He conceded, “We absolutely need more housing in Bangor. We just have to be more responsible about where we site the housing.”
Gray is declining to appeal, and construction on a project whose leaders say will have a large positive impact on residential living in Bangor, is moving forward.