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News Feature

Blue Hill
Originally published in The Weekly Packet, June 14, 2012
Blue Hill Planning Board gives go-ahead to mud run

by Jonathan Thomas

Dan Brown has received permission to operate his Deer Run Mud Run in East Blue Hill for five more monthly events this year. The Blue Hill Planning Board voted at its regular meeting on June 11 that Brown had met the conditions imposed at its May 24 special meeting.

At that meeting, which followed a hearing, the board voted that Brown had met requirements of the town’s commercial site plan review ordinance, but with several conditions. Brown was allowed to hold a racing event on May 26, but was required to present evidence at the June 11 meeting that the conditions had been met before he could proceed with the remaining events. The board’s June 11 vote was the same, 5-0-1 (Vaughn Leach abstained), as at the previous meeting. (See May 31 issue of The Weekly Packet.)

In contrast to the May 24 meeting, when the room was filled with approximately 30 concerned residents from Blue Hill and Surry, there were only eight citizens in the audience, including Brown’s wife Julie, and John O’Hare, who was there to apply for an amendment to a previously approved subdivision.

During the board’s deliberations, lasting approximately an hour, Chairman Peter d’Entremont allowed only a few questions and cut off several people who wanted to speak. He explained that the public hearing on the project itself had ended on May 24, and that the only issue before the board was whether Brown had met the conditions that would allow him to complete his planned race schedule.

The conditions included submission of a Maine Department of Transportation Driveway/Entrance permit off Route 176. To meet sight distance requirements, Brown has moved the entrance road 20 feet and done roadside clearing.

Because of delays at the state level, Brown’s permit from the state fire marshal was not yet in hand. However, Blue Hill Code Enforcement Officer Judy Jenkins distributed copies of an email from that office indicating that state requirements appeared to have been met, and that an inspection was scheduled for June 15. (The planning board’s approval is not valid until this state permit is issued.)

Brown said he had made arrangements to obtain and apply calcium chloride as needed to control dust on the site, another of the board’s conditions.

It was also agreed that all races and use of the loudspeaker system would cease at the time of sundown of each race day, using the official times listed in the state’s rulebook for hunters.

Brown will need to re-apply to the code enforcement officer if he wishes to hold races in 2013.

As this portion of the meeting ended, resident Lisa Poisson asked about the 30-day period during which an appeal of the board’s decision could be filed. D’Entremont said the appeal period began on May 24.

In other business, the board voted 6-0 to approve John O’Hara’s request to amend the Goodnight Way subdivision plan on the Ellsworth Road (tax map 28). Under the change, a portion of an existing subdivision lot would become part of a parcel owned by O’Hara that abuts the subdivision.

Board members present besides d’Entremont and Vaughn Leach were Ken Charles, Fern Leach, Marcia Henderson, and Susan Walsh. Assisting the board were Code Enforcement Officer Jenkins and secretary Liz Snow.

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