A Gorham business, driven out by the bypass, hopes to relocate to Buxton.
“My home and business has been displaced in Gorham,” said Dan Aceto of the family-owned Aceto Construction, now on Waterhouse Road in Gorham.
Aceto and his wife, Roberta, have less than two months to vacate their home and property in Gorham, which lies in the swath for the bypass. Maine Department of Transportation construction of the bypass, which is designed to ease traffic congestion in Gorham Village, is under way.
Aceto has bought an option on land on Cousins Road in Buxton, where he’s asking for permission to build a 30-foot-by 60-foot storage building to relocate his construction company. Aceto presented his plans Monday to the Buxton Planning Board, which will view the site at 6:30 p.m. next Monday.
Jeremiah Ross, planning board chairman, asked that an engineer representing Aceto be present.
Buxton Code Officer Fred Farnham has recently visited Aceto’s company in Gorham and showed photos to Buxton planners. “It’ll fit in with other family-operated businesses we have here,” Farnham told planners Monday.
Aceto has put down a deposit on the 16-acre site where he hopes to build. The land is now owned by Alan Ames. Buxton planners asked for a copy of the sales agreement.
Aceto described the site as wooded, and said he would preserve trees. The site would be accessed by a road his company would build. Aceto said the road would eventually be paved.
“We haven’t settled up with the state yet,” Aceto said, about receiving total compensation for being uprooted by the bypass.
Ross said Aceto needed a letter from Lary Owen, director of public works, about whether the size of a culvert under the proposed road would be adequate. Farnham told Aceto that a road-opening permit would be required.
Besides the storage building, Aceto Construction, which has eight employees, would park trucks and other construction equipment at the site. Plans call for 15 parking spaces.
Connie Loughran, deputy town clerk in Gorham, said Tuesday Aceto Construction paid $1,584.95 in excise taxes this year on eight vehicles.
The proposed building would be served by a septic system, including a leach field. Planning board member Caroline Segalla asked that the leach field be protected from damage by trucks.
Aceto would store fuel at the site, but he didn’t name a specific tank size this week. Planning board member Dave Anderson asked for a pad under the fuel tank to contain a spill. Aceto would provide proper disposal containers for waste oil from equipment oil changes and a Dumpster would hold solid waste.
The company would also stockpile limited amounts of some materials like loam or crushed stone at the site. Aceto wanted enough materials on hand to handle emergencies that could arise on weekends, for example. He estimated storing “200-300 yards” of materials at most.
The planning board will likely discuss Aceto’s proposal at its meeting at 7:30 p.m. on Monday, Aug. 27. A public hearing could be set for Monday, Sept. 10.
In other action Monday, the planning board set Aug. 27 as a public hearing for a request from Custom Built Homes to change clustered mailboxes to individual mailboxes in the nine-lot Woodlands subdivision.
Planning board member Keith Emery opposed the change because he thought clustered mailboxes would allow easier snowplowing on the road.
The planning board also heard a proposal by Patrick and Cora Langevin of 50 Marshall Lane for a bed-and-breakfast in their home.
They’re asking for a four-bedroom, double-occupancy permit. The six-bedroom home was built in 1985. A bed-and-breakfast requires a state license. The couple now has an assisted living license to care for elderly, but want to change use.
“I like this town – I love it,” Patrick Langevin said. “I’m staying.”
The planning board will visit the Langevin property at 5:30 p.m. on Monday.
At Monday’s planning boardf meeting, Dan Aceto proposes to relocate his construction firm to Buxton from Gorham.Send questions/comments to the editors.
