At the end of 2007, St. Joseph’s College was poised to begin a phased expansion project to build new dorms and parking lots at its Standish campus, after receiving the approval of the Standish Zoning Board of Appeals and the planning board last March.

The expansion was a subject of controversy for Standish residents, especially those with property near the campus. Those residents were very vocal about their concerns relating to noise and light pollution that they expect to increase as a result of the expansion. Though the zoning board attached conditions to their approval last winter, it seems residents’ displeasure was not reason enough for the board to deny St. Joseph’s request to build five new dorms, and three parking lots.

Bud Benson, the town planner for Standish, said at this point, the college has received the go-ahead from town officials.

“We did all the findings of fact, and the board has completed its review,” said Benson.

Benson said that changes made to the proposed plan were relatively minor and include modifications to a service road on campus, and lighting fixtures, as well as the addition of a wooded buffer to reduce noise.

A review of the plan included input from several peer reviewers hired by the town, said Benson. These reviewers included staff from Bennett Engineering in Freeport, and S.E. Ambrose Associates in Windham.

The expansion is a phased project, and Benson said the college is now working on financing it. The next step in the process will be for St. Joseph’s to acquire a building permit from the town. A date for the initial groundbreaking has not been set, and the project will be carried out over the next 10 years.