BRUNSWICK

Worries about flooding in homes in the Barrows and Boody streets area are giving some neighbors cause for concern about a new housing development that they say could make the situation worse.

The developer, Coastal Building Investments, wants to build a 17-lot subdivision on less than 8 acres of land it owns along Barrows Street. The residential subdivision would be accessible by a 965-foot private roadway.

The planning board on Tuesday unanimously tabled Coastal Building’s sketch plan application.

“All across the boards, neighbors deal with water in the basement,” said Boody Street resident Colleen Congdon.

Congdon said she was not opposed to developing the land, but wanted some of the larger trees on the lot to be protected. John Portela said that a nearby path and the expansion of Crimmins Field have made the flooding problem worse.

“The water table is high there,” said Portela, adding that the recent August storm resulted in standing water in his yard and more than $5,000 worth of damage to his house.

Neighbors, Portela said, were worried that 17 new foundations would raise the water table, making a bad situation worse.

Members of the planning board said they were also worried that the roadway ends in a cul-de-sac. Planning Board Chairman Charlie Frizzle said the sole road that ends in a cul-de-sac presents safety concerns for emergency access to the subdivision.

As planned, the private road would only connect with Barrows Street, something that Frizzle said does not serve the concept of “neighborhood interconnectedness.”

According to Town Planner Jeremy Doxsee, if the lots are developed and sold by the applicant, a storm water permit would be required. However, if the lots are sold and developed individually, no permit is required.

Frizzle said that was concerning, because the area “doesn’t drain well.”

“I’m not particularly comfortable with selling lots individually and not addressing storm water as a whole,” Frizzle said. “No individual homeowner is going to put in an individual storm drain for his lot.”

The planning board in 2006 approved a 330-lot condominium subdivision on the site, “just before the economy went the wrong way,” said Curt Neufeld of the firm Sitelines, representing the developer.

Neufeld noted that “storm water’s a key issue” for the development. “Our ears are wide open,” Neufeld said.

A combination of catch basins and grading the lots would help to mitigate the water issue, said Neufeld.

jswinconeck@timesrecord.com

The housing plan

THE DEVELOPER, Coastal Building Investments, wants to build a 17-lot subdivision on less than 8 acres of land it owns along Barrows Street. The residential subdivision would be accessible by a 965-foot private roadway.