SACO — The Ecology School’s request for a contract zone to relocate to Simpson Road moved one step closer to reality Tuesday, when the city’s Planning Board made a new recommendation regarding the size of two planned dormitories.

In a 5 to 1 vote, the board recommended two 9,000- square-foot dormitories, each with a maximum footprint, or base, of 4,500 square feet, and a 7,000- square-foot dining hall.

There had been some confusion over the Planning Board’s November recommendation regarding the square footage for the two dormitories. Last week, the City Council questioned whether the board recommended that the buildings each have a footprint of 9,000 square feet, allowing more square feet of space if there was to be more than one floor, or if it recommended that the dormitories each have a total of 9,000 square feet of space.

With the matter clarified, the zoning request will go back to the City Council. The Planning Board’s recommendation serves as an advisory to the City Council, and the council can decide not to agree with the board’s decision.

“There’s nothing hard and fast about our recommendation to the council,” said Planning Board Chairman Don Girouard on Tuesday.

A residential ecology education school, The Ecology School is under contract to purchase the former Riverbend Farm at 184 Simpson Road, and plans to move there from space it rents from the Ferry Beach Association. According to Ecology School founder Drew Dumsch, plans are to begin farming the land in 2017 and move all operations by 2019.

Before the school can move, it must get a contract zone from the city to allow it to operate at Riverbend Farm, as local zoning does not currently permit schools there.

The 105-acre Riverbend Farm was put in an easement in 1998 with Saco Valley Land Trust by former owner Mary Merrill, who died in 2005 and left the property to her nephew, Tom Merrill.

Under the terms of the easement, the land must be used for farming, recreation and research. Building is permitted only on nine acres of land where the farmhouse and barn are located, and commercial activity is prohibited unless it’s agricultural.

While the proposed school has received the blessing of Tom Merrill, who has stated in a letter to the city that he thinks the use is keeping with his aunt’s vision for the property, the proposal has received criticism from some members of the land trust, who think the building plans do not fit within the guidelines of the easement.

All Planning Board members in attendance Tuesday except Michael O’Toole said when they made the recommendation to the council in November, they did not have in mind two buildings with a footprint of 9,000 square feet each.

“I know darn well I wasn’t thinking of (a footprint of) 9,000 (square feet),” said Girouard.

Planning Board member Peter Scontras noted that Thornton Academy dorms have a footprint of about 9,000 square feet, but they are long-term residential facilities that include faculty apartments. He was also concerned about the environmental impact of the proposed dorms.

Ecology School officials say they need to have a footprint of 9,000 square feet for each three-story dormitory to accommodate students.

Dumsch said after Tuesday’s meeting he would like the city to consider input from The Ecology School regarding its square footage requirements and building plans. He said the proposed buildings will be some of the most “environmentally cutting edge” buildings in the country.

— Staff Writer Liz Gotthelf can be contacted at 282-1535, ext. 325 or egotthelf@journaltribune.com.