TOPSHAM — A Topsham-based developer will go before the Planning Board on Tuesday to seek final approval for a proposed neighborhood grocery store on Middlesex Road.

A public hearing on the application is scheduled to start at 7 p.m. Tuesday in the municipal building, 100 Main St.

Priority Group LLC submitted a proposed site plan and conditional use applications for the proposed neighborhood grocery store at 38 Middlesex Road — currently the location of a home that abuts Rusty’s Grocery at 2 Tedford Road. The project also would incorporate 34 Middlesex Road and 2 Tedford Road.

Demolition of Rusty’s Grocery, run by Rusty Rancourt, would be one of the final acts of the project, allowing the grocery to stay open until almost the time that the new store opens.

The fire department has expressed interest in using the structures at 34 and 38 Middlesex for practice.

The new store, to be named Rusty’s Middlesex Market, will be roughly four times the size of the 40-year-old Rusty’s Grocery. The proposed 3,200- square-foot store would sell groceries and convenience store items. The business would include a deli for sandwiches, and a grill.

Plans also call for significant green space and a farm stand, Jim Howard, president and chief executive officer of Priority Group, LLC, said earlier this month.

The store would have two gas pumps covered with a canopy and would also sell diesel. The store would be located near Middlesex Road but face away from the road, so parking and the gas pumps would be located opposite the store from the road in an effort to minimize disturbance to neighbors.

Drivers would have access to the store from both Middlesex and Tedford roads.

“We really put a lot of time and energy into talking to neighbors and designing something that fits the neighborhood, and I think we’re pretty pleased with what we got,” Howard said prior to an April 3 Planning Board meeting at which the project underwent sketch-plan review.

Town Planner Rich Roedner said municipal staff and the Planning Board reviewed the sketch plan and found no significant issues, noting the plans seem to meet all criteria established in town code.

Roedner said Priority Group needs to obtain a conditional use permit in addition to site plan approval for the project because neighborhood grocery stores are a conditional use in residential districts, including this suburban residential zone.

The Planning Board traditionally votes after a public hearing. Howard said last week that he expects to have final approval following Tuesday’s meeting, in which case he would expect to start building within 30 days. He estimates it will take 90 days to build the store.

During sketch plan review, Howard said that other than wanting more specifics on saving some of the trees and planting more trees for a buffer between the store and neighbors, the Planning Board didn’t ask for any changes.

Other business

In addition to the neighborhood grocery store project, the Planning Board will review a sketch plan for a disc golf course at 357 Middlesex Road proposed by Kirt and Kim Weaver of Topsham.

Roedner said there is almost no site work required for creation of the course, which would mainly consist of sinking in posts with baskets on them.

The plan includes a parking area for six vehicles near the applicants’ house and the road. The town’s online assessing data lists 357 Middlesex Road as a 51-acre parcel.

Topsham considers a disc golf course to be a commercial recreation use, which requires a conditional use permit in this rural residential district, Roedner said. Roedner expects the board to talk about the level of traffic that would be generated by the business. The applicant would need to return to the Planning Board for site plan approval and a conditional use permit.

The Planning Board also is scheduled to hold a workshop on conditional use standards.

dmoore@timesrecord.com