Effingham Gas Station Case: Petition

The Effingham Planning Board is reviewing Meena LLC’s Site Plan Application to build a gas station in the town’s Groundwater Protection District. In addition to the existing site plan review regulations, the ZBA’s variance requires stormwater management and spill prevention plans. It is critical that Effingham’s Planning Board apply the highest standards in assessing all parts the application for this high-risk development.

In response to the Lakes Region Planning Commission’s recommendation, the Planning Board voted to hire North Point Engineering, an independent third party, to evaluate the "the application and all materials submitted," as stated at their April 7 meeting. Yet North Point’s initial report states “The Planning Board requested that our review focus only on the stormwater management design and the SPCC [spill prevention] plan."

By narrowing the scope of the review, the board has allowed errors and conflicting statements in the 80-page application to be free of independent evaluation. By signing this petition, we state unequivocally that it is in the public’s interest that Effingham’s Planning Board obtain a complete independent review of the Meena LLC application, not just parts of it, both in its current iteration and in subsequent revisions.