Open Letter to Penobscot Residents

As neighbors of the proposed Northern Bay Commons subdivision, our position is simple:

Everyone in Penobscot should follow the simple, essential guidelines for sewage disposal and drinking water that benefit us all.
The developer continues to offer plans that violate these public health rules.

The former nursing home only reached its size and capacity because it was able to pump sewage effluent directly into Northern Bay. It operated under an old overboard discharge (OBD) permit - a practice that is no longer permitted.

In the decades since the state's OBD laws changed, local property owners and state taxpayers spent tens of thousands of dollars to eliminate those discharges.

So while the existing abandoned structures might appear to accommodate high-density living, the land cannot support it under modern law.

In fact, the current proposed density of roughly 24 people represents the practical maximum capacity the land can handle.

Any further development or expansion faces three practical hurdles:

Click to enlarge — View Original Plan

The dark gray shaded area represents the 100-foot setback required by Penobscot town law for any septic systems under 2,000 gallons per day.

The light gray shaded area represents the 300-foot setback required by town law for any septic system "where daily sewage flow exceeds 2,000 gallons."

The remaining unshaded area represents the starting point for determining if the lot has the necessary space for septic infrastructure, as this is the only portion of the property potentially free from the 300-foot stream buffer.

1. The current plan already pushed the land to its limit. Following community oversight, the town required the developer to comply with regulations by reducing the project's occupancy and the size of the septic systems just to get the total daily flow under the state's critical threshold. This process also forced a layout change, requiring the developer to move a proposed drainage fields that encorached the mandatory 100-foot stream setback.

2. Any future expansion triggers an automatic 300-foot buffer. Under Penobscot Land Use Regulation §6(J)(1)(b), if any new proposal pushes the property's cumulative sewage flow over 2,000 gallons, a strict 300-foot setback from the stream applies.

3. The lot physically cannot handle that 300-foot line.

The developer’s own submissions show that only a small fraction of the property sits outside that 300-foot stream buffer. Fitting new infrastructure into the remaining third of the parcel—which is already jammed against road setbacks, property lines, and abandoned buildings requiring DEP demolition oversight—is a logistical dead end.

Furthermore, the state regulates the drinking water supply for developments housing 25 or more year-round residents as a "Community Public Water System". This triggers strict state protections, establishing a standard 300-foot setback between the drinking water well and potential contamination sources.

Last, our Land Use Regulations explicitly require applicants to thoroughly familiarize themselves with all state and local laws governing a development before they apply.

Sincerely,
Neighbors of Northern Bay