NORWAY — The Planning Board voted Oct. 13 to take no action on rescinding the building permit it approved for a Dunkin’ Donuts shop at 60 Fair St.
At its Sept. 22 meeting, the board voted unanimously to authorize a building permit for a Dunkin’ Donuts shop in the former Tim Hortons Coffee & Bake Shop.
Michael Rentschler, construction manager of MDM Management Group of Acton, Massachusetts, said the permit was to allow general contractor Thompson Building Services Inc. of Gardiner to remodel the property. He said the only change to the exterior would be updating the style to match other Dunkin’ Donuts shops.
However, attorney James Belleau, who represents Michelle Campbell, the owner of Hair Plus Beauty Salon, which abuts the Fair Street property, said the building should have been subject to a site plan review before the permit was issued to MDM Management Group.
“We’re concerned, because we were not provided with notice of any request to the town to issue said permit,” Belleau said on behalf of Campbell. “My client said she found out about the permit being issued as a small-town rumor. I read about it in the paper. We weren’t given any advance notice.”
He pointed out that in 2001, when the property was originally developed, the Norway Site Plan Review Ordinance stated that “no building permit or plumbing permit or certificate of occupancy shall be issued by municipal officers or (the CEO) for any use or development within the scope of this ordinance until a site plan of development application is reviewed and acted upon by the Planning Board.”
He added that, in looking back through the history of the property at 60 Fair St., a site plan review was required each time the property changed hands.
“When the Wendy’s first opened, a site plan review was required, and when the Wendy’s building was adapted to a Tim Hortons restaurant, there was a site plan review,” Belleau said. “There was even a site plan review when the Tim Hortons restaurant wanted to make a site plan review amendment.”
Belleau argued that MDM Management Group should have been required to go through a site plan review, and that Campbell should have been notified that they were pursuing a permit.
“If we would have known that it was happening, we would have shown up at that Sept. 22 meeting, and we would’ve had a discussion,” Belleau said. “We weren’t given an opportunity to express our concerns and conditions. If we can’t work it out, then we have to appeal.”
Belleau also said that when Campbell purchased her property in 2003, the previous owner had granted a lease to the Wendy’s restaurant that had occupied the former Tim Hortons building.
The lease allowed Wendy’s to access its property from the Paris Street driveway.
“That lease has been terminated,” Belleau told the board. “My client owns the property now. If (MDM Management) wants to use the access point on Paris Street, there should be some negotiations to figure it out. We’re going to do it the legal way. We’re not going to allow them to just go forward with what they want.”
Attorney Alex Perry, who said he knew the attorneys representing the applicants, encouraged the board to “give the applicants some notice and give them an opportunity to be heard.”
“I think that the argument Mr. Belleau has made is one that their attorneys are likely to try to rebutt,” Perry added.
Belleau pointed out that his client was given no advance warning of the Sept. 22 meeting.
“We’re between a rock and a hard place right now,” he told the Planning Board. “We’re looking for you guys to rescind the building permit that you approved, or at least issue a denial of my request.”
Planning Board Chairman Dennis Gray said that during his time on the board, he can’t recall reconsidering a building or renovation permit after it was approved.
“I’m not even sure if it’s possible to do under our current ordinance,” he said.
Belleau told Gray that if a municipal law doesn’t exist, “‘Robert’s Rules of Order’ apply to govern your boards and meetings.”
“’Robert’s Rules of Order’ actually provides a way for boards to rescind or reconsider a permit,” he said.
Code Enforcement Officer Joelle Corey-Whitman suggested that the Planning Board speak with its attorney before making a decision to reconsider the permit, or deny Belleau’s motion to reconsider.
Town Clerk Shirley Boyce said Friday afternoon that the issue was tentatively scheduled to go before the Board of Appeals on Nov. 17.
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