RUMFORD — The 2008 approval of a large housing project near Black Mountain has lapsed and must go before the Planning Board again if someone buys the property, the town attorney has said.
The 450-acre parcel off Isthmus Road is being marketed by John Bartash III, associate broker for the Hebert Realty Group in Mexico. Bartash said Lem Cissel of Cissel Enterprises LLC in Maryland is selling the 300-unit subdivision for a little under $2 million.
Cissel went through the entire approval process with the town and state in 2008, but when the housing market crashed he pulled the plug on the project.
Named Scotty Brook at Black Mountain, it’s in the shadow of Black Mountain Ski Area.
Code Enforcement Officer Richard Coulombe recently rediscovered the plans and notified Economic Development Director O’Keefe, who contacted Cissell, 80, who decided to put it on the market last month.
Bartash said the property is still listed but not as an approved subdivision by the Planning Board.
The town subdivision ordinance requires that infrastructure be completed within one year from the date of the check or performance bond submitted to the town by the developer. The Planning Board can grant extensions for infrastructure for up to three years.
The bond, which is required for approval, was returned to Cissel Enterprises LLC in 2010.
In a written statement, town attorney Jennifer F. Kreckel said the plan will have to be resubmitted to the Planning Board for approval.
Code Enforcement Officer Richard Coulombe said the subdivision is still registered with the county and whoever buys will have to present the plan to the Planning Board again.
“It’s just a formality,” he said. “We’ll go through the process, have the meetings, present their application. The Planning Board will have meetings, and notify abutters, like we did before. It’s something we have to do to reaffirm the project.”
“We want to keep this moving along as much as possible,” Coulombe said. “We just need someone to buy the property and move forward.”
bfarrin@sunmediagroup.net
Richard Coulombe, Rumford code enforcement officer, recently rediscovered the plans for a 300-unit subdivision near Black Mountain. The Planning Board approved the plans in 2008, but the developer dropped the project that year when housing market crashed. The 450-acre parcel recently went on the market for nearly $2 million. (Rumford Falls Times photo by Bruce Farrin)
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