The Boothbay Planning Board tabled a request Feb. 17 by Karen’s Hideway for a change of use. Co-owner Garry Blackman requested a change of use from a mobile takeout business to a year round eatery. Blackman operates the 716 Wiscasset Road business with his wife Karen Blackman. The planning board asked him to submit a letter requesting a waiver from providing several application information submissions. Blackman will send the letter to Code Enforcement Officer Jason Lorrain who will distribute it to board members who will decide if the information is necessary.

Blackman explained his plan as using a nearby building, once a video rental business, for dine-in services during inclement weather and winter months. Karen’s Hideway currently operates on a seasonal basis from March to November.  “For the last five to six years, we’ve been asked about staying open year-round. There’s not a lot of places in the region to eat year round, so we thought this would be a good thing, but we don’t want to have jump through a lot of hoops,” Garry Blackman said. 

The board tabled his application because it lacked specific information on the site plan. The proposal does not fit into the new town ordinance’s definition of a restaurant. So the board asked Blackman to seek a waiver. Board members requested a sketch showing various setback calculations and information on dining capacity, parking, and how patrons would exit onto Route 27.

In other action, the board conditionally approved a West Side Road applicant’s request to construct a dock consisting of a six-foot by 50-foot pier, three-foot by 32-foot seasonal ramp and 10-foot by 16-foot seasonal float at a Barters Island property. Atlantic Environmental of Damariscotta represented Barters Island Bivouac 2, LLC’s proposal. The board placed a condition for information in the application to match requirements of exhibits 14 and 15 in the newly voter-approved ordinances. 

Another new ordinance requirement enacted by the voters on Nov. 3, 2020 is that applicants meet with the board in a pre-application hearing prior to seeking approval. The board heard four pre-application proposals. PGC2, LLC proposed a spa construction for Boothbay Harbor Country Club on White Birch Lane. Diana Kerr of 268 Ocean Point Road is seeking a change of use for a home barn into a retail shop. Kerr plans on selling her and other artists’ home decor and artwork. Jaimie Campbell is moving from Boothbay Harbor to Barters Island. She is seeking a change of use for her Oak Hill Road property to move her salon business to the property. The  Balding Dentist, LLC is seeking approval to move Boothbay Family Dentistry to the Coburn House at 732 Wiscasset Road. Daniel Phelps of Phelps Architecture in Damariscotta represented the business owned by Toby Clarkson. Phelps explained plans for the project’s site development and construction of a one-story building for a professional dentist practice along with an attached owners’ garage.

The board unanimously elected William Wright chairman and Rob Ham vice-chairman. The board meets next at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, March 17.