The Boothbay Planning Board granted conditional approval of a Shore Road couple’s building application to expand their residence. The board voted 4-0 Nov. 19 approving Craig and Ellen Leckband’s request to add two additional bathrooms in their two-story home.

The Leckbands need a building permit because their home is a non-conforming structure in a shoreland zone district. The planning board granted approval conditioned upon the couple recording three combined land plots as one in the Lincoln County Registry of Deeds.

Consultant Eric Marden of Marden Builders, Inc. of Boothbay represented the couple during the planning board’s application review. He combined three adjacent plots owned by the Leckbands to meet state requirements.

The home’s lot isn’t big enough to satisfy the state’s Lot Coverage of Impervious Surface ordinance. The regulation limits a non-conforming structure’s expansion to 20 percent of the lot size.

The Leckbands’ original application showed the non-conforming structure would have covered over 40 percent of the single lot, according to Code Enforcement Officer Art Dunlap. The new calculation shows the expansion encompasses 12 percent of the three combined lots’ surface.

Planning board member Alan Bellows stated the combined lots should be reflected in the deed prior to approval.

“I don’t think we can sign our names to a document that still shows the parcel with three lots,” he said. “DEP 1000 (manual) says the change needs to be recorded at the Registry of Deeds before approving the request.”

Marden indicated he would comply with the condition.

Even though the Leckbands were adding additional bathrooms, the planning board isn’t required to review the residence’s wastewater plan.

“The septic system requirement doesn’t matter if you have one or 14 bathrooms. It only matters when another bedroom is added,” Dunlap said.

The planning board will meet next at 6:30 p.m., on Thursday, Dec. 16 in the municipal building.