[an error occurred while processing this directive]
Update: 01/06/05
AUBURN

Mt. Zion a no go?

By Devon Cormier
Staff Writer

The Mount Zion Christian School may not be moving to the Wellington Business Park in Auburn after all.

Auburn Planning Board member Stoney Worster said the developer for the project, Elmer Pease, has only appeared before the planning board once, and the process just isn’t over yet. Furthermore, the proposal may not be in compliance with zoning regulations.

Worster said that in 2002 a zoning amendment was made to allow private schools in industrial-zoned areas in town. The purpose of the amendment is to allow daycare or nursery schools in an industrial park to service the employees.

“It is an unintended consequence that a private school that will not be an accessory to the industrial park has made a proposal,” Worster said. “It is up to Mr. Pease to amend his proposal to make it acceptable or withdraw it.”

However, the two lots Mount Zion is attempting to move into may not be suitable for any school because of safety concerns. Worster said one tenant of the park has already told the planning board that he has tractor trailer units going in and out all day long and is concerned for the safety of any potential students.

The proposal is not scheduled to go to the planning board this month, but may wind up on the agenda. The planning board meets the second Wednesday of each month. Worster said the proposal still needs to go through a site plan review, a pretty lengthy process, so nothing is certain yet.

Selectmen Chairman Harland Eaton said that more meetings need to be held about the matter. Eaton suggested that a meeting was being held in private in the first week of January and refused to provide information about it despite being in violation of the Right To Know Law.

[an error occurred while processing this directive]