Despite public objections to plans for access to the subdivision, the Gorham Planning Board voted 6-0 (Walsh absent) to recommend a contract zone for the project to the Town Council. In addition to entrances off South Street on Robie Street, Ridgeway Ave, and Bramblewood Lane, the contract zone requires access into the development from White Birch Lane. The Planning Board has already granted preliminary approval for the first phase of KV Enterprises’ project, which includes 43 single-family homes to be built over three years.

White Birch Lane leads past 5 houses and 30 Birch Lane Apartments and dead-ends at Village School parking lot and a ball park owned by the town. It would be extended into the development and used initially by construction vehicles. Its location off already heavily trafficked New Portland Road is almost directly across from Gorham House.

Residents living on Robie Street and Bramblewood Lane, the main entrances to the development, have objected to the heavy use the project would put on their narrow roads. This limited access is why the Town Council would have to agree to the extension of White Birch Lane for the contract zone to receive their approval.

The Planning Board is currently being asked to recommend approval for several small housing developments, as well as having received a master plan proposal for a mixed-use subdivision with 284 housing units and several commercial buildings on 38.3 acres of the former Gorham Country Club property on McLellan Road. This project, which would be constructed in six phases, would not require a contract zone. It is in the South Gorham Crossroads Zone which is designated for mixed-use projects.

After the initial meeting on March 4 to discuss the proposal, the Planning Board asked the developer, Troiano Properties, and the engineer to edit the proposed master plan. The plan cannot be approved without a major investment in water and sewage infrastructure, as there is no such infrastructure near that location now.