LIVERMORE — The Planning Board unanimously approved the Washburn-Norlands Foundation 27-acre subdivision Thursday night at a public hearing.

The five-lot parcel is bordered by Norlands Road and Bartlett Pond. and each parcel includes deeded access to the pond’s boat launch and road and shoreline frontage.

Stuart Davis of Davis Land Surveying informed the board the five parcels will be sold to two individuals so essentially, the subdivision has shrunk to two plots. The purchasers have the ability to develop and sell each parcel or combine their plots into one property.

The Washburn-Norlands Foundation’s 27-acre subdivision was approved by the Livermore Planning Board on Thursday, Dec. 17. Each parcel includes deeded access to the Bartlett Pond boat launch and road and shoreline frontage. Andrea Swiedom/Franklin Journal

During public comment, Livermore resident and abutter to the subdivision, Ashley O’Brien, expressed concerns about shoreline development, cutting down trees and the amount of gravel needed to establish driveways on the lots.

“It’s not that we don’t want neighbors,” O’Brien said. “It’s a pristine pond and we hope it stays that way and that the new owners aren’t necessarily restricted, but understand that as a small pond, it is fragile. For example, we don’t use fertilizer on our lawn.” 

Amelia Robbins, one of the subdivision purchasers, assured O’Brien that her family is motivated to maintain and improve the property with conservation in mind.

“Our intention is to restore the house and to restore the pastures that are there in a regenerative agriculture method, and we intend on preserving as much forest as possible,” Robbins said. “We will be managing it in a way that keeps it healthy but my husband is an experienced logger in the sense that he knows how to keep a forest healthy, and we fell in love with those old growth trees and we have no intention of taking them down unless they are sick. And we are absolutely in love with that pond and intend on keeping it as healthy as possible as well.”

She also iterated that their livestock will be kept at an appropriate distance from the shoreline and that her family does not use any pesticides on their crops.

Robbins said she also intends to maintain the public access to the Bartlett Pond boat launch. By keeping the pond’s public accessibility, the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife will continue stocking the pond for Livermore residents.