Freedom—April 22, 2025—A scheduled “Informal Discussion” of Wabanaki Campground’s plan to subdivide its 11-acre Ossipee Lake property fizzled last Thursday night after Freedom’s Planning Board Chair said the campground’s meeting request had been withdrawn.

Minutes into the meeting, Board Chair Linda Mailhot announced the change but did not state a reason for it. In answer to a question about whether the discussion was being continued or withdrawn, Mailhot said it was withdrawn.

She said the applicant, Mark Salvati, principal of Wabanaki Campground Conversion LLC, would need to make a new request in order to be heard at the next meeting, on May 15.

Salvati later told Ossipee Lake Alliance that Mailhot called him two hours before the start of the meeting and recommended that he withdraw because a document he submitted for the meeting was “too detailed” and the board would “not likely hear it.”

Salvati said he submitted the document on March 31 and heard nothing about it until receiving the call on the day of the meeting. He is seeking approvals to sell “units” of the property as part of a conversion to co-op ownership.

An “Informal Discussion” is a defined term in Freedom’s Subdivision Regulations. It is a “preapplication consultation” during which the applicant informs the board about the concept of a potential plan, and the board explains the state and local regulations that may apply.

At the conclusion of the discussion the board advises the subdivider about the “subsequent procedures and submission requirements” for an application. The board may also rule at that time whether the proposed plan is a Development of Regional Impact.

Since there is no requirement to notify abutters about the meeting, the applicant is limited to submitting what is called a “sketch plan” showing only the location and type of proposed development. The regulation differentiates a “sketch plan” from a “detailed plan.”

The document Salvati submitted is a modified version of a Horizons Engineering plat map that was submitted to the Planning Board in April 2024 as part of a Site Plan Application to make improvements to the property.

The modified document was distributed to board members in the days leading up to the meeting. But representatives of four conservation organizations were surprised to learn that the letters they submitted for the meeting were not.

Susan Marks of Ossipee Lake Alliance asked Mailhot if she could confirm receipt of the Alliance’s April 9 letter regarding regional impact and the scope of independent reviews. Mailhot said she did not recall the letter.

Berry Bay Association President Roberta MacCarthy asked Mailhot if she received the letter she sent on April 13, as well as letters submitted by Broad-Leavitt Bay Association and the Friends of Ossipee Lake. Mailhot said she was unsure, but knew the Friends group had contacted her.

Former Planning Board Chair Anne Cunningham, now an alternate member who was sitting in for an absent member that night, said she was concerned that the board’s process for receiving and distributing documents was unclear.

“I’m not sure we’re getting all of the public input that the public is trying to give to us,” she said in regard to the letters that were submitted but not distributed to board members.

Cunningham also noted that a 20-page professional independent evaluation of Wabanaki’s Site Plan Application that was submitted on February 12 wasn’t distributed to board members until February 20, the Planning Board’s meeting day.

Mailhot said she forwards emails she receives to the Town Office, but was uncertain how documents are handled after that.

“They have them collectively somewhere,” she said, adding that town staff decides when to distribute them to board members based on what’s on the agenda. She said documents might not be circulated if a scheduled matter is going to be continued to a new date.

“But I think someone needs to read them,” Cunningham responded, again pointing out that the four letters in question were intended for board members to review prior to the Informal Discussion.

Mailhot said she would go over the distribution questions with town staff to ensure that public submissions are forwarded to board members “as we get them.”

In response to a board member’s recommendation, she also said that board meetings will be recorded in the future and made available to the public, starting with the next meeting.

In an email to Ossipee Lake Alliance, Salvati said he will likely submit a request to have an Informal Discussion about his subdivision plans in May. He said he is also likely to ask that his Site Plan Application for improvements to the property be continued to June.