Stepping Stones came a step closer to approval for its non-conforming, seven-unit low-income housing development on Sept. 6 during another contentious planning board meeting involving neighbors of the Damariscotta nonprofit.

Fewer neighbors turned out for this third hearing, during which the board decided to accept all seven units as grandfathered, by a 3-2 vote. Town attorney Jennifer Villenueve said a case could be made for considering the original two-unit family home (razed with the intent to build two new units but the project was postponed while the process began for the greater project a year later), either a grandfathered use, or possibly an abandoned property.

However, comments by Wilder Hunt, who was on the board during the initial process in 2014, appeared to have swayed the majority of the board.  “We very clearly did make the statement that all seven of the residences were grandfathered,” he told his fellow board members. That statement agreed with what Stan Waltz, code enforcement officer, said about the issue during the last planning board meeting.

Several of the other members indicated that they would not presume to overturn an earlier board decision.

Jessica Sirois, who has a private practice that abuts the property, was again one of the most vocal of the critics. She has vowed to appeal the project once it is approved and asked a question about whether she could appeal the grandfathering decision. Villenueve advised her to seek a legal opinion before launching an appeal before the application process is complete.

The board will hold a public hearing on Oct. 3 and render a decision afterward on Stepping Stones’ application.

The board also approved the flood zone application for Pemaquid Oyster to build a dock on its riverside property. The project is subject to a second appeal, so it is not clear when the building process will commence.