[This story has been updated to include commentary from Alexa Plotkin, chair of Biddeford’s planning board.]
By RANDY SEAVER, Editor
Biddeford Mayor Liam LaFountain won his campaign a few weeks ago by promising to prioritize transparency and accountability at City Hall.
As part of that pledge, LaFountain has been seeking and interviewing people who have expressed an interest in serving on any one of more than 20 committees, boards and commissions.
One of the most notable changes being proposed by LaFountain is a slight shakeup on the city’s planning board.
The Planning Board has seven members, including the chair and two non-voting, associate members.
Both Larry Patoine and Susan Deschambault will no longer be serving as regular members on the planning board because their terms expired in December.
Deschambault said she was ready to step down after more than a decade of service, but Patoine says he would have enjoyed serving another term.
Patoine joined the planning board in 2007 during the Wallace Nutting administration and has been repeatedly reappointed over the last 18 years.
“I really enjoyed it,” Patoine said of his tenure on the board. “Yes, I would have liked another term, but it’s the mayor’s prerogative about who is appointed. I think he (LaFountain) wants to be headed in a different direction.”
A few weeks before he announced his bid to become Biddeford’s next mayor, LaFountain – then city council president — was clearly troubled by the review process of several large projects that came before the planning board.
During a June 17, 2025 city council meeting, LaFountain and other councilors were visibly upset about how two major projects were being presented to the city council.
Both Fathom Development and Westbrook Development Corp. appeared before the council for final approval of credit enhancement agreements connected to two projects near the city’s Pearl Street parking garage.
After a tense, marathon council meeting that lasted until after midnight, the council was evenly split in a 4-4 tie, and credit enhancement agreements were approved after then mayor Marty Grohman broke the tie.
“This makes me ridiculously uncomfortable,” LaFountain said during the meeting, frustrated that City Planner David Galbraith appeared to be taking direction from the developers who were seated in the audience. “This is not a good look for the city.”
RELATED: Tempers flare at council meeting
Within days after winning his election, LaFountain pushed for further review of how the University of New England’s controversial pier proposal was handled.
The pier project was narrowly approved in a 3-2 vote before the planning board on August 6.
Planning board member Roch Angers appeared before the council on the previous day and said “something smells fishy” about how UNE’s application was reviewed by city officials.
Today, LaFountain says there is a benefit to having “periodic changes” on city boards and commissions.
“I think it’s good to refresh things from time to time,” the mayor said.
During his first council meeting as mayor in December, LaFountain appointed former city councilor John McCurry to the planning board.
McCurry – a former city councilor, council president and former School Committee member – said he is looking forward to serving on the planning board. “This mayor is focused on data-driven solutions,” McCurry says. “I think that’s right up my alley.”
On Tuesday, the city council will review LaFountain’s appointment of Leah Schaffer to the planning board.
LaFountain told the Gazette that he is “impressed” by Schaffer’s resume and qualifications.
According to her application, Schaffer is an architect and has a “strong interest in city planning.”
Schaffer has served on the city’s Historic Preservation Commission since 2016 and currently serves as that organization’s chair. She also serves as chair on the Citizen’s Advisory since 2023.
Schafer served as chair and member of the Heart of Biddeford’s Design Committee from 2016 to 2024.
Other members of the planning board include Chair Alexa Plotkin; voting members Roch Angers and Matt Dubois; and associate member Kayla Lewis.
Plotkin told the Gazette that the planning board has experienced a significant increase in both the pace and volume of items requiring review.
“We are seeing a big spike in the number of applications that have come before us,” Plotkin said, pointing to both large-scale housing projects and increasing rebuild/redesign applications from coastal homeowners who are either preparing for future storms or trying to repair weather-related damages to their homes.
“Being on the planning is a constant learning process,” Plotkin said, pointing to numerous policy changes and updated zoning ordinances at both the local and state level.
Plotkin said she feels “a bit sad’ that Larry Patoine will no longer be on the board. “I can see the value of a fresh set of eyes, but I also see tremendous value in having people with lots of institutional knowledge, Plotkin added.
Plotkin’s term expires in December 2027; Angers and Dubois both have terms that expire in December.
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Randy Seaver is the editor and founder of the Biddeford Gazette. He may be reached by email: randy@randyseaver.com
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