AUGUSTA — As many as 86 new residences on 44 lots were approved for a new Riverside Drive subdivision in a project that’s slated to start construction in the fall.

Because the project would impact wetlands on the property, Jeff Burns of Burns Ventures Inc., who is developing the project, agreed to pay a fee of more than $186,000 to the state Department of Environmental Protection to mitigate its impact on about three-quarters of an acre of wetlands on the 64-acre site, which is currently an undeveloped area of fields and woods. The project also requires a bridge to cross a stream that flows near Riverside Drive.

The Augusta Planning Board unanimously approved the proposal at its June 24 meeting.

The project would be phased in, starting with 21 lots initially. They would include 42 duplexes and two single-family homes, which would be individually owned.

The additional housing was welcomed by many, given the ongoing housing shortage in Augusta and across the state, but concerns were expressed about the project’s impact on the environment in the relatively rural area of Augusta.

“I have been and continue to be concerned about the environmental impact of this project,” Ward 4 Councilor Eric Lind, whose ward includes the development site, said.

The property is on the eastern side of Riverside Drive, just north of Stevens Road and 907 Riverside Drive.

“Eighty-six new homes, serviced by septic systems, in a wetlands area, should be concerning to everyone,” Lind said. “We need housing, we need the additional property tax, we need to attract people to Augusta, and I want to thank the developer for the time and expense put into this application. However, we still have to protect the environment and the property owners who might be impacted by this development.”

Board members noted the state Department of Environmental Protection reviewed and approved a permit for the proposal.

The project will tap into public water from the Greater Augusta Utility District, but each home will have its own septic system, as public sewer will not be brought to the site.

Jeff Allen, an engineer on the project with A.E. Hodsdon Consulting Engineers, said state environmental regulators required soil tests to ensure there are two different areas on each lot where a septic system could be installed.

Burns said he’s done larger, more complicated projects that safely addressed environmental concerns, including one in Massachusetts where the developer had to build a water treatment plant onsite. He said he didn’t anticipate any problems developing the Augusta site.

“I’ve probably built maybe 700 homes,” Burns said. “I’ve done this for 41 years. I don’t want to say it’s easy, but we do it all day long. This is not something that is over my head at all. This is what we do for a living. It’s not a part-time job.”

That section of Riverside Drive includes a few residences, a couple of gravel pits, a gymnastics operation, an automotive tire repair shop, and farmland.

Karen Foster, who lives nearby, said she hopes farms in the area will maintain their right to farm despite the arrival of new residents to the area. And she hopes that the land for the project won’t be clear-cut.

“I’d hate to see that land totally stripped of its trees,” Foster said. “It’d be nice if they can work out buffer areas where they can leave some trees. There is a wonderful animal habitat in there, and I’d hate to see their homes taken away.”

Allen said the lots have wooded buffers around them, both between the development and neighbors, and between lots within the planned subdivision.

“We want to leave a buffer between homes just to provide privacy,” Allen said. “Because we want to have nice homes. We’re not proposing clear-cuts.”

The subdivision is projected to add 59 to 84 new one-way vehicle trips during peak commuting hours, which is below the threshold that would require a state Department of Transportation traffic movement permit, according to Betsy Poulin, city planner. That increase in traffic was also not large enough to require any roadway improvements where the subdivision entrance will intersect with busy Riverside Drive.