The Plymouth Zoning Board of Appeals Monday night unanimously approved a slightly scaled-down version of the developer’s plans to build 300 apartments at Colony Place.
Although the massive development faced opposition from neighbors, it puts the town in a position to reject future so-called 40b affordable housing projects, at least temporarily.
AvalonBay Communities, one of the largest apartment developers in Massachusetts, plans to construct two five-story buildings on nine acres.
The Colony Place complex, called Kanso Plymouth, will still be five stories high — taller than other buildings in the neighborhood, including hotels.
But instead of being 67 feet tall in some places as originally proposed, the buildings will be four feet shorter at their corners and 61-1/2 feet tall along the rest of the two structures.
Plymouth’s zoning code generally allows the construction of buildings up to 35 feet high. But since this project falls under the state’s 40b affordable housing law, it is exempt from most zoning rules.
The developer Monday also agreed that all outside parking spaces would be 10 feet wide — which appeared to be a non-negotiable demand of ZBA members. The developer had previously proposed that more than 100 spaces be just nine feet wide.
Seventy-five units would be classified as affordable – meaning they would be rented at below-market rates – even though under the 40b law all the 300 units would count toward the town’s affordable housing inventory. Plymouth would still not hit the 10 percent benchmark of affordable units that would allow it to reject all future 40b projects.
But the approval means the town can now seek state approval for temporary “safe harbor” status. If granted, that would mean that the town could reject 40b projects or require major concessions for a two-year period.
To qualify, the town needed to create 257 housing units, a benchmark included in its housing production plan, approved by the state in February 2024. With the addition of 300 units at Kanso Plymouth, the town would meet the requirement.
The Plymouth Select Board approved the project in December, though members have generally opposed 40b developments.
Select board chair Kevin Canty called it a “friendly” 40b because AvalonBay agreed to pay $2.75 million for a water booster pump and has been willing to work cooperatively with the town.
Neighbors appear resigned to the complex going forward.
“I’d love to see it come down a floor, but that wasn’t going happen,” said Steve Johnson, who lives in the Sawyer’s Reach 55-plus condominium complex next door.
Meantime, town officials have been trying to stop two other proposed 40b condo projects – both in North Plymouth.
The town has been fighting the proposed construction of 163 condos by developer Pulte Homes on parcels owned by the family of environmental lawyer Meg Sheehan, who personally opposes the project.
In a June 24 letter to MassHousing chief executive officer Chrystal Kornegay, Canty – citing overdevelopment – asked the agency to turn down Pulte’s request for site approval letters, the first step in moving the projects forward.
But the state rejected the town’s plea, officials said, and before Plymouth could apply for safe harbor status, Pulte filed for a comprehensive permit before the Zoning Board of Appeals, town officials said.
Canty said he wish the ZBA had approved Kanso Plymouth sooner.
“We would have been in safe harbor and could have said ‘no’ to Pulte,” he said. “If they (ZBA members) had accelerated their timeline. In my opinion, they should have. “
It’s unclear how much sooner the plan could have been approved — lawyers were still making changes to the documents during Monday night’s meeting.
ZBA chair Michael Main declined to respond to Canty’s remarks.
“We got the best deal for the town that we could,” he said.
Canty said town officials tried to work with Pulte representatives on traffic mitigation and other area improvements but “they walked away.”
Mark Mastroianni, vice president of land planning & entitlement for Pulte Group, said the company has engaged in a lot of “productive, positive discussions with the town.
“We think we have a great project, a much-needed residential condominium project,” he said. “We’re really excited to be in Plymouth and look forward to working with the town. We think we have a great location for residential housing which can take advantage of all the services and amenities the town can provide.”
And yet another developer may be looking to build a large 40b housing complex in town.
The owner of the Atlantic Country Club in South Plymouth has been trying for months to sell the 180-acre property to a developer for housing.
Though the would-be buyer, Ben Virga of Duxbury, has not said exactly what his plans are, Plymouth officials believe the only financially feasible project would be a 40b, potentially with hundreds of units.
Because the property was considered recreational land and subject to a lower property tax rate, the town had the right to meet or beat any legitimate offer.
Virga has offered $19 million to the club’s owners, but the town has delayed deciding whether to counter the bid, arguing that a legitimate offer must be based on its current assessed value — $651,000 — not the amount a buyer is willing to pay.
The McSharry family, which owns the golf club, has taken the property out of recreation status and it is now being fully taxed. That means that after one year, the town will lose its right of first refusal.
But town officials hope that by the time a private sale can take place, they will have the right to reject a 40b outright or at least set strict requirements.
Virga declined immediate comment.
Kanso Plymouth is the new incarnation of a project that was originally going to be a 55-plus apartment building — partly three stories and partly four — with 198 units and amenities such as an outdoor pool and deck.
As part of the deal, it was going to donate $1.3 million to the town’s affordable housing trust as part of an agreement with the town.
That was until Claremont, the original developer, pulled out in the face of lawsuits filed by residents of Sawyer’s Reach, who opposed the project.
Andrea Estes can be reached at andrea@plymouthindependent.org.