For months, neighbors have been begging the town’s zoning board to deny Pulte Homes permits to build three condo buildings in North Plymouth.
The project was too large, they argued, too dense and out of place in the quiet North Plymouth neighborhood. They cited the arsenic and other toxic substances found in the soil and water and the proposed Sandri Drive building’s proximity to a federally monitored Superfund site.
Residents held out hope the board would reject Pulte’s request to build 163 condos on nearly three acres between Prince Street and Sandri Drive.
It became clear at the board’s Monday night meeting, however, their efforts to stop the 40B affordable housing development will likely fail.
The panel didn’t take a final vote but their discussion centered around placing conditions on the permit — at least 85 conditions — none of which appeared so onerous that Pulte would back out.
A final vote is scheduled for April 13.
Residents reacted strongly to board members’ apparent willingness to approve the project — over their vehement objections.
“I’m not sure I can fit my fury into an email,” wrote Carol Jankowski, a Prince Street resident who has repeatedly implored the board to reject the project, which she believes could destroy the neighborhood.
“The ZBA hardly deliberated,” she wrote.
“I actually thought that all of the information that (opponents) submitted would be carefully considered and that a robust discussion would take place.”
ZBA chair Michael Main acknowledged the neighbors’ strong feelings but insisted their reaction has been no different than that of neighbors opposing other affordable housing projects in town. The board has insisted the state’s 40B law – designed to encourage affordable housing construction – largely restricts local authority to stop it.
“As far as this project in particular, in the 21 years I’ve been here, and there are other board members who have been here longer, will tell you — this isn’t the worst one we’ve ever had,” he said.
“There have been others that have been a lot more difficult. I understand completely the… neighborhood and the concerns because every single 40B we’ve gone through has been the exact same,” he said.
He has repeatedly said under the 40B law developers can bypass most local rules. A decision to reject a 40B permit request would likely be reversed on appeal, he has said.
Though there was no discussion of actually denying the permit, two members, Ed Conroy and David Peck, argued for strict environmental requirements.
Peck asked that permanent monitoring wells be required on the Sandri Drive site to make sure no contamination migrates from the adjacent Plymouth Harbor/Cannon Engineering Corp. Environmental Protection Agency Superfund site, where officials found lead, fuel oil and other hazardous substances leaking from above-ground storage tanks in 1980.
But his board colleagues seemed confident that if pollutants were going to seep from the Superfund site, it would have happened already. The site was removed from EPA’s priorities list in 1993 but is still subject to 5-year reviews and a deed restriction prohibiting the construction of housing on the land.
“You’re making a big guess,” said Ed Conroy. “People’s lives are at stake.”
Carolyn Murray, the board’s lawyer, said environmental issues are under the purview of the state Department of Environmental Protection and the US Environmental Protection Agency. The town has no say, she said.
Just the same, the board agreed to require Pulte to submit proof pollutants have been removed before building or earth removal permits are issued.
Mark Adams, an opponent who has studied environmental reports prepared by a consultant hired by the landowner, Eight Mates LLC, said the board should reconsider the consultant’s conclusion that arsenic-laced coal ash is still present on the sites, primarily on Sandri Drive.
Because the arsenic has been deemed historic, he pointed out, it didn’t have to be reported to the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection.
“Once site work starts for water, sewer, utility lines and perhaps pilings, then what about the workers on site and people and children walking the hiking trail?” asked Adams.
“They’ll all be exposed to arsenic dust during excavation. I guess it’s health and safety be damned…placing conditions on the permit approval is not enough to keep people safe.”
At Monday’s meeting the board agreed to waive dozens of local laws and regulations — among them sewer and water hookup fees for the 25% of the units to be considered affordable, according to state income guidelines.
Among the more than 70 waivers the board approved are 9-foot parking spaces in the underground garage — although board members, especially Main — have generally demanded 10-foot wide spaces.
The company will also be allowed to build a 66-foot-tall building on Sandri Drive, despite a townwide height limit of 35 feet.
It will also be exempt from the town regulation that only one building be erected on a single lot. Pulte plans to construct two buildings on the Prince Street lot.
But Main, who acknowledged nobody on the board liked the project, did suggest there may be a silver lining.
“There’s some good news and bad news,” he said. The town is close to hitting a milestone that would allow it to reject future 40B requests, he said.
When 10% of the town’s housing stock is affordable, the town can deny 40B permits.
Plymouth’s housing is now 8.42% affordable, according to state data.
Andrea Estes can be reached at andrea@plymouthindependent.org.