Despite months of impassioned protests by neighbors, the town’s Zoning Board of Appeals on Monday approved Pulte Homes’ 163-unit affordable condominium development in North Plymouth.
Each of the five ZBA members said they opposed the project, but those voting in favor of it said they feel encumbered by state laws giving developers much leeway to build affordable housing projects.
“I don’t like this project and I tell the Pulte people that straight up,” board Chairman Michael Main told the assembled crowd. “But it’s not as bad as some of the other we’ve had crammed down our throat.
“I’ve had numerous phone calls,” he said. “I’ve had emails. I’ve talked to people and I have tried every single way I know how to come to a conclusion that I could deny this project. … I want to bite my tongue but I’ll end up with a mouthful of blood I’m so damn disappointed we have to have these kinds of things in our community.”
Still, the board was not unanimous. Members voted separately on the project’s two parts — a 63-unit, six-story building proposed for Sandri Drive and the two 50-unit buildings located on Prince Street.
ZBA member Ed Conroy voted against both, and David Peck voted against only the Prince Street buildings — called Oceanview North. Main and two other members, Peter Conner and Michael Leary, voted yes on both.
Because the project is designated affordable housing under the state’s 40B law, only a simple majority was enough to approve the permits. Typically, projects require a minimum of four votes.
Conroy said he opposed the project because of incomplete and inadequate traffic studies which did little to allay safety concerns. The plans, he said, create “real risks of accidents and unsafe access and these concerns cannot be mitigated.
“The board cannot conclude the project is safe,” he said.
David Peck voted against the Oceanview North project because the entrance is on Prince Street, which he called a “fatal flaw.”
“Access to building 2 should have been — could have been — from Hedge (Road). It is clear to me that access from Prince is creating an unacceptable strain and pain on the neighborhood.”
Hedge Road runs parallel to Prince Street, near the Sandri Drive property.
The three buildings span nearly three acres between Prince and Sandri Drive.
Residents, who have been vocally opposed to the project since it was proposed, did not get a chance to speak at the meeting. They expressed their frustration afterwards.
“After months of being treated dismissively and disrespectfully by the chair, the ZBA decision isn’t surprising,” said Carol Jankowski, a Prince Street resident who has been fighting the project for months.
“Why is it that some members of the board are afraid of fighting for the citizens of North Plymouth…? No one has ever suggested that 40B is an easy law to defy, but when the health and wellbeing and safety of a neighborhood are at stake, it’s time to stand up a little taller…and step forward into the fray,” she wrote in an email.
She praised Peck and Conroy for “delving deeply into the information provided and at least partially supporting the neighborhood.
“I only wish that the actual deliberations were more robust, and that their points were discussed, instead of just received,” she said.
Two select board members, who had attended each ZBA meeting and spoken out against the project, said they too were dismayed by the vote.
“This decision is incredibly disappointing and shortsighted,” said Deb Iaquinto. “It seemed like the board was resigned, and saw no value in trying to fight what they themselves said is not a good project.
“They’ve essentially imposed a life sentence on the community: the town will be paying for this for generations, in terms of service and infrastructure costs. And the neighborhood will be paying in lost quality of life.”
Kevin Canty also called the vote “very disappointing.
“The town and its residents wanted to keep fighting this 40B project, even knowing the odds were stacked against us. But the majority of the ZBA decided to give Pulte what they wanted.
“But I will continue to advocate to the best of my ability against hostile 40B developments that destroy our neighborhoods,’’ he said.
Meg Sheehan, an environmental lawyer, has opposed the project even though her family is the landowner selling to Pulte.
She said Conroy’s “no” vote was “clearly correct.”
He was right that the Pulte’s traffic studies were flawed, she wrote, and contained incomplete and incorrect information that “threaten(s) residents, schoolchildren and first responders.
“The ZBA vote deprives the neighborhood residents of the right to the peaceful use and enjoyment of their homes and unnecessarily subjects them to excessive noise and light pollution, traffic hazards, and loss of property value,” she wrote in an email.
Under the state’s 40B law, developers who build these so-called affordable housing projects can bypass most local rules. State housing officials have determined the need for affordable housing outweighs most local concerns.
The project has one more hurdle before it can break ground. It must go before the town’s Conservation Commission, which regulates wetlands and flood zones.
Andrea Estes can be reached at andrea@plymouthindependent.org.