Plymouth officials are holding up the sale of the Atlantic Country Club in an apparent effort to thwart plans for a residential development on the South Plymouth site.
The McSharry family, which has owned the golf club on Little Sandy Pond Road for decades, last month signed a purchase and sale agreement with a private developer for $20 million.
Because a portion of the property is classified as recreation land under a state law called 61b, the town has the legal right to match any existing “bonafide” offer.
But the potential $20 million deal detailed in documents presented to the town did not constitute a bonafide offer, the town’s lawyer concluded, because the price was way too high.
In a letter to the owners, Kathleen McKay, the town’s general counsel, said the offer far exceeds the value of the parcel the town has the right to buy — the portion designated recreation space.
That piece of the property, 176 acres, is assessed by the town at $651,325. The figure reflects tax breaks the owners received because the land was classified as “recreation.”
Without the tax break, the town assessment would be $2.6 million — still significantly below what the buyers offered to pay.
The town had 120 days to either exercise or waive its right to buy the property. The clock will begin again when the owners submit a new plan to the town.
In her letter to Atlantic’s owner’s lawyers, McKay wrote that “the gross discrepancy between price and value renders your notice legally defective under Chapter 61b because it is not a bonafide offer.”
She cited several other ways in which the notice did not meet the requirements of Chapter 61b, including giving a clear statement of the proposed new use for the property.
“Selling to a developer of residential properties,” is not specific enough, McKay said.
Select Board members said they fear the developer may want to build hundreds of housing units on the site, changing the character of the neighborhood where zoning rules have traditionally required large lots.
The buyer, Ben Virga of Duxbury, working with Robert McGehee of Newton to develop the property, hasn’t detailed his plans.
“There’s a lot of different options on the table,” he has said. “The land will dictate what’s available and what’s not.”
Virga said they will submit revised documents to the town in the form of two purchase and sale agreements — one for the recreation land and a second for the other parcels.
He didn’t offer specifics.
If the buyers present a purchase and sale agreement for the recreation parcel that is closer to its assessed value, the town may step in to make an offer, according to some town officials.
Precinct 9 Town Meeting chair Kathryn Holmes is urging the town to purchase the property because, she said, residential development on the site would have a “devastating impact on Plymouth, especially South Plymouth.”
“When you look at the numbers, it’s a commonsense, strategic purchase,” she said. “Allowing large-scale residential development in this area would create long-term financial hardship through increased demand on our already strained resources.”
If the buyers do not lower the purchase price for the land, the town may consider other options.
Select board chair Richard Quintal said he would favor putting the question on a ballot to let voters decide what the town should do.
“There was unanimous (board) agreement not to support the project as presented,” said Quintal. “Depending on what they respond with, we’ll have to go from there.’’
Select Board member John Mahoney said he would consider filing a lawsuit to stop a development.
“One of the challenges facing this community is there have been some incredibly dense developments poorly sited over the course of the last 25 years,” he said. “The last thing this community needs is another one of those projects in one of the most inaccessible areas of the town.”
“The board is doing everything in its power to ensure that the protections outlined in Chapter 61 are being upheld for the community,” Mahoney said.
Select board vice chair Kevin Canty said if the buyers are willing to pay $20 million, they must be planning to build a lot of housing.
“It would change the character of that area of town, and you’d go from people living next to a golf course, which is a relatively good neighbor, to a dense housing development, which would be a drain on town services and infrastructure,” Canty said.
For many years the owners have benefited from the reduced tax rate afforded owners of recreational property.
According to town officials, the McSharrys have received more than $120,000 in property tax breaks over the past five years alone.
They tried once before to build housing on the site, obtaining permits in 2021 to build the “Residences at Atlantic Country Club.”
The McSharrys were approved for 60 single- and two- family homes to be built on site of the club’s driving range. Six units would have been categorized as affordable, according to town records.
It is unclear why they did not follow through with the plan.
Under the zoning laws for that part of South Plymouth, house lots must be large — almost three acres.
That would permit a developer to build only about 60 houses on the property.
But the developer could opt for a 40b designation — allowing him to build a much larger project subject to little regulation by the town. Such projects are required to make at least 25 percent of their units affordable, but in return they can bypass local zoning and other laws.
Mark McSharry, one of the owners of Atlantic Country Club, did not respond to a request for comment.
Andrea Estes can be reached at andrea@plymouthindependent.org.