Plymouth Considers Friendly 40B Agreement for 150-Unit Housing Development
Select Board Postpones Decision, Requests Increased Affordable Housing and Additional Benefits
PLYMOUTH - December 10 - Plymouth's Select Board is weighing a proposal from Pulte Homes for a 150-unit housing development in North Plymouth, offering $1.15 million in community improvements. The board postponed a decision on Dec. 10, requesting increased affordable housing units and additional benefits for the town.
Pulte Homes presented plans for three 50-unit buildings on approximately nine acres, accessed from Court Street, Prince Street, and Sandri Drive. The proposal includes 38 affordable units, with a mix of one-, two-, and three-bedroom condominiums.
The developer is seeking a "friendly 40B" agreement, which would streamline the approval process in exchange for including affordable housing. Pulte is asking the town to waive water fees for the affordable units, valued at about $150,000.
Select Board member Kevin Canty expressed concern about the project's impact on traffic, particularly at the intersection of Cherry Street and Standish Avenue near Hedge School.
"I live in this area. I live in Precinct 1. So I see, in particular, an intersection that is of particular trouble is that of Cherry Street and Standish Ave," Canty said. "There's a school there, and there are three... So one corner is Hedge School, and then on the other three corners are homes, a single-family home and two duplexes that have fences that I've never seen homeowners replace their fences as often as these people have to because of cars going through that intersection right now, going into their lawn, crashing into their fences."
Board members questioned whether the proposed mitigation measures were sufficient. Select Board Chair Richard Quintal said, "A million dollars is like I'm selling the town out for a million bucks. As you see what we just put in Jenny Pond, it's a lot more than a million."
The board requested Pulte consider increasing the number of affordable units or lowering the income threshold for eligibility. Lee Hartmann, Director of Planning and Development, suggested, "There would be two things. One is the number of affordables and the other one would be the affordable rate as we've heard. There would be two things to look at."
Essek Petrie, representing Pulte Homes, agreed to bring these requests back to the company for consideration.
The board voted unanimously to postpone a decision until at least Jan. 7, allowing time for Pulte to revise its proposal.
In other business, the board heard a presentation on the Town Brook restoration project, which has received $10 million in federal funding.
David Gould, Director of Energy and Environment, outlined plans to improve Jenney Pond Dam and create a nature-like fishway to enhance fish passage and flood control.
The project includes replacing 1,200 feet of water main on Prince Street, creating a new water main loop, and formalizing a section of the North Plymouth Rail Trail.
Gould emphasized the ecological importance of the project, noting that the fish run in Town Brook has increased from about 25,000 fish to 200,000-225,000 since restoration efforts began.
"I think of all the historic things in Plymouth, that run is the same run that was here when the pilgrims were here, when the Wampanoags had been here," Gould said. "It's important to them culturally. It's still something that I get excited about and I see a lot of people get excited in the springtime who walk along Town Brook and you can hear everybody saying, are the fish running yet?"
The town will seek an additional $6.7 million at the spring town meeting for dam repairs. Work is expected to begin after Labor Day 2025, with completion anticipated around 2027.
Select Board members praised the project's potential benefits for the community and its ability to leverage significant grant funding.