Zoning Board Denies Meetinghouse Road Affordable Housing

CHATHAM – With a 3-2 vote Wednesday, the zoning board of appeals denied a comprehensive permit for the 42-unit affordable housing development on Meetinghouse Road proposed by Pennrose.

The majority had previously indicated that they would vote against the project, chiefly due to Pennrose’s rejection of construction of a sidewalk along Meetinghouse Road.

The vote came after the board held a nearly 90-minute executive session with town counsel Jay Talerman regarding Pennrose’s previous assertion that the company would appeal any decision requiring that it build the sidewalk.

When asked if the company would appeal the denial, Pennrose attorney Andrew Singer and senior developer Rio Sacchetti declined to comment. Sacchetti said Pennrose officials would first have to digest Wednesday’s decision.

The board is expected to file the denial with the town clerk’s office early next week. That will start the clock ticking on a 20-day period during which Pennrose can appeal the decision to the state housing appeals committee.

The board’s majority insisted that a sidewalk along the development’s frontage on Meetinghouse Road was necessary for residents, especially children, to connect to a sidewalk on Route 28. Pennrose had offered to construct a sidewalk from the Old Colony Rail Trail crossing of the road just south of the project site to Route 28. The company also proposed a path through the development connecting to the bike path and to the crosswalk on Meetinghouse Road. 

But the sidewalk was a bridge too far for Pennrose. Representatives said that it would make the project uneconomical due to the topography of the area, and that the town should be responsible for sidewalk construction.

The draft decision approved by the board calls Pennrose’s proposed path to the bike trail “a nice amenity” that is “inadequate to ensure public safety.” 

“The board finds that the applicant unreasonably refused to consider a more traditional sidewalk across the front of the property,” the decision. “The board considered granting an approval that would be contingent upon construction of such a traditional sidewalk but the applicant stated, without support, that such a condition would not be economically feasible and that they would appeal the same.”

The decision also cited an unresolved conflict regarding access rights to an abutting property at 95 Meetinghouse Rd. that could interfere with the project’s access from the road.

The project has been under review by the zoning board for nearly a year. The board faced a Sept. 15 deadline to file its decision.

By the same 3-2 vote last December, the board approved a comprehensive permit for Pennrose to develop a 48-unit affordable housing project on the former Buckley property on Main Street in West Chatham. The conditions of the decision require Pennrose to “diligently” pursue installation of a signalized crosswalk across Route 28 to the existing sidewalk, subject to approval by the Massachusetts Department of Transportation, which has jurisdiction over Route 28. Pennrose would be “relieved of the responsibility” if it can demonstrate that it has “exhausted all efforts” and the state denies the request.

Although Meetinghouse Road is also Route 137, it is not a state road but a town road, according to officials.