Plymouth Zoning Board of Appeals OKs most of landscape plan

When trees were cleared along Route 80 in preparation for a road-widening effort and a 300,000-square-foot retail development on the 53-acre property behind Ocean State Job Lot, neighbors had plenty to say about it.

They complained that the clearing went too far. And the Massachusetts Department of Transportation (MassDOT) agreed with them, stating that both the town and the developer leveled too many trees.

The fact that two projects were going on side by side further confused matters. The town was clearing land to widen this stretch of Plympton Road just as the developer, High Rock Cranberry Crescent, was clearing land in preparation for the retail project.

High Rock appeared before the Zoning Board of Appeals Wednesday night with landscape plans that showed tree plantings, increased berms (or hills on the side of the roadway) and undulating walls to help buffer the development.

Two Jamies Path residents expressed concern that the developer would mow down trees buffering their homes from the site, and received assurances the trees wont be touched. ZBA Chairman Peter Conner urged High Rock to make good on that promise, in light of the projects history, and ZBA member Michael Buster Main suggested the board include a condition that, should those trees be cut down, they must be replaced by trees of the same size. Replacing trees in this manner is extremely costly, Main said, and the condition ought to ensure the promise is kept. ZBA member Ed Conroy jokingly suggested they have armed guards protecting the trees.

Local attorney Bob Betters, representing High Rock, maintained that his client did not in any way violate the land clearing provisions of its permit.

In an interesting twist, ZBA alternate James Simpson said he felt creating such a comprehensive buffer was counterintuitive. Obscuring the visibility of the restaurants and retail businesses on the site is simply not good business practice, he said.

Landscape architect John Hensen, who developed the landscape design, noted that his client must abide by the direction of the towns boards, which have insisted upon a significant buffer to appease neighbors.

They graded exactly what they were supposed to, ZBA alternate Michael Leary, whos a voting member on this project, said. The sign is a little much, but Id approve this with the landscape plan showed.

The board voted unanimously to approve the bulk of the landscape plan, and asked that the developer return with more details on a newly submitted plan showing the undulating stonewall and enhanced buffer.

View post:
Plymouth Zoning Board of Appeals OKs most of landscape plan