Marion Planning Board returns to Heron Cove, up to 57 townhomes for older buyers on Route 6, on Nov. 16

MARION Marion's Planning Board picks up its review of Heron Cove Estates on Monday, Nov. 16, a plan for up to 57 townhomes aimed at older buyers on Wareham Street, the town's stretch of Route 6, next to the Marion Point development.

The board meets at 7 p.m. in the Marion Police Department conference room, 550 Mill St. Its agenda, amended and stamped by the town clerk at 11:59 a.m. Thursday, lists a continued public meeting on the site plan application for Heron Cove Estates on Map 7, Lots 28, 28A and 28B, "for proposed construction of up to 57 townhomes, 55 as shown on the site drawings," in the Residence D District.

The site plan was first listed for a public meeting Oct. 19, as SC360 reported from that agenda. The board's Nov. 2 meeting was canceled for lack of business, according to a notice from Chair Sean Sweeney. The minutes of the board's Oct. 5 meeting, when the developer's representatives held a pre-submission conference with the board, fill in much of what the earlier agendas left out.

What the developer told the board

The development is meant as "an age-targeted community similar to Marion Point," with primary bedrooms on the first floor and more bedrooms on the second, the minutes say. The applicant said the number of bedrooms would be limited by the town's water and sewer allocation, and that the project has received an allocation from the Board of Water and Sewer Commissioners for the number of bedrooms it proposes.

According to the minutes, the applicant said the Marion Point sewer permit included a tie-in for this development, which would connect to the existing sewer system, and that the water system would have enough supply once the new Route 6 water line is installed. The applicant also said the Marion Point permits provide for installing the water and sewer lines and repaving Route 6, including work reaching the Heron Cove land.

The two projects are expected to stay separate developments with separate condominium associations, though there may be efficiencies in combining some services or associations, the applicant said. The homes would be similar to Marion Point's in type, landscaping and overall character, and an ungated connection between the two was discussed. The board asked the applicant to consider how access to shared amenities, including recreation space and the existing dock area, would be managed, and how the condominium association would handle looking after them.

The plan calls for a detention basin next to Route 6 and the surrounding homes, with runoff directed toward it, and 24-foot-wide drive aisles with drainage collected in catch basins, the minutes say. Utilities would run underground in the roadway, and the homes would use electric heat, possibly with underground propane tanks for cooking. Most roads and infrastructure would go in first, with some of the homes built in phases, the applicant said.

Traffic and the environment

The applicant told the board that Bowman, the firm behind an earlier traffic study, has been hired to update it and fold in the traffic expected from Marion Point. Board members said walking, bicycling, off-site traffic and access to neighboring land should be looked at as well.

The board treated the project as a major site plan review and named the town code's sections on an environmental assessment and on phased development as requirements that should not be waived at this stage. Members generally agreed an environmental assessment was appropriate "given the size of the project, its proximity to Marion Point, and the need to better understand the natural resources and environmental conditions of the property," the minutes say. The board named civil and site design, stormwater, traffic, environmental and zoning review as areas for an outside peer review, with proposals to be sought before a reviewer is picked, paid from an account the developer funds under Chapter 44, Section 53G of state law. Town Planner Doug Guey-Lee recommended starting that account at $10,000, and the board set it at $15,000 because of the size and expected scope of the project.

Also on Monday

The board is scheduled to vote on paying Field Engineering $2,630.56 for peer review of Toll Brothers' project at 78 Wareham Road, from that developer's review account, which the agenda says has $5,000 available. Members will also consider signing a letter from the Town of Dartmouth to the State House about local planning in state housing policy, continue a public meeting on a site plan to expand the existing building at 14 Barnabas Road, owned by Sippican Holdings, and discuss forming a Transportation Advisory Committee.

How to take part

The meeting is televised and streamed live on Old Rochester Community Television. Remote participation is offered through Microsoft Teams; for details, email Town Planner Doug Guey-Lee at dgueylee@marionma.gov during regular Town Annex business hours, the agenda says. Under the board's site plan rules, it must take a final vote within 60 days of receiving the application unless the applicant asks in writing for more time, and a 20-day appeal period follows the decision. The board's next meeting after Monday is Dec. 7.

Label: Reported by us, from the town's posted records.