Middleborough surf park plan with 35 cottages faces zoning board Thursday, a day before its deadline
The developers have told town boards the wave lagoon would take 8 million gallons of water to fill and about 7 million more a year, and the board has continued the hearing four times since it opened July 23.
MIDDLEBOROUGH Middleborough's Zoning Board of Appeals takes up a proposed surf park with a wave lagoon and 35 cottage style hotel units off East Grove Street on Thursday night, one day before its deadline to decide.
The hearing resumes at 7 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 12, in the Select Board's Meeting Room at Town Hall, 10 Nickerson Ave. N.E.S.P., LLC, represented by attorney Michael O'Shaughnessy, is asking for a special permit to build a surf park, three buildings, several accessory structures and the 35 units, which together would top 20,000 square feet, on about 20 acres, part of a larger lot on Assessor's Map 072, lot 2616, in the General Use B district.
The board's agenda lists an extended deadline of Friday, Nov. 13. State zoning law gives a special permit board 90 days after its hearing to act, or longer if the applicant agrees in writing, and a board that misses the deadline is treated as having granted the permit. The same law requires at least four votes on a five member board to issue a special permit.
The proposal has drawn questions from residents and board members about water use, traffic on Route 28 and the history of the farm property, and the Select Board changed the town's drought watering rules the same June night the developers presented the plan to it.
What the developers propose
Clay Rockefeller, a principal of the project, told the Select Board on June 29 that it centers on a six acre wave pool with a restaurant, bar, wellness center, beach area, large swimming pool and snack shack around it, and he described 32 cottage units then; the application before the zoning board lists 35. Jerry Pucillo, also a principal of N.E.S.P., said the waves would come from a machine made by Wavegarden, a company based in Spain. Rockefeller said the team chose the land off East Grove Street, known as Schobel Farm, for its access to Interstate 495 and the commuter rail, its 20 acres and its deep water table.
At the zoning board's July 23 hearing, the team described a surf central building for check in, wetsuits, changing rooms and lessons, a hub building with retail, food and drink and a second floor roof deck for watching, and a wellness building for yoga and Pilates with a warm water pool. Plans show 249 parking spaces, nine of them accessible, and O'Shaughnessy told the board the park would sit about 400 to 500 feet off the road.
Pucillo told the zoning board the site would hold about 300 people at full use and about 60 people surfing at one time, and that the park would be open 10 months a year. Board member Joseph Mandile noted the stated hours of 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. Rockefeller told the Select Board the developers expect about $500,000 in tax revenue for the town and about 100 full and part time jobs, do not plan to seek a tax increment financing agreement, and hope to open in fall 2028 after about two years of construction.
The water question
Pucillo told the zoning board the lagoon would take 8 million gallons to fill and about 7 million gallons a year after that to replace water lost to evaporation and spillage, which he put at about 22,000 gallons a day. The other buildings would use about 10,000 gallons a day, he said. He said the town has indicated it could supply both the fill and the yearly water, and two wells identified on the site would serve as a backup.
At the June 29 Select Board meeting, where members sit as the town's water commissioners, one member noted that an on site well would still draw from the same aquifer the town uses. The board had voted a change to its Level 2 drought restrictions earlier that night, and one resident asked why the watering ban does not apply to businesses. O'Shaughnessy said the developers would prefer to buy water from the town and would work with the Department of Public Works to avoid filling during peak restriction periods. Public Works Director Chris Peck told the board the town has the capacity, and members and residents weighed a combined use of about 30,000 gallons a day, which the board's chair described as a 12 month average. Pucillo said the developers have offered to sponsor a state MassWorks grant application to upgrade water service along East Grove Street, which he called a separate matter.
Traffic, history and the hearing so far
Jason Adams of Bowman Consulting told the zoning board in July that the team had done a traffic study and placed the driveway to give drivers the best view, and that the state Department of Transportation would run its own safety review if the town approves. Adams told the Select Board in June that the project is expected to generate about 750 entering and 750 exiting trips a day during peak periods, and Rockefeller said the developers hope to draw 200,000 people a year. O'Shaughnessy said on June 29 that the project had filed an Environmental Notification Form for state environmental review that day. Board members raised summer weekend traffic on Route 28, noise from the wave machine, lifeguards, fencing, a plan to remove the lagoon if the business fails and an evacuation plan, and the developers promised more information on several of those points.
Pucillo said the team had met with the Middleborough Historical Commission and agreed to walk the site with it, and that stone walls on the land would be reused. At the July hearing, an abutting property owner spoke in favor, while other residents raised traffic and asked whether the town needs a surf park. Chairman Darrin DeGrazia said the board would likely send the plans to an outside engineer for peer review at the applicant's expense, and O'Shaughnessy agreed.
The board continued the hearing on Sept. 10 for that peer review, again on Sept. 24 because only three voting members were present for the application, and again on Oct. 22. Its Oct. 22 agenda also noted the resignation of longtime member Liz Elgosin, who had served 27 years, and a vote on a letter recommending to the Select Board that Nancy Kefalis become a regular member.
Also on Thursday's agenda
The board will continue to Jan. 14, 2027, a plan by Nemasket Capital Partners to turn the church building at 10, 16 and 22 School St. into 41 studio apartments. It opens a hearing on a 7,440 square foot storage building at 467 Wareham St. and holds an informal talk about future development at 162 East Grove St.
How to weigh in
The hearing is public, and the chairman takes comments from residents before the board votes or continues an application. The board records its meetings, and the recordings are posted online through MCCAM. Questions go to the Zoning Board of Appeals office in the Town Hall Annex, 20 Center St., 508-947-4095, where Tammy Mendes is the board's administrative assistant.
Label: Reported by us, from the town's posted records.
Notes
Every fact comes from the Middleborough Zoning Board of Appeals' Nov. 12 and Oct. 22 agendas, its approved minutes of July 23, Sept. 10 and Sept. 24, the Select Board's minutes of June 29, Chapter 40A, Section 9 of the General Laws and the town's online staff directory. We read them on Nov. 11. Figures for water, parking, visitors, jobs and tax revenue are the developers' own, as the minutes record them. We checked each date and weekday against a calendar.
Corrections
No corrections to this story. If something here is wrong, tell us. Every correction is dated on the story and listed in our public log.
Sources (8)
- Middleborough Zoning Board of Appeals, official meeting posting form and agenda, Thursday, Nov. 12, 2026, 7 p.m.Town of Middleborough Agenda Center; posted by the Town Clerk's Office Nov. 5, 2026, 10:08 a.m. Item 3, the N.E.S.P., LLC special permit (continued from Oct. 22, extended deadline Nov. 13, 2026); item 2, School Street, continued to Jan. 14, 2027; items 4 and 5. Read Nov. 11, 2026.
- Middleborough Zoning Board of Appeals, agenda, Thursday, Oct. 22, 2026Town of Middleborough Agenda Center; posted Oct. 15, 2026, 10:53 a.m. Item 3, the letter on Nancy Kefalis and Liz Elgosin's resignation after 27 years; item 6, the surf park hearing continued from Sept. 24. Read Nov. 11, 2026.
- Middleborough Zoning Board of Appeals, minutes, July 23, 2026 (approved)Town of Middleborough Agenda Center, seven pages. The N.E.S.P. hearing opened at 7:23 p.m.: the presentation, members' questions, public comment and the 5-0 vote to continue to Sept. 10. Read Nov. 11, 2026.
- Middleborough Zoning Board of Appeals, minutes, Sept. 10, 2026 (approved)Town of Middleborough Agenda Center. Surf park hearing continued to Sept. 24 due to peer review, 5-0. Read Nov. 11, 2026.
- Middleborough Zoning Board of Appeals, minutes, Sept. 24, 2026 (approved)Town of Middleborough Agenda Center. Surf park hearing continued to Oct. 22, 4-0; only three voting members present for the application. Read Nov. 11, 2026.
- Middleborough Select Board, minutes, June 29, 2026Town of Middleborough Agenda Center, 21 pages. Pages 3 to 10: the Level 2 drought restriction vote and the informational surf park presentation, with board and public questions. Read Nov. 11, 2026.
- Town of Middleborough staff directoryTown of Middleborough. Zoning Board of Appeals line 508-947-4095; Town Hall Annex, 20 Center St., houses the Zoning office. Read Nov. 11, 2026.
- Massachusetts General Laws, Chapter 40A, Section 9 (special permits)Massachusetts Legislature. The 90 day decision rule, written extensions, the four vote requirement for a five member board and constructive grant on failure to act. Read Nov. 11, 2026.