Decision Time On Pennrose Project; Sidewalk Remains Sticking Point

CHATHAM – It’s decision time on the 42-unit affordable housing development on Meetinghouse Road proposed by Pennrose LLC.

Last Thursday the zoning board of appeals closed the comprehensive permit hearing on the project and next week will begin deliberations on conditions members want to impose on the development.

The board is likely to approve the comprehensive permit, but the conditions it imposes could make the difference between the project moving forward and the process being delayed by an appeal should Pennrose not accept the conditions.

If anything could throw a wrench into the process, it’s the question of whether there should be a sidewalk along the west side of Meetinghouse Road from the development site south to Route 28. A sidewalk has become a vector for residents — the majority of whom favor its requirement — zoning board members — who appear split on the question — and Pennrose, which opposes it as a requirement for approval of the project.

Pennrose has agreed to build a path from the housing site to the Old Colony Rail Trail, which leads to a crosswalk on Route 28. The developer has agreed to build a sidewalk on the east side of Meetinghouse Road to connect the bike trail crosswalk to a sidewalk along Route 28.

“But requiring an additional sidewalk…we believe would be uneconomical, would not be consistent with local needs, which is the standard you’re looking at, and would be grounds for appeal,” said Pennrose attorney Andrew Singer at the Aug. 6 zoning board hearing. The plan showing eight residential buildings on the 4.12-acre parcel and the path to the rail trail “is the best, safest and most environmentally” viable proposal, he said.

The terrain on the west side of Meetinghouse Road (which is also Route 137) drops off steeply into a shallow gully, and to construct a sidewalk there would require significant alteration of the terrain, and likely a retaining wall, and is beyond the scope of the Pennrose project, Singer said. A sidewalk should be a town project, not something required of the private developer, he said.

“It is not appropriate to pin an expense like that…on an individual developer, affordable housing or not,” Singer said.

Virginia Fenwick, the ZBA’s vice chair who is serving as chair for the Pennrose hearings, said she believed it was Pennrose’s responsibility to build the sidewalk.

“I don’t think it’s the town’s responsibility to put it in,” she said.

Board member David Veach disagreed, saying the bike path was a safer access route than a sidewalk along the busy road. But the bike path is not maintained by the town or plowed in the winter and has no lighting, said board associate member Steve DeBoer.

“There has to be some sort of secondary access to that facility,” he said. “I think relying on the bike path is not a good idea.”

Select board chair Jeffrey Dykens said officials should explore a sidewalk along the east side of Meetinghouse Road, which would require a crosswalk to the development. The town will consult with the Diocese of Fall River, which owns the property along the east side of the road, and investigate the potential for sidewalk construction there, he said.

With the likelihood of many children living in the Pennrose rental housing, as well as adults who may be walking to nearby shops or work, it is naive to believe they will all use the bike trail path and won’t walk along the busy roadway, a number of residents said. 

Neighboring property owner Gloria Hicks said not having a sidewalk is “unacceptable.” Resident Elaine Gibbs suggested that the town could be liable for negligence in the event of a pedestrian accident along Meetinghouse if it does not require a sidewalk.

Singer said Pennrose would work with the Cape Cod Regional Transit Authority to locate a bus stop at the development so that residents will not have to walk to Route 28 to access transportation.

A number of residents were critical of the Pennrose proposal as a whole and urged the zoning board not to approve the comprehensive permit. Along with the sidewalk, opponents said that the project lacks adequate parking and play areas for children and should have generators in each of the buildings. They’ve also criticized the choice of the for-profit Pennrose company as the developer and what some say is its lack of transparency on management and staffing plans and other issues. 

“It’s not that we don’t want affordable housing,” said resident Carol Gordon. “We just feel that, speaking for myself and maybe others, we don’t feel that Pennrose is the right company to do this. So it’s yes to affordable housing and no to Pennrose.”

Frank Messina said the opposition to the Pennrose project could turn residents against future affordable housing developments.

“I can guarantee you that the majority of people in this town are not happy, but we’re kind of stuck,” he said.

“It’s time for the zoning board to be ruthlessly objective and walk away from this project,” said Gibbs.

Dykens urged the board to approve the permit, noting that the Diocese of Fall River sold the land to the town at a discount specifically for affordable housing. The select board combed through town maps and found no other large properties suitable for this type of project, he said.

Karolyn McClelland noted that the select board and many residents backed the refusal of $5 million in state funds for safety upgrades to the Main Street-Crowell Road intersection, yet safety is now being trotted out as a reason to turn down the Meetinghouse Road project.

“People are looking for an excuse to kill this project,” she said. “It’s a false narrative and it’s only because they don’t want this project here.”

Town counsel Jay Talerman will draft conditions for approval of the project which the board will discuss on Aug. 20 at 1 p.m. The board has until Sept. 15 to issue a final decision on the comprehensive permit.

By a 3-2 vote last November, the zoning board approved a comprehensive permit for Pennrose’s 48-unit affordable rental housing project at the former Buckley property on Main Street in West Chatham. The combined 90 units will add significantly to the town’s affordable housing stock and bring the town closer to the state goal of having 10 percent of housing classified as affordable.