Zoning board continues Surfside Crossing 40B hearing after water, fire safety and stormwater concerns

The Zoning Board of Appeals on Feb. 19 continued the public hearing on Surfside Crossing, a proposed 40B development at South Shore and Surfside, to March 4 to allow further submissions and for the town consultant to attempt an update of a 2018 hydro/stormwater report.

The board acted after extended public comment from neighbors and technical witnesses who said the project’s underground stormwater design may not meet Massachusetts stormwater standards for high-pollutant land uses or for sensitive wellhead areas, and after repeated concerns from firefighters and public commenters about emergency access and water availability for a large fire.

Why it matters: The site sits inside the town’s wellhead protection area and near private wells, and commenters and retained experts said the project’s proposed reliance on subsurface infiltration could allow soluble contaminants — including PFAS — to reach the aquifer. Witnesses also warned the development’s single full roadway access and narrow emergency access could hamper firefighting on an island with limited mutual aid.

The hearing opened with town counsel George Pucci joining by Zoom and reporting that the Housing Appeals Committee (HAC) granted a partial extension that moves the deadline to close the public hearing to March 4. “They granted it in part, and they granted an extension of the deadline to close the public hearing to March 4,” Pucci said, urging the board to take advantage of the extra time so it can consider any new material.

Board staff said the March 4 session will be Zoom-only and the chair said the board’s goal at that session is to hear any…