Lakeville ZBA continues Simmons Hill (Rocky Woods) 40B hearing after developer presents revised 176‑unit plan

The Town of Lakeville Zoning Board of Appeals on May 12 continued the public hearing on the Simmons Hill (also called Rocky Woods) comprehensive permit under Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 40B after the applicant presented a revised plan that reduced the total units to 176 and expanded the project area.

The hearing matters because the Chapter 40B process can allow state review when a municipality lacks its required percentage of affordable housing; neighbors, town officials and tribal representatives urged the board to press the developer for more engineering, water‑supply and archaeological detail before the board advances the application.

Attorney Robert Mather, representing Simmons Hill LLC, told the board the applicant agreed the statutory 180‑day review period would “begin today.” He summarized the major revisions from the application the board first heard: the original submission covered about 184.6 acres and proposed 200 units composed of 44 single‑family homes, 46 age‑restricted duplexes and 110 condominium units. The revised concept reduces the total to 176 single‑family homes and enlarges the project boundary to about 238.5 acres.

Project engineer Jason Youngquist of Outback Engineering said the current conceptual layout leaves roughly 152 acres as open space — described during the hearing as about 97 acres of upland and 55 acres of wetlands — while the development footprint would disturb roughly 52 acres. Youngquist also said the team submitted a wetland delineation that the Lakeville Conservation Commission approved in an ORAD issued in January. “The wetland lines have been approved, by the Lakeville Conservation Commission in an ORAD…