Lakeville continues Simmons Hill 40B hearing after developer revises plan; tribes and residents raise water, traffic and cultural concerns

The Lakeville zoning board on Feb. 9 voted to continue its hearing on Simmons Hill LLC’s application under Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 40B after the developer presented a revised plan and residents, including tribal representatives, pressed for more information on water supply, archaeological resources, traffic and blasting risks.

The board read into the record a memo from Lakeville Fire Chief Michael P. O’Brien warning that the site “lacks an approved static water source capable of meeting the required fire flow” under applicable fire code requirements and that, without an engineered water supply, the fire department could not approve occupancy or issue certain certificates under Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 148 §26F. The memo, which the chair said was sent to the applicant by certified mail, was noted as unresponded to in the town file.

Robert Mather, representing the applicant, said the developer has revised an earlier concept and now proposes to develop almost the entire 320-acre parcel (leaving an 8.8-acre corner for potential commercial use). Mather described the revised plan as a subdivision of roughly 199 single-family dwellings with a mix of regular and age-restricted lots; he said about 25% of lots (50 units) would be restricted as affordable and that 58 units would be age-restricted. He told the board the average non-age-restricted lots would be about 20,000 square feet (minimum 15,000) while age-restricted lots average about 12,000 square feet, and…