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Developers propose 18‑unit modular housing project at Home Place; neighbors worry about blasting, staging and parking
Summary
TPF Homebuilders proposed 18 dwelling units (four below‑market) at the Davis Avenue/Home Place corner, emphasizing modular construction, drainage improvements and native landscaping; commissioners and town departments pressed for hydrant placement, cut‑and‑fill details, maintenance plans for permeable pavement and a construction staging plan after neighbors flagged blasting and access concerns.
TPF Homebuilders returned to the Planning & Zoning Commission with a consolidated application to build 18 units — including four affordable units — across six parcels at the Home Place/Davis Avenue corner. The developers said the project uses modular units to speed construction and improve energy performance, and that the design includes stormwater controls and native planting to limit coastal runoff.
Lillian Fong, counsel for the applicant, described the proposal as a modest‑scale infill project meant to create a pedestrian‑oriented cluster near Bruce Park. Project partners stressed they were keeping the overall floor area ratio below the zone maximum and planned more than two parking spaces per unit across surface and garage spaces.
Despite the developers’ pitch, commissioners and department reviewers asked for additional engineering and site logistics information. Fire marshals requested a hydrant location and showed the commission how a fire apparatus could circulate through the proposed site; DPW requested discussions about potential roadside mitigation and whether a historic stone wall in the town right‑of‑way could be retained. Conservation and the tree warden asked for clarified tree‑protection lines and more detail on proposed native buffers.
Neighbors at the hearing focused on construction staging and blasting. Several speakers who live at the top of the narrow, private Home Place road said the property floods in large storms and expressed concern about removing hundreds or thousands of cubic yards of rock (the applicants estimate roughly 2,700 cubic yards of cut will be removed). Speakers asked the commission to require pre‑construction condition surveys and a formal construction‑staging plan to keep the narrow roadway passable for residents, emergency vehicles and services during construction.
Planning staff and commissioners acknowledged the concerns and asked the applicant to produce a construction staging and blasting mitigation plan, provide cut‑and‑fill computations and clarify long‑term maintenance responsibilities for any permeable pavement. The developers said they would meet with DPW and conservation in the coming days to address outstanding technical questions and to refine the affordable‑unit comparability (size and finish) required by state and town policy.
Next steps: The commission left the application open and requested additional technical documentation — including a staging plan, verified cut‑and‑fill numbers and a maintenance plan for stormwater systems — before scheduling a return appearance.
