Attleboro Planning Board continues review of 50‑lot Locust Estates after dispute over stormwater basin and ancient trail

The Attleboro Planning Board on March 9 continued the public hearing on Newberry Estates Development LLC’s proposed 50‑lot open space subdivision "Locust Estates," after residents, the Attleboro Land Trust and the Historical Commission raised concerns about a stormwater basin near lot #41, potential tree removal and impacts to an on‑site trail they say may be ancient.

The hearing—held in the Municipal Council Chambers—centered on a revised plan the applicant presented that adds a 50‑foot no‑cut buffer between the proposed stormwater basin and the adjacent trail. "We have made all the plan changes the Board requested," said applicant Michael Intoccia, adding he met with the Attleboro Land Trust and proposed the buffer to address its concerns.

Engineer Larry Beals of Beals Associates said the 50‑foot no‑cut zone, together with a proposed trench to capture runoff, would reduce runoff to the existing Ridgewood Road houses and that the infiltration basin "will recharge the vernal pool," which the engineer said relies largely on groundwater.

Attleboro Land Trust representative Ted Leach told the Board the Public Archaeology Laboratory believes the trail could be about 13,000 years old. "It is the most historic thing in Attleboro and probably all of southeastern Massachusetts other than Plymouth Rock," Leach said, and warned the basin location would "significantly destroy the beauty of the trail."

Brian French, representing the Historical Commission, said his research supports the trail as a Native American route and urged protection of flora and trail integrity. The applicant responded that his attorneys advised a historic trail would have been recorded and said construction might affect only the first 10–15 feet of the trail; he also said parts of the trail were altered historically.

Board members pressed engineering details and mitigation. Secretary Emma Yeh asked why the plans match inverts rather than crowns after pipe‑size changes; Beals replied matching inverts allows a straight groundwater flow. Vice‑Chair Tiffany Foster raised that the basin as currently sited would require removing very large trees and suggested shifting it and adding a small parking area with a trail connection to the Attleboro Land Trust property to avoid on‑street parking. The applicant said he would attempt to shift the basin depending on groundwater and would place an easement on the lot for the basin if moved.

Chair Heather Whitehead relayed a Public Works request to eliminate the boulevard entrance, boulevard islands and a landscaped center island in Oakley Circle because DPW lacks capacity to maintain them; the Board directed the applicant to remove those features and the applicant agreed.

Staff recommended follow‑up with Public Works about possible off‑site road and drainage improvements on Ridgewood Road, Woodland Lane, Raeburn Drive and Bayberry Hill Road. Several abutters said the neighborhood streets are not built to accommodate additional traffic and submitted photos of road conditions.

The Board accepted a Form P1 and P2 from the applicant and, on a motion by Vice‑Chair Tiffany Foster seconded by Secretary Emma Yeh, voted unanimously to continue the public hearing and grant an extension of time to March 31, 2026.

Next steps: the applicant will show existing trails and tree locations on the plan, the Board will confer with Public Works and the Conservation Commission on plantings and off‑site improvements, and the hearing will resume March 31, 2026.