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Select Board slows Raptor Lane process, schedules housing forums after public concerns
Summary
The Dorset Select Board said it will slow consideration of development at Raptor Lane, clarified it has no contract with SM Graves, and scheduled two public housing forums to gather resident input on need, demand, and concept design.
Megan Thorn, chair of the Dorset Select Board, opened the meeting by saying the Board will slow the Raptor Lane housing process to gather more information and public feedback.
"Just to be clear, the Town has no contractual relationship with SM Graves. We have not approved the proposal, and we have not finished our due diligence," Thorn said, and urged residents to attend two scheduled housing sessions: one focused on need and demand and a second on design, size and type.
Thorn said the Board wants time to build consensus and that staff are coordinating studies and public input. Town Manager Rob Gaiotti later confirmed meetings with consultant White & Burke to review an SM Graves pre-development agreement and to plan due diligence and public engagement.
Why it matters: Raptor Lane has been the subject of preliminary studies and debate; the Board’s decision to pause and expand public forums signals a more deliberative process and keeps formal approval off the table while studies and resident feedback continue. The Board also added articles to the Town Meeting warning so voters may weigh certain Raptor Lane questions by Australian ballot in a future vote.
What’s next: The Board encouraged attendance at a forum the following night and said a February meeting will focus on conceptual questions such as appropriate size and housing types for Dorset.
