All of the board members sitting on the case were present for the first of what is expected to be many deliberation meetings, with the exception of ZBA chairman James Lampert, who was away on business.

The only member of the public present for the meeting was Rich Hurcombe, President of the West Duxbury Neighborhood Association, which has been advocating for a 12-unit development to make neighbors happy and make the project economical for the applicant, Michael Intoccia of Duxbury Farms Corporation.

Chairman for the hearings, Thomas McClure, began the meeting by taking stock of each member’s position on whether anyone wanted to deny the project and essentially save time drafting an approval.

“For me, I think it is wise to approve this with conditions versus outright denying it,” said McClure.

ZBA member Sally Wilson concurred, citing the recent history of the Housing Appeals Committee which could result in more units than the board could negotiate.  Intoccia is proposing a 66-unit plan, but has been working with the board on a 55-unit “conceptual” plan for the past several months.

McClure said that if the applicant felt aggrieved by the board’s decision, it would be the 66 that would be taken to the HAC for a judgment.

Members Elizabeth Lewis, Y. Oktay and Mark Moriarty were also in agreement that a conditioned approval was the way to proceed.

Regarding the number of units, McClure said that it was his belief that Intoccia stated that he could live with something less than the 55-unit plan but that it may mean renegotiating the purchase and sale price he has in place for the 21.3 acres of land for the project.

Oktay then brought up the issue of how vernal pools might affect the unit numbers given testimony at their last public hearing (see related story).  Wilson said that the board will have to address those issues within the conditions of approval, indicating that any material change of plans due to the presence of a vernal pool means the applicant must come back before the ZBA for an amendment to their permit.

She added that new wetlands delineations may also require coming back to the board, but could all be handled with language issued by the board.

Wilson also suggested that the board’s financial minds look at the information submitted by the applicant and determine what is truly affordable before density issues are discussed further.

Moriarty agreed to have a density model for the board by May 21, indicating that he would use wastewater flows per bedroom and not per unit as proposed by the applicant.   Lewis calculated that this would result in about 44 or 45 total units as a starting point for the board to begin its discussions.

The ZBA also looked at potential buffer zones, the presence of a pool and clubhouse and an island separating two roads within the complex as possible future concerns.

Wilson expressed her concern regarding traffic mitigation issues from the increased number of cars using High, Franklin and Valley streets, which is already considered by many as a dangerous intersection.

Each board member was then assigned tasks for the next meeting, with Moriarty creating the density model, McClure breaking down potential conditions, Wilson looking at the waiver requests and Lewis reviewing the history of the public hearings on the project.

The board decided to meet again on May 24 at 7:30 p.m. after each member had worked on their assignments.