The long-awaited Wareham Road housing development reached its final stages at Monday’s Marion Planning Board meeting.
The meeting itself – held in the Police Station conference room – lasted for 10 minutes, but the project, which has been in the works for five years and changed developers, was approved, requiring some bond-language changes.
The quick meeting on the 48-unit, housing development stood in contrast to the twists the proposed project has taken over the last five years.
Initially, developers Matthew Zuker and Armando Petruzziello proposed cottages and townhouses for people ages 55 and over.
The developers were also successful in passing a zoning change at the Spring Town Meeting in 2022 to make it a possibility.
Around that time, former Town Planner Gilberto “Gil” Hilario expressed concern about an influx of housing coming into the town.
Earlier this year, the national developer Toll Brothers Inc. took over the project. Last July, Toll Brothers representatives amended the site plan after some concerns were raised by the board pertaining mostly to traffic patterns and potential safety.
Bruce Erman, an engineer for the project, said they wanted to improve the layout for vehicle traffic and pedestrians. Erman proposed single-family homes, in lieu of duplexes, and in an area where all residents there can access the Weweantic River. The layout also improved Fire Department access, according to Erman, eliminating a dead end and creating a loop for fire truck and ambulance access.
Erman said that they also arranged a “boulevard entry” from Route 6 so people know that cars would be leaving the development and would slow down as they are driving along Route 6. Last summer, the board members noted that the development is in a dangerous section of Route 6, with visibility blocked by a hill and the sun at certain times of the year.
The changes proposed by the developers were reviewed by the town’s legal counsel and engineers.
In other news, the board is taking applications for a Planning Board seat set to expire in May. The board also approved minutes from the February 2 meeting.
The next meeting of the Marion Planning Board will be held on Monday, March 16 at 7:00 pm in the Marion Police Station conference room.
Marion Planning Board
By Jeffrey D. Wagner