Hearing on 40-house proposal cut short

ROCKLAND — Power outages across the South Shore hampered efforts to hold a public hearing Tuesday night on a new housing development proposed for Concord Street in Rockland, where developers hope to build dozens of single-family houses on 21 acres.

The subdivision, listed at 365 Concord St., would consist of 40 single-family houses on 21 acres with an unnamed stream running through the middle and French's Stream on the west side, according to the application.

Want news like this sent straight to your inbox? Head over to PatriotLedger.com to sign up for alerts and make sure you never miss a thing. You pick the news you want, we deliver.

The development is asking for five separate variances from the Zoning Board of Appeals for non-conforming lots; lots that require development of land subject to the Rivers Protection Act; structures less than 25 feet from internal streets; denser development than allowed by zoning regulations; and less than 35 percent open land in the development.

Engineer John Cavanaro said the most important issue is whether or not the board will allow 40 houses to be built in the space.

Rockland's zoning regulations internally conflict on the issue of land use density. The same regulation mandates either 20 units for the project size, or as many as 68. By requesting 40 units, Cavanaro said he was splitting the difference between the conflicting regulations.

According to the application, the Abington/Rockland Joint Waterworks Commission voted on Dec. 17, 2019 to approve future development of 40 units and the Rockland Sewer Commission voted on Jan. 30 to approve 40 units.

Matt Dacey, owner of Champion Builders, said he would be constructing the homes. The applicant is Conrock LLC of Duxbury and the project manager is Walter Sullivan. The owners of the property are Daniel and Christine Delprete and Delprete Realty Corp.

Attorney Kayla MacLeod, representing the project, said it is unique because of the unnamed stream running through it and French's Stream on one side.

At least 25 people appeared on the call, including abutters, although Rosa said he expected there would have been more if not for power outages brought on by Tuesday night's tropical storm. Multiple Rockland Zoning Board of Appeals members either dropped out of the virtual meeting or asked for a quick presentation as power outages started.

The next meeting is set for 7:30 p.m. Sept. 22.

Rosa said the applicants will need to provide new plans showing exactly where houses would be built on the lots, as well as dimensions.

Reporter Wheeler Cowperthwaite can be reached at wcowperthwaite@patriotledger.com