Plympton ZBA Picks Traffic Reviewer, Schedules August Hearing on 40B Housing Plan

PLYMPTON — July 29, 2025 — Plympton ZBA advances 40B review, picks Howard Stein Hudson for traffic peer work at $8,800. Acting Chair Suzanne Jaffarian and the Zoning Board of Appeals unanimously selected Howard Stein Hudson over a competing $21,500 proposal from Bowman Engineering to serve as traffic peer reviewer for a Chapter 40B affordable housing development proposed by SLT. The board also resolved an administrative delay that had stalled its separately retained engineering peer reviewer, Greg Driscoll of Driscoll and Associates, who had a signed contract but no payment authorization because the applicant's deposit had sat in a town 53G account without a formal disbursement request. Applicant representative Paul Cussin of Adult Health Associates disputed the proportionality of peer review costs relative to the $12,000 original traffic study by Vanasse Associates, but Town Counsel reminded the board that cost is not a valid grounds for an applicant to challenge the ZBA's consultant selection. The board voted unanimously to hold its next hearing on August 27 at 6:30 p.m., with a full engineering peer review exchange expected to consume the session.