Plympton Zoning Board Opens 40B Hearing on 60-Unit Duplex Development

PLYMPTON — May 28, 2025 — Plympton's Zoning Board of Appeals opened a Chapter 40B hearing on a 60-unit duplex development called Ricketts Pond Estates, with no decision expected for at least 180 days. Acting Chair Ethan Stiles presided in place of absent Chair Susanna Jafarian at the May 28 hearing, joined by permanent member Lucas Kowalski, alternate members Alan Wheelock and Dave Bertoni, and Town Counsel Carolyn Murray. Paul Custin of Delphic Associates, the applicant's permitting consultant, described 30 duplex buildings on a 25-acre parcel off Ricketts Pond Road, with 15 of the 60 units designated affordable at roughly $230,000 to $250,000 and market-rate units estimated at $450,000 to $500,000. Plympton's subsidized housing inventory sits at 5.18 percent — well below the 10 percent threshold that would give the town a safe harbor to reject 40B applications. Fire Captain John Scherr flagged that the proposed 24-foot road width may be insufficient for unobstructed tanker access given the town has no fire hydrants. The board voted unanimously to extend the deadline for independent peer review consultant proposals to June 13 — the sole submission received, from Merrill Engineering Land Surveyors at an estimated $14,820 plus an undetermined traffic cost, was set aside pending additional bids due to a disclosed conflict involving the firm's work with the applicant on a separate Medfield project. A follow-up hearing was set for June 26 at 6:30 p.m.