Developers looking to reserve eight acres for potential future use at The Hathaway

On the last day of the public hearing for The Hathaway, a proposed 280-unit apartment complex that would be located on Hathaway Road, petitioner David Calhoun noted eight acres of land that the developers would like to reserve for potential future use.

Currently, only 16 of the 113-acre parcel of land is considered developable land, as the majority of the lot is wetlands.

Calhoun said the developers have a commitment to donate 80 acres of the wetlands to an open space group but said that if these eight acres were set aside for open space, they would lose eight acres of buildable land that “can never be used,” despite being “in the middle of a housing crisis.”

“Our whole plan is that, why would we take potentially four house lots and throw them away?” Calhoun said.

Zoning Board of Appeals Chair Michael Medeiros said he understood the developer’s intention but noted that whenever he looked at the project for approval it was with a focus on the initial proposal of 300 units.

“That would be the only development that would happen on lots A,B and C,” Medeiros said. “That’s how I perceived it until just moments ago.”

According to Calhoun, the intention to reserve eight acres for potential future use has been part of the conceptual plan since January, though Town Counsel Susan Murphy said there’s “never been a conversation about ‘we’re reserving eight acres, and we’re going to see if we can develop them.’”

“We have the recordings of every hearing … and it’s always been, it’s going to open space,” Murphy said.

She continued, “That has never been stated to this board before tonight, and on the night [the public hearing] is supposed to close.”

Murphy noted that if more housing were to be built on the eight acres, it would require a “major modification” to the parcel of land. It would require different topology and have to comply with affordability. The developer would also have to prove they have the right to use the roadway, which has not been accepted by the town. 

Calhoun questioned why the Zoning Board would “throw away” four housing lots, stating, “It’s literally sinful ... in this day and age.”

He said that whether the land can be developed is something that would be determined in the future.

Medeiros said the project and its impacts need to be balanced out, noting that throughout the process, he had been under the understanding that the 88 acre lot would “be in perpetuity conservation land” and be rendered unbuildable.

“Now you’re basically asking us to leave a window open so that you can further potentially impact the people on Eisenhower Street,” Medeiros said.

Calhoun said the Zoning Board could write a condition stating that all 88 acres would have to be made into open space or conserved land but added the developers will have the right to challenge it.

He did state the developers would be willing to put a restriction on the acres that it wouldn’t be allowed to be developed as anything other than how it is currently zoned, which is for single-family homes.

Murphy cautioned the Zoning Board members that while the eight acres would currently allow for four single-family homes, it’s possible that potential future zoning bylaws would allow for more.

This November, a question will be appearing on the midterm election ballot that, if approved, would allow 5,000 square foot lots in towns that have water and sewer, which Dartmouth has.

“You’re not talking about four, 40,000 square foot lots,” Murphy said. “You’re talking about potentially 10 single-family home lots.”

There is also currently a bill pending in the legislature, which would mandate that every town has to allow two-families or duplexes on every single-family lot if approved.

Murphy said that depending on what the legislature and ballot questions do, there’s potentially to have “three dwelling units on every single one.”

Medeiros said that he’s “not even thinking one. I’m not thinking any more development beyond 280 units on this entire tract of land.”

The public hearing for The Hathaway closed on Thursday, Aug. 27. On Sept. 17, the Zoning Board of Appeals will reconvene to either approve or deny the project.