Falmouth officials are set to take up two controversial items Tuesday as the town struggles with multifamily development pressures.

One is the anticipated final approval of the 32-unit Tuscan Way project off Blackstrap Road, which neighbors have argued is too dense and would create too much traffic.

The other is a public hearing on a proposed moratorium that would temporarily halt any two-family and multifamily housing developments in the town’s new growth districts.

Objections to developer Jim Cummings’ Tuscan Way project have been part of the catalyst for considering the moratorium.

Many residents, including those abutting the proposed project, have asked the town council to make the moratorium retroactive so it would block Cummings’ development, along with another being proposed for Middle Road.

The council has yet to decide whether to include a retroactivity clause, but a final vote on the moratorium is scheduled for Nov. 13.

It’s unclear what would happen if the Planning Board approves the Tuscan Way project and the council later decides to make the moratorium retroactive. Tuscan Way would include two-family condominiums.

The Planning Board is holding a public hearing Tuesday and will make a recommendation to the council.

Ethan Croce, Falmouth’s community development director, said that the Planning Board does not intend to table the vote on the Tuscan Way project and Cummings said he would oppose any attempt to do so.

Both Croce and Cummings said the only outstanding issue on the Tuscan Way development concerns the planned clustered septic system, which neighbors have argued is inadequate and could cause environmental harm.

But Cummings said in an interview Tuesday he’s “satisfied every single facet of the requirements” and every issue related to the septic system has been “checked and rechecked,” including by the town engineer.

Cummings also disputed the argument that he’s cramming too many units onto too small a property.

Neighbors have said 32 units on nearly 3 acres would be too dense, but Cummings has consistently argued that the property is actually 18.3 acres in all and that his lot sizes will be larger than adjacent developments built 40 or years ago.

But Tuscan Way abutter Whitney Bradford, an opponent of the project, said this week that the proposed cluster septic system and the density of the project are still issues of contention.

She said she hopes the Planning Board won’t give final approval, but admitted she is “not feeling too optimistic.”

Even so, Bradford said, “We’ll certainly keep fighting and we’re also still investigating an appeal.”

Another issue that may be considered regarding the Tuscan Way project is an offer by Cummings to limit the units to residents 55 and over.

Cummings this week said he would prefer not to take that step, but he would do so if it is the only way to obtain approval.

“That’s the market I’m shooting for anyway,” he said, “but it would be a shame if I had to officially designate it as 55-plus.”

Croce said his department hasn’t received any official paperwork from Cummings to make his project available only to seniors, but said that “would not affect the Planning Board review process in any meaningful way.”

Bradford said Falmouth’s rules for 55-and-over projects don’t provide enough protections and that while it might “avert some pressure in terms of the traffic and the schools,” it doesn’t address the density and septic issues.

In terms of the development moratorium, Bradford and her neighbors are proponents and would like to see it be retroactive, while Cummings is opposed.

 

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