Hamilton Planning Board Rejects Tobacco Hill Senior Housing Project 5-2

HAMILTON — September 20, 2022 — Hamilton Planning Board denies Tobacco Hill Capital Partners 50-unit senior housing project in 5-2 vote. The board rejected both the special permit application and an accompanying stormwater management permit for the proposed condominium development at 133 Essex Street off Tobacco Road, with Chair Marnie Crouch and members Jonathan Poor, Bill Wheaton, Emil Dahlquist, and Pat Norton voting no on both permits, while Rick Mitchell and Richard Boroff voted in favor each time. Crouch presented detailed written findings concluding the project was incompatible with the rural character of the Tobacco Road neighborhood, failed to adequately mitigate noise and dust from a minimum four-year construction period involving an estimated 8,648 belly-dump truck trips, and posed safety concerns for senior residents on internal roadways with grades of up to 10 percent. Boroff, dissenting, called the majority findings "all one-sided" and said he believed the applicant's principals — identified during deliberations as developer Larry Smith and attorney Mrs. Mann — would ensure compliance. The board voted unanimously to authorize written decisions for both denials, targeting a draft review at its October 11 meeting.