Forty-Year Road Dispute Reaches Boiling Point in Plymouth: Shallow Pond Residents Demand Justice

PLYMOUTH - April 21, 2026 - Residents of Shallow Pond Estates confronted the Select Board Tuesday night, delivering an appeal for the town to finally accept their roads as public ways after four decades of oversight. The debate, which underscored a “breakdown in town oversight” and the compounding pressure of high-density 40B developments, highlighted a growing rift between long-standing neighborhoods and the municipality’s evolving infrastructure policies.

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The centerpiece of Tuesday’s marathon session was a 90-minute presentation by the “Shallow Pond Accept Our Roads Committee,” led by resident Michael Hertz. Hertz detailed a 40-year saga of failed oversight, alleging that the town approved the 179-home subdivision in 1987 but failed to enforce requirements for a mandatory Homeowners Association (HOA). [01:55:08] This failure, residents argue, left them in a “legal limbo” where they pay full property taxes but are personally liable for catastrophic infrastructure failures, such as water main breaks. [02:02:07]