Plymouth Select Board Holds Spirited Discussion on Development, Special Permit Enforcement in West Plymouth
PLYMOUTH - November 4 - The Plymouth Select Board held its monthly “On the Road” meeting Tuesday night at West Elementary School, where residents raised persistent concerns about lack of enforcement on conditions attached to commercial development special permits, specifically citing the Cranberry Crescent shopping center’s failure to install proper landscaping buffers along Route 80 nearly a decade after the project’s approval. Town Manager Derek Brindisi acknowledged the enforcement gaps and assured residents the Planning Department is working with property owners to address violations, though some items would not be completed until spring 2026.
The Full Story
The meeting, attended by residents of West Plymouth and members of the West Plymouth Steering Committee, illustrated growing frustrations with how commercial development has reshaped the largely residential neighborhood while failing to meet conditions established during the permitting process.
Wynn Gerhard, a 38-year West Plymouth resident, told the board that conditions placed on special permits for commercial projects are “not enforced uniformly going forward” and specifically cited landscaping requirements for Cranberry Crescent that were agreed upon in 2013 but never fully implemented. Gerhart noted that both the town and the developer “improperly cut trees down” during development, removing a visual and sound buffer that was supposed to be replaced with “very detailed, elevated vegetation” along Route 80.
“We would still like it to be enforced,” Gerhard said. “Going forward, I feel like it’s important to make these conditions on these properties, on this development, and then stick with it.”
Select Board member Bill Keohan, who served on the Zoning Board of Appeals when the buffer was removed, said the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, the town, and the developer all owned portions of the buffer land that was cleared. He acknowledged that while the developer has planted an “oscillating berm” and some vegetation, “it never really was to the level that we had hoped.”
Keohan pointed to a more recent apartment complex on Carver Road as an example of what the Route 80 buffer should look like. “If you’ve seen that buffer, that’s the type of buffer that we were hoping for on Carver Road 10 years ago when this event happened,” he said. He added that ornamental shrubs currently being planted don’t meet the intent of the original requirement. “Really, the neighbors and myself and my conversations with the Planning Department were advocating for more evergreens similar to what we’re seeing on Carver Road, because there are residential areas abutting this very busy, large shopping center.”
The concerns extended beyond landscaping. Gerhard also cited a new curb cut on Carver Road for an incoming car wash and gas station development at Cranberry Crescent, despite conditions that prohibited additional curb cuts due to the busy intersection at Route 80 and Carver Road.
Nate Moore, vice chair of the West Plymouth Steering Committee, put a finer point on the enforcement issue, telling the board that town officials had indicated to him that staff tasked with following up on special permits are “under-resourced and simply don’t have the time or the ability to follow up on every special permit.”
“My concern is that, you know, if bad actors or businesses that are not motivated to do right by the town also come to that understanding on their own, that sure, they can agree to these special permit requirements, but no one ultimately is going to follow up on them, then my concern is that we, the residents, are going to pay the price of that,” Moore said.
Moore said West Plymouth has received “really the brunt of industrial development over the past couple of years, whether it’s Market Basket or Walmart or others,” and warned that quality of life would continue to decline if businesses aren’t held accountable “not only to the letter of the law or the regulation as it relates to these special permits, but also the spirit of it.”
Town Manager Derek Brindisi responded that he had met that morning with Planning Director Lee Hartmann, who “has assured me that the Planning Department will enforce that order.” Brindisi said the department has been working with property owners and that while nothing would be planted during the winter, “it would be my expectation that we see something in the spring.”
Select Board member Kevin Canty said the board would examine how special permits are currently being enforced and whether sufficient resources are allocated for enforcement. He also suggested the board should ensure that special permit requirements imposed by the Zoning Board of Appeals are “rationally related to what we’re trying to achieve and be something that is reasonable for that business to do and for us to actually be able to meaningfully enforce that.”
Vice Chair Dick Quintal, who also served on the Zoning Board of Appeals, said the enforcement issues represent “a textbook example of where something might have fallen through the cracks because it’s been nearly 10 years since that hearing, and we’re still grappling with the effects of it.”
Keohan emphasized that strengthening enforcement was critical. “When I brought up the idea of the zoning board of appeals, as I mentioned before, and I’ve mentioned a number of times, that was an experience that shows me the energy that staff and residents and petitioners and their representatives put into this process,” Keohan said. “And at the end of a series of hearings, we come to an agreement and there’s an order of conditions, and we want to see those enforced.”
Beyond development enforcement, the West Plymouth Steering Committee, represented by Chair Judy Barber, presented five traffic safety concerns including recurring accidents at the Montgomery Drive and South Meadow Road intersection, obstructed road signs, inadequate signage at Summer Street and Westerly Road intersection for Route 3 access, traffic light timing issues at Commerce Way and Industrial Park intersection, and a request for flashing speed limit signs on Federal Furnace, South Meadow Road, and Carver Road.
Brindisi said the Department of Public Works would address the intersection visibility and sign obstruction issues, and would verify traffic light timing. He encouraged residents to use the town’s See Click Fix system to report specific concerns, noting that complaints submitted through the online portal go directly to the appropriate department with geolocation data.
Paul Blanchard, a resident of Westwood Village, raised concerns about the speed limit on Route 80, which varies from 30 miles per hour near Samoset Street to 45 miles per hour for traffic coming from Kingston. “The continued development at Commerce Way and the potential development at Sacred Heart, which would increase considerably more traffic coming in the direction from Kingston, it seems to me with the amount of development that’s along that road, the speed limit ought to be 30 or 35 all the way,” Blanchard said, noting a “bad accident” had occurred that afternoon near Village West.
Canty explained that changing speed limits on posted roads requires traffic studies that can be complicated. He noted that if people are already speeding during a study, the speed limit can actually be raised rather than lowered. He suggested alternatives including flashing signs to remind drivers of current speed limits and portable speed humps that the town will soon have available.
Brindisi provided updates on several West Plymouth infrastructure projects during his opening remarks. The Federal Furnace water main replacement project, which has experienced a water main break that was since repaired, is expected to be completed by December 2025. The project involves replacing asbestos cement pipe, which the town’s water division has prioritized removing across the community.
The town manager also discussed the Claremont Development water booster station project, designed to move surplus water from the Plymouth center zone to West Plymouth to address a “firm capacity deficit” identified in 2022. The booster station is currently at 25 percent design, with bidding expected in late winter 2026 and construction beginning in spring 2026. The project will take about a year to complete.
Additionally, the Department of Public Works is working on a new drinking water well in West Plymouth that could provide an additional 1.5 million gallons of water per day when operational. The Route 80 sidewalk project between Christian Road and Commerce Way began about a week ago and will include new asphalt sidewalks, granite curbing, guide rails, and ADA-compliant wheelchair ramps. Weather permitting, the project should be completed within three to four months.
Brindisi announced that paving on Samoset Street and Copper Road has been delayed until the 2026 construction season to allow Eversource to complete gas main installation by mid-October.
The $3.4 million Route 80 Cemetery project, approved at the Fall 2024 Town Meeting, has been designed and bid out but awaits final approvals from the Massachusetts Historical Commission and MassDOT before construction begins. The project was necessitated by the 2022 moratorium on burial plot sales due to the town running out of burial space. Construction is expected to begin in late fall, with the cemetery opening in fall 2026. The Cemetery Commission has voted unanimously to name it the Freedom Memorial Cemetery, a recommendation that will come before the Select Board.
Other topics raised during the meeting included an update on the Plymouth Municipal Airport runway reconstruction project from Airport Commission Chair Ken Fosdick, who said a meeting is scheduled Monday with the FAA and engineers for pre-examination and goal-setting. Fosdick clarified that while the runway extension has been moved off the schedule for several years due to funding issues, the permitting process will continue because it includes other projects such as a wastewater treatment line extension on the south side of the airport.
Stevie Keith provided an update on the Five-Gallon Challenge, reporting that the community raised over 12,000 pounds of food, water, supplies, and other items during an event at Bravo Payroll, along with $1,500 in cash donations that went directly to food banks for fresh produce.
The board also heard from Emily Tompkins regarding Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) activity in Plymouth. Chairman David Golden said he and Keohan are scheduled to meet with a representative from the We Can group on November 14, and that Golden and Brindisi have been discussing when the issue can be added to a future agenda. Canty said he would like to see regular communication with ICE to inform the police department when they are operating in town and to improve the manner in which they conduct operations, citing a vehicle left abandoned in a North Plymouth intersection following an arrest.
Late in the meeting, Golden addressed what he called “a recurring procedural matter” regarding agenda setting, saying he is working to address all board member requests for discussion items in consultation with the town manager. He emphasized that some items are time-sensitive or cyclical and must take precedence, and asked board members to contact him directly for updates rather than raising scheduling questions during meetings. “Persistent requests on updates on the specific timing of individual items distracts from our shared responsibilities, make staff, fellow board members, and the public uncomfortable, and undermine the collaborative tone that we worked hard to rebuild in our recent workshop,” Golden said.
Canty responded that he would like access to a comprehensive list of all scheduled agenda items that extends beyond the brief summary included at the bottom of posted agendas. He also said that when he requests an item be placed on an agenda, he is asking for the board to discuss it collectively, not for the chairman to work on it individually. “I would say that the way you’re handling it is not appreciably better than the way it was handled before,” Canty told Golden.
The board scheduled a public hearing for November 25 on proposed e-bike regulations that would be submitted as a special act to the state legislature. Town Manager Brindisi said a revised draft of the legislation would be advertised within two weeks, and written comments would be accepted for seven days following the hearing.
Board members also discussed scheduling a comprehensive conversation about economic development in Plymouth, including the role of the Plymouth Economic Development Foundation, in-house economic development capacity, and the Office of Planning and Development. Quintal suggested bringing business development back to the planning board and creating an “Office of Business Development and Tourism.” Board members Deborah Iaquinto and Canty supported broadening the discussion to include multiple aspects of economic development strategy.
Why It Matters
The enforcement of special permit conditions directly affects the quality of life for West Plymouth residents who live adjacent to significant commercial development. When landscaping buffers, traffic mitigation measures, and other conditions negotiated during the permitting process are not implemented or enforced, residents lose the protections that were intended to balance economic development with neighborhood character. The Select Board’s acknowledgment of enforcement gaps and commitment to allocating appropriate resources could determine whether future commercial projects proceed with greater accountability to the community. For West Plymouth residents, effective enforcement means reduced noise, improved aesthetics, safer traffic patterns, and preservation of residential character even as the commercial corridor continues to expand. The board’s willingness to examine the entire planning and economic development structure suggests systemic changes may be forthcoming that could reshape how development is managed across Plymouth.
Meeting Minutes
Key Motions & Votes
Motion: Motion to adjourn. Outcome: Approved. Vote: Unanimous (5-0). (Timestamp: 1:45:21)
Public Comment
Eight members of the public spoke during the meeting, primarily focusing on commercial development enforcement issues in West Plymouth, with multiple speakers from the West Plymouth Steering Committee addressing special permit compliance, landscaping buffer requirements at Cranberry Crescent, and traffic safety concerns at five specific intersections in the area. Additional public comments addressed the Plymouth Municipal Airport master plan, the Five-Gallon Challenge food drive results, the Franklin Marsh bogs acquisition, ICE enforcement activity in Plymouth, and a real estate transaction dispute regarding Zero Spooner Street. Airport Commission representatives also provided updates on the runway reconstruction project and permitting process.
What’s Next
The Planning Department will work with property owners to enforce landscaping conditions at Cranberry Crescent, with planting expected in spring 2026. The Department of Public Works will address traffic safety concerns including intersection visibility improvements, sign obstruction removal, and traffic signal timing verification. A public hearing on proposed e-bike regulations will be held November 25, 2025, with written public comment accepted for seven days following the hearing. Chairman Golden and Select Board member Keohan will meet with representatives from the We Can group on November 14 to discuss ICE enforcement concerns. Golden and Vice Chair Quintal will meet with Melissa Ferretti from the Herring Pond Tribe on November 8 regarding land acknowledgement discussions. The Select Board will schedule a comprehensive discussion on economic development including the Plymouth Economic Development Foundation, in-house economic development capacity, and the Office of Planning and Development structure. The Select Board will schedule appointments to the Sand and Gravel Committee, Memorials Committee, and Little Red Schoolhouse Committee on either November 25 or December 2. The board will also discuss a memorandum from the Plymouth for All Committee regarding law enforcement agency interactions in the community.
Full meeting available via Local Scene cable access channels Comcast 9 or Verizon 47.