The Town of Lakeville Open Space Committee on Jan. 2 discussed a developer concept to build an Open Space Residential Development (OSRD) at the Simmonsville/Rocky Woods property and agreed to provide the Planning Board with questions and recommendations ahead of the board’s Jan. 9 meeting.

The OSRD concept was presented to the Planning Board in late December as an alternative to a previously filed Chapter 40B proposal. Committee chair David Talonis said the developer’s concept shows roughly the same number of units as the 40B plan but spread across a larger parcel and with different access points. Talonis told the committee the developer has proposed an agreement with the town, phased construction and a wastewater treatment plant to serve part of the project.

The proposal prompted a string of technical and policy concerns from municipal boards. The Board of Health, Talonis said, cautioned that OSRD lot sizes and septic use could violate local health guidance (the Board of Health recommended against septic on lots under 30,000 square feet) and urged that duplex units be tied into any shared wastewater system rather than individual septic.

The Conservation Commission reported that the OSRD layout would affect more wetlands than the 40B plan and that at least four certified vernal pools and additional temporary pools sit within proposed house lots. The commission recommended larger wetland setbacks, protection for vernal pools and more continuous upland open space rather than many fragmented patches.

Members of the public urged the town to resist dense development. Resident Drew Elder said the location was poorly suited to state-assisted affordable housing and called the plan “an ill‑conceived plan” that would increase traffic and use state rules to bypass local zoning. Another attendee noted Native American archaeological sites on the property and said tribal representatives asked for more detailed topographic overlays so cultural-resource areas could be identified on plan maps.

The committee identified several concrete items it will include in a memo to the Planning Board: request that the developer provide a detailed topographic overlay showing vernal pools, wetlands and known cultural-resource locations; clarification on water supply and the planned location of the wastewater treatment plant; a comparison of potential unit counts and bedroom totals versus a conventional subdivision; and a request that the developer state whether it would consider selling the property for conservation.

Talonis also said the Conservation Commission agreed to fund continued outside ecological review and that the Open Space Committee will request a formal site walk and better overlays before recommending moving forward with drafting a townwide OSRD bylaw. The committee did not adopt a formal final position to accept or reject the OSRD concept; instead it will send the Planning Board a memo listing its concerns and suggested improvements and asking for additional information.

The Planning Board is scheduled to discuss whether to continue negotiating an OSRD agreement or to allow the developer to proceed under the pending 40B process at its Jan. 9 meeting. The Open Space Committee’s memo is intended to inform that discussion.

What’s next: the committee will circulate a draft memo to members for review and send formal recommendations and requests for additional materials (topographic overlays, wildlife surveys, clarifications on wastewater and water supply) to the Planning Board before the Jan. 9 meeting.