By Carol Britton Meyer 

The planning board will hold a public hearing on Wednesday, August 28 to discuss the developer’s proposed changes to the Paragon Dunes development.

Following the Procopio Companies’ submission of modified plans, the planning board’s August 14 agenda included a discussion about whether the modifications would be considered major or minor changes. The board members present – Chair Jeanne Paquin, Harry Hibbard, Nathan Peyton, and Cindy Borges – unanimously agreed that the changes explained by Adam Brodsky, attorney for the developer, constituted a major modification. A public hearing about the proposed changes is scheduled for Wednesday August 28 at 8 p.m. at the Memorial School.

Click here for all the plans and updates submitted by the developer

Brodsky said the modifications are “a direct result of comments we received during the Massachusetts Environmental Policy Act (MEPA) process to improve the water passing through the site, and climate resiliency. They won’t materially change the density, unit count, parking, or the architecture.”

Covered boardwalk proposed

The new plans also propose “creating a covered, beachlike boardwalk along Nantasket Avenue with stairs and handicapped-accessible ramps; elevating all but one of the commercial spaces, and also the pool deck to create additional ways for water to pass beneath the building; proposed changes to the stormwater management system; and moving the building back a bit,”  Brodsky said.

One of the commercial spaces won’t be elevated because of its location near the beer garden; it would be disconnected from the public area if elevated.

“Procopio has taken all the comments that have been made to heart,” Brodsky said. “These are not half measures, but thoughtful design changes.”

Plans to improve the flood resiliency of the project were presented to the Design Review Board recently and to the conservation commission last week, according to Brodsky.

Original special permit stands

“While this is a new review process, it doesn’t open up the whole project [for further review],” Director of Community Development & Planning Chris DiIorio said. “The original special permit [for a four-story, 132-unit building at the site of the Paragon Boardwalk] is still approved.”

The approval of the Paragon Dunes plans granted by the planning board on March 20 was subject to conditions, including gaining approval from all the appropriate state agencies. The plans were reviewed by the board April 3 and approved April 10.

Procopio withdrew from the Massachusetts Environmental Policy Act (MEPA) review process June 3, with plans to resubmit its Environmental Notification Form to address the state’s flood resiliency concerns.

The idea behind the modifications is to better comply with what MEPA wants while maintaining the street-front commercial space included in the initial planning board approval.

At the end of the discussion, Chair Jeanne Paquin asked Brodsky to submit a list of proposed changes to the board before the August 28 hearing.

She also requested that a landscape architect review the new plans, which she said was “critical,” to determine whether the plantings “are the most appropriate ones for that location.”

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