The lawyer for the developer said that the board rejected his client's proposal to build four houses off Federal Street because it did not like the project, not because it did not meet legal requirements.
AGAWAM – Tirone Development Corp., a local company that has built homes here over the last 15 to 30 years, has appealed the Planning Board’s rejection of its plans to construct four houses off Federal Street to state Land Court.
Tirone’s attorney, Joseph M. Pacella, said last week that board members acknowledged his client met subdivision control requirements during the public hearing on the project, but still denied the proposal to build Mariella Place on land between 45 and 35-37 Federal St.
“It met the requirements, ‘we just don’t like it’,” Pacella said. “My client’s position is that is not how the law is to be applied.”
Contending the reasons given for denial are “suspect at best,” Pacella said there is no precedent in Massachusetts to deny development based on dust and noise resulting from truck trips as was cited in records outlining the reasons for the rejection.
The attorney also took issue with several other reasons given for the rejection, including the board turning down plans on the grounds that there will be little usable yard space for the four houses proposed for the parcel.
Pacella said officials can’t reject plans based on such concerns about the future. The attorney said he expects state Land Court will set a hearing date sometime over the next few months.
City Solicitor Vincent F. Gioscia could not be immediately reached for comment .
The Planning Board denied plans for the proposed Mariella Place on Dec. 16. The board rejected them 2-1