• Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Youtube
  • TikTok
  • Contact Us
Community Land & Water Coalition, Inc.
  • Home
  • About Us
    • Grassroots Organizing & Advocacy
    • Indigenous Rights and Culture
    • CLWC Leadership
    • Contact Us
  • Support Us
    • Ways to Support CLWC
    • Donate
  • Our Work
    • Stop Sand Mining
    • Protecting Wetlands, Waterways and Drinking Water
    • Forests & Biodiversity
    • Responsible Solar & Energy Siting
    • Take Action Right Now!
  • Resources
    • In the Press
    • Education
    • Blog
    • Podcasts
    • YouTube Channel
    • Newsletters
  • Events
    • Calendar
  • Search
  • Menu Menu

Breaking News: State’s Highest Court Confirms Local Power to Regulate Industrial Solar

July 17, 2026
Read more
https://communitylandandwater.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/deforestation2-scaled.jpg 1920 2560 CLwpBS https://communitylandandwater.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/FINAL-CLWC-LOGO-no-background-297x300.png CLwpBS2026-07-17 16:06:072026-07-18 11:01:16Breaking News: State’s Highest Court Confirms Local Power to Regulate Industrial Solar

Carver-Plympton: Rickets Pond Sand Mining Site

July 2, 2026

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

July 2, 2026

Media Contact

Meg Sheehan

Contact:

meg@communitylandandwater.org

508-259-9154

Community Land & Water Coalition
P.O. Box 1699
Plymouth, MA 02362
www.communitylandandwater.org

Massachusetts Orders Full Environmental Review After Community Campaign Wins Major Victory

MEPA Requires Comprehensive Study of Proposed Development and Sand Mining Impacts on Ricketts Pond Site

PLYMOUTH, MA — The Community Land & Water Coalition (CLWC) today hailed a major environmental victory after the Massachusetts Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs (EEA) ordered a full Environmental Impact Report (EIR) for the Ricketts Pond Business Park expansion for a proposed 60-unit residential development in Carver and Plympton.

Get the MEPA Decision Here: 15883 EEA June 29, 2026 Ricketts Pond Business Park – Carver Plympton_SRT Signed

The June 29 decision rejects the developer’s request to bypass additional environmental review and instead requires a comprehensive analysis of groundwater protection, air quality, traffic, public health, climate impacts, and the cumulative effects of years of large-scale sand mining on the site.

“This decision confirms what residents, local officials, and environmental advocates have argued all along—that this project deserves a full and transparent environmental review,” said Meg Sheehan, coordinator of Community Land & Water Coalition. “The sand mining operation has destroyed every aspect of the environment that existed on the site — clear cutting Pine Barrens forests and hauling off the land itself in tractor trailer trucks for commercial sale since 2018. The public deserves answers before additional development moves forward.”

The decision follows years of advocacy by CLWC and local residents, including more than 1,600 people who participated in the MEPA process by submitting comments urging the state to require a full environmental review. The Town of Plympton Board of Health, Planning Board, and Open Space Committee also participated in urging a full environmental review.

Key Findings

A two step environment study is required under the state’s MEPA law: a draft study for public comment, and a final study. Both must cover ways to avoid or mitigate damage to the region’s sole-source drinking water aquifer; air quality from dust, and diesel emissions, traffic, groundwater withdrawals and stormwater runoff, climate resilience, cumulative impacts, environmental justice, and open space.

The Secretary also rejected the developer’s request to waive the Environmental Impact Report requirement ruling that it did not meet the requirements.

Pine duBois of Jones River Watershed Association said “ Rickett’s Pond is a neglected but important environmental resource for this area. Already water use from wells has drawn down the pond and vanquished the adjacent vernal pool. Eradication of trees and denuding hillsides adjacent to the new highway has altered the landscape and resources forever, with no consideration or forethought. We’re destroying the natural resources we all rely on for health and safety, and sacrificing opportunities for future generations to thrive, for what?”

CLWC will continue to work with the community to participate in the MEPA Environmental Impact Report process to ensure the issues identified by state agencies, local officials, and residents receive the comprehensive review required under Massachusetts environmental law.

See CLWC’s March 2026 request to MEPA here

Since 2018 CLWC and a wide grassroots network has fought to raise awareness about this sand mine. It is an approximately 40 acre site in Carver and Plympton on Route 44 going East at the Spring Street exit. Read more here

This photo below from December 5, 2021 shows the last remaining stand of trees on the hill in the center of the site.  

 

 

July 8, 2024: Third Request of enforcement of Earth removal bylaws is sent to the Town of Plympton and their Board of Selectmen. The letter asks their to be an investigation into unauthorized earth removal at the site. Read the letter here. 

June 24, 2024: New evidence alleges the mining at the site on Lot 3  is illegal and violates stormwater regulations. Read the memo here. A DEP hearing will be held on Sept. 4, at 100 Cambridge Street Suite 900, Boston, MA 02114.

May 15, 2024: CLWC sent a second demand letter to the Town of Plympton demanding that it enforce the town’s bylaws against SLT Construction. Read the letter here. May 15 2024 SLT Letter Final

July 30, 2025: A group of 10 residents sent a notice of intent to sue letter to prevent and minimize damages to the environment. Read the letter here.

The letter asserts “The evidence that SLT is engaged in large-scale earth removal on the Plympton side of the Property is indisputable.” The letter contains updated drone surveillance photos and a demand to enforce the Bylaw.

If the Town does not enforce the Bylaw, the public can go to court to enforce it.

Go to CLWC’s You Tube Channel to see drone videos like this one from December 2021 showing massive deforestation in just one day: here

Some allege SLT is at the center of a public corruption investigation by the state Office of Inspector General

Read more about SLT’s wetlands violations here. 

In January 2024, the Town of Plympton denied SLT’s request for a demolition facility that entailed removing 100,000 cubic yards. Read more here.

Read more about the SLT site’s archeological significance here.

In 2022, CLWC tried to enforce the Carver zoning laws against SLT. The Town refused to enforce the law and sided with SLT.

Read more about the public’s effort to enforce the Carver Earth Removal Bylaw against the illegal expansion of the mining operation onto the adjacent “Marob” property here.

Below: May 13, 2024. 0 Spring St. 

The OADR from 2018 and 2022 don’t account for the impact on Rickett’s Pond and its Buffering Vegetative Wetlands (BVW) caused by sand and gravel deposits from the RPBP mining site, including Lot 3. These materials have been entering Rickett’s Pond since at least 2019. Since February 2018, the Project Site has undergone complete deforestation, alteration, and excavation to remove sand and gravel. These activities have significantly affected areas protected under environmental regulations. They could potentially change groundwater levels, which might affect the hydrology of nearby wetlands. Moreover, the changes in surface runoff patterns have redirected water flow from one sub-watershed to another, directly impacting the plant life and wildlife habitats in the surrounding areas. View drone footage of the site here. 

 

May 22, 2026: Court issues injunction against SLT Construction Co. See the  Superior Court Order Injunction here    See the Town of Plympton lawsuit here  

Leading hydrologist Scott Horsley says SLT’s dense housing proposal on the sand mine in Plympton threatens Town’s drinking water. Read his comments to the Town here

https://communitylandandwater.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/sand-mining_2.jpg 946 1594 Meg Sheehan https://communitylandandwater.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/FINAL-CLWC-LOGO-no-background-297x300.png Meg Sheehan2026-07-02 12:38:012026-07-02 12:53:16Carver-Plympton: Rickets Pond Sand Mining Site

A.D. Makepeace Co.’s Land Use Model: Cranberries, Sand, Solar, Residential/Commercial Development

April 1, 2026

Who is A.D. Makepeace Company?

A.D. Makepeace is one of the largest private landowners in Massachusetts, with extensive
holdings primarily in Plymouth, Carver, and Wareham, and Rochester. It owns about 12,000 acres. Historically, the company’s business was cranberry agriculture. Since the 1990s, Makepeace has expanded and operates across multiple industries, including:

  • Cranberry Production
  • Engineered Soil Products– Read Custom Soils (RCS)
  • Sand and Gravel Extraction
  • Large-scale Solar Development
  • Residential Development– Redbrook project in Plymouth (about 1,200 homes) and
    Rosebrook business park in Wareham
  • Motto: “Inspired by Nature”

This combination of land ownership and vertically integrated operations positions Makepeace to
control the full lifecycle of land use—from clearing to extraction to redevelopment.

A.D. Makepeace’s operations represent a significant transformation of Southeastern Massachusetts landscapes.

The rapid land use changes — from agriculture and forestry to industrial scale sand and gravel extraction, vast solar facilities and development raises significcant questions for the community:

  • How should cumulative impacts be evaluated?
  • Is the current use consistent with the intent of the Tihonet Mixed Use Development (TMUD) plan from 2005 — a promise of smart growth, open space protection and village centers?
  • What level of oversight is appropriate for projects of this scale? Where is the oversight? Who is in charge?

These issues continue to be debated in courts, town boards, and communities across the region.

Cranberries: The Historical Core — No Longer the Profit Driver

A.D. Makepeace is still:

  • the largest cranberry grower in the world
  • farming about 1,750 acres of bogs across southeastern Massachusetts according to its
    website

However, the economics of cranberry farming have changed dramatically in the last 30 years:

  • The Massachusetts Department of Agriculture has described cranberry farming as a
    “beleaguered industry”
  • Prices have declined significantly in recent years while costs have risen
  • Industry-wide, cranberry growing is often:
    • low-margin or break-even
    • dependent on subsidies and market volatility
    • every fall, excess production and low prices results in dumping a percent of the harvest

Even regional officials acknowledge cranberry growing “isn’t a booming industry.”

The Shift: From Farming to Resource Extraction

Because cranberry farming alone is no longer highly profitable:

Makepeace has shifted toward resource extraction of timber, soils and sand off its land, and
commercial and residential development:

  • Tens of millions of cubic yards of sand have been removed across hundreds of acres of its lands and
  • Sand mining continues today
  • The company now generates significant revenue from sand sales through its
    subsidiary, Read Custom Soils
  • Extraction of timber and topsoils is used to blend with the sand for commercial sale
  • Makepeace now derives at least 70% of its revenue from non-cranberry activities and all its profits, according to public sources

The Integrated Revenue Model

Step 1: Cranberry Agriculture (Entry Point)

  • Land is classified as:
    • Agricultural
  • This classification can:
    • Enable earth removal permits  — commerical sand mining is often permitted as “bog construction”
      or “reservoir creation” or claimed to be for sanding the bogs
    • Reduce regulatory scrutiny under the Wetlands Protection Act, municipal wetland bylaws, the Massachusetts Endangered Species Act, and historic preservation laws
    • Reduce real estate taxes: agricultural or forestry land has a lower tax rate allowing Makepeace to pay minimal real estate taxes

Step 2: Sand Mining (Primary Profit Engine)

  • Sand removal has surged in the last 10 years.
  • Multiple operations centered in south Carver and Wareham generate 100s hundreds of truckloads per day with multi-year excavation permits
  • Rising sand prices and demand make extraction far more profitable than farming
  • Dozens of permits in the last 30 years, hundreds of acres
  • Looking ahead:
    • In September 2024, ADM Cranberry filed a Carver Earth Removal Application for Map 131 Lots 1-2 and 1-3, west of Federal Road, seeking removal of 1,776,200 cubic yards over 3 years plus 1 year renewal. The application is on hold but likely will be reactivated. Read more on the ERC Site.
    • In April 2026, ADM Cranberry filed new plans for continued expansion of the 85 acre “bog construction” and sand mining project at 59 Federal Road in Carver
    • The “Farm of the Future” earth removal permit at Frogfoot in Plymouth is on hold, only about 25% complete but certainly Makepeace has plans to generate revenue here. Read more here:

Step 3: Read Custom Soils (Value-Added Processing)

Makepeace does not just sell raw sand.
Through its subsidiary Read Custom Soils (RCS):

  • Sand arrives from nearby deposits or quarry
  • Screening / sorting
    • separates sizes (fine, medium, coarse)
  • Stockpiling
    • large sand piles staged on site
  • Soil “blending and manufacturing: Sand, topsoils, and wood products from AD Makepeace’s land clearing are,
    • screened
    • blended
    • engineered

Products include:

  • golf course materials
  • construction aggregates
  • stormwater and structural soils

This converts raw sand and topsoils into higher-margin specialty products — Makepeace claims this is an “agricultural blending facility”

RCS acts as:

  • a regional distribution hub and trucking terminal to weigh and transship sand, aggregates and its soil products
  • fed by Makepeace land clearing/logging and mining sites around the region

Step 4: Trucking and Distribution

  • Hundreds of trucks move material daily from Makepeace’s lands and directly to customers or through Read
  • Sand and “soil products” shipped across New England

This represents a continuous cash flow from extracted materials

Step 5: Solar Development (Second Revenue Layer)

After trees and topsoil are removed and the land stripped to bare sand:

  • Land is flattened and cleared
  • Then leased for:
    • large-scale solar installations (~20-year leases)

Solar companies override local control: Makepeace has built at least 12 large ground mounted solar projects in the area already

  • In 2023, the Wareham Planning Board denied Makepeace and Borrego Solar extensions
    for the 3 new projects, based on the public health, safety and welfare, including the
    cumulative impact. Makepeace through the solar company sued the Town of Wareham to force them to issue the permits. Then, the Town and the solar company settled behind closed doors and permits were issued in 2025
  • The 3 new solar projects are:
    • 27 Charge Pond Road — Case 7-20, decision dated October 20, 2020
    • 150 Tihonet Road — Case 9-20, decision dated December 28, 2020
    • 140 Tihonet Road — Case 8-20, decision dated March 8, 2021.
      Official Wareham records also show that by 2025 the Town was still in litigation over some of
      these projects. The joint Select Board / Planning Board executive-session agenda for October 8,
      2025 lists litigation involving 27 CPR Solar1, LLC, New Leaf Energy, Inc., Wareham PV1,
      LLC, and Wareham MA 3 LLC. A later Planning Board executive-session agenda on
      December 10, 2025 lists PV1, LLC v. Town of Wareham Planning Board and MA 3 LLC, et
      al v. Town of Wareham Planning Board.
  • Looking ahead:
    • Makepeace conducting aggressive land clearing and sand mining at 0 Maple Springs Road in Wareham: Proposing a solar project under the shell name “OMSR Wareham Solar 1, LLC .” There are active Conservation/ZBA solar + battery filings in 2025.
    • Makepeace seeking permits for a large solar project at 0 Wareham Road, Carver – will clear cut 27 acres of forest. Project is in project in Riverfront Area, wetland buffer zone, and that will clear-cut 27 acres of forest. Appeal process at MassDEP/
    • Wihonet Road, Plymouth, Frogfoot Brook and trails area: CLWC appeals
      Makepeace plan to install solar project on about 40 acres of illegally filled
      wetlands. The location is also called the Canning Bogs.
    • O Golden Pond Road: sand mining, wetlands filling without permits, Carver
      issues Cease and Desist
    • North Wareham Solar: Makepeace and its affiliate REDP seeking to clear-cut 50 acres for a large ground-mounted solar project along Tihonet Road, north of the 160 Tihonet Road solar project

This land use model with solar creates:

  • long-term, steady income
  • on land already monetized through logging and mining
  • does not generate power that helps local rate payers, but rather produces energy that is
    sold throughout New England while local communities bear the burden of deforestation
    and risks to drinking water supply

Step 6: Final Development — Land Sales:, Redbrook and Beyond

After logging, sand mining extraction and sales, comes solar development or done in parallel, Makepeace develops residential and commercial projects

  • Example: Redbrook (Plymouth, MA) Master-planned village developed by Makepeace
    • Includes:
    • housing
    • commercial space
    • infrastructure

The TMUD Connection

The Tihonet Mixed Use Development (TMUD):

  • ~6,500-acre master plan from the early 2000s
  • Spans Plymouth, Carver, Wareham
  • Does not include Redbrook which is under a different MEPA review
  • Originally intended for:
    • smart growth
    • mixed-use development
    • conservation
    • approved through a special MEPA (state environmental) review process

The TMUD framework:

  • allowed large-scale land conversion
  • reduced environmental review requirements — “MEPA Light”
  • Where TMUD failed:
    • ignored sand extraction
    • did not require full “EIR”; review for 12 solar projects from 2014 to present long-term buildout
    • a “ bait and switch ” from the original TMUD plan — MEPA let Makepeace out of the MEPA review process in 2022
    • 12 solar projects covered in the TMUD, ADM released from MEPA 2022:
      • 9 complete, 3 underway

Solar and sand mining projects not covered by TMUD MEPA Certificate or any MEPA review:

  • Maple Springs Solar, Wareham
  • Cranebrook Solar, Cranberry Road, Carver
  • 0 Wareham St. Solar, Carver
  • Canning Solar, Plymouth (Frogfoot area)
  • All sand mining projects in Carver, Plymouth and Wareham are not covered by ANY MEPA REVIEW

Why This Model Is So Powerful

  • Same land generates revenue multiple times
  • Lands are stripped of all value, leaving barren wastelands
  • Land acquisition cost = zero (already owned)
  • Vertical integration = maximum control

Result:

  • Continuous, compounding income stream at the expense of biodiversity, habitat, cooling
    shade, clean air, clean water

Oversight Concerns

  1. Agricultural exemptions exploited:
    1. Mining permitted under “cranberry agriculture”
    2. Wetlands Protection Act exemptions for “Normal Improvement of Land in Agricultural Use” to evade permits
    3. Tax preferences for agriculural land exploited
  2. Fragmented permitting:
    1. Mining, solar, development reviewed separately
    2. No cumulative review
    3. Impacts not assessed as one system
    4. Environmental risks
  3. Threats to:
    1. Plymouth-Carver aquifer
    2. Pine Barrens ecosystems
    3. Community health from emissions of sand dust

Conclusion

A.D. Makepeace’s operations are no longer just agriculture — despite its image.
They represent a fully integrated land monetization system where:

  • Cranberry farming provides the legal and historical foundation
  • Sand extraction generates immediate profits
  • Read Custom Soils adds value and scale
  • Solar leases provide steady income
  • Sevelopments like Redbrook deliver long-term returns
  • The public: left with a denuded wasteland — sand mines are barren lands where “nothing much will grow in human time” and no upside from solar, rapid development that strains infrastructure, undermines rural Southeatsern Massachusettts character

The result is a multi-layered, continuous revenue model built on the same land base.

https://communitylandandwater.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/Screenshot-2026-03-18-at-9.53.22-PM.png 1552 1266 Katherine Harrelson https://communitylandandwater.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/FINAL-CLWC-LOGO-no-background-297x300.png Katherine Harrelson2026-04-01 16:01:342026-08-04 13:08:19A.D. Makepeace Co.’s Land Use Model: Cranberries, Sand, Solar, Residential/Commercial Development

Carver: AD Makepeace Cranberry Smith Hammond Bogs: 24 Federal Road,

January 5, 2026
Read more
https://communitylandandwater.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/Screenshot-2026-01-05-170508.png 472 933 Katherine Harrelson https://communitylandandwater.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/FINAL-CLWC-LOGO-no-background-297x300.png Katherine Harrelson2026-01-05 18:03:232026-07-19 09:43:07Carver: AD Makepeace Cranberry Smith Hammond Bogs: 24 Federal Road,

Carver – 0 Spring Street: CLWC’s Pro Bono Legal Services Step In Where DEP Won’t Enforce Laws

November 12, 2025

10 Residents’ group challenges MassDEP’s failure to protect wetlands and their water supply from stormwater pollution; CLWC provides pro-bono legal services. 

Stormwater pollution from SLT Construction’s 8 year sand and gravel mine threatens drinking water, wetlands, wildlife.

On July 11, 2025, a Carver Ten Residents Group and CLWC filed a lawsuit in Plymouth Superior Court against Bridgestone Development LLC and RPBP, LLC, regarding the SLT Construction’s sand and gravel mine off Spring Street and Route 44 in Carver and Plympton. 

Read the legal complaint, Thomas Pollitt and others vs. The Department of Environmental Protection, Bridgestone Development, and RPPB LLC, here.

Purpose of the Lawsuit

Stormwater runoff from the SLT sand mine threatens nearby drinking water wells of the residents, public water supply wells, and the entire Aquifer, according to expert testimony. The lawsuit seeks to protect Ricketts Pond, the Plymouth-Carver Sole Source Aquifer, and wildlife by preventing water pollution and flooding from the 40 acre sand mine by requiring the state to enforce the Wetlands Protection Act. The Massachusetts Wetlands Protection Act has statutes to prevent stormwater runoff from large projects like this from polluting nearby water sources, but they are not being enforced. Stormwater runoff is the largest source of water pollution in Massachusetts. Stormwater runoff is considered “non-point source pollution.” The EPA also provides information on non-point source pollution. The case seeks to require SLT to revise the Stormwater Management System for the Rickets Pond Business Park in order to protect drinking water, Rickets Pond, and wildlife.

The Legal Process

The legal appeal began in September 2022 when the Ten Residents Group and CLWC challenged a wetlands permit issued by the Carver Conservation Commission. They appealed the permit to the MassDEP, who sided with the Carver Conservation Commission and approved the wetlands permit. The Ten Residents Group and CLWC then appealed for a hearing at the Office of Appeals and Dispute Resolution. After and administrative proceeding that lasted over a year,  DEP’s OADR Judge Stolfa rejected the Ten Residents and CLWC’s challenge to the permit. The Judge Solfa Decision in June is the result of the 3 year appeal process. https://communitylandandwater.org/carver-slts-mining-site-violates-wetlands-water-laws-says-another-expert/  

In June, 2025, MassDEP Commissioner Heiple affirmed the Judge Stolfa’s decision by issuing a Final Decision. The Ten Residents and CLWC appealed Commissioner Heiple’s decision to court. 

About the Sand Mine and the Development

The Ricketts Pond Business Park, the location of the lawsuit, is an approximately 20 acre subdivision inside of a 40 acre sand mine that leveled the highest hill in Carver beginning in 2018. The lawsuit alleges that that the Conservation Commission and DEP should not have issued the permit, because it does not protect groundwater and the environment, including Rickets Pond.

Recent OADR Decisions

In a related case also under the Wetlands Protection Act, in June 2025, MassDEP found AD Makepeace illegally filled wetlands for a subdivision road at Red Brook in Plymouth. Read more here:

  • Judge rules Makepeace violated law by partially filling bog

Further Reading

  • Carver: SLT’s massive sand mine on Route 44 level’s regions highest hill in 6 years for sand and gravel, harms people and environment

  • Carver: SLT Construction Operating Illegally in Plympton Says CLWC

  • Sandwars.org profile: 0 Spring Street
  • Sandwars.org profile: 26 Spring Street
https://communitylandandwater.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/wetlands-scaled.jpg 1920 2560 Katherine Harrelson https://communitylandandwater.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/FINAL-CLWC-LOGO-no-background-297x300.png Katherine Harrelson2025-11-12 16:35:252025-12-29 15:13:02Carver – 0 Spring Street: CLWC’s Pro Bono Legal Services Step In Where DEP Won’t Enforce Laws

Carver Earth Removal Committee Must Deny Permits, Enforce Bylaw

November 2, 2025

Town of Carver, Earth Removal Committee

Tuesday, Nov. 4, 2025 3 p.m. Public Meeting & Hearing

See the Agenda here.

 

E

TELL THE ERC TO DENY PERMITS

 PUBLIC COMMENT ALLOWED ON ITEMS 10 and 11

Excerpt from ERC Agenda:

PERMIT 1 –  0 MAYFLOWER ROAD/ADGA REALTY LLC

Read more here:  CLWC Letter to ERC Nov. 2, 2025 0 Mayflower Rd.

      • See the permit application here. It is for a 7.45 acre strip mine. Will dredge the Sole Source Aquifer, everyone’s drinking supply, for at least $7 million in sand.
      • Requires a wetlands permit which it does not have so ERC cannot issue the permit.
      • Impacts to Residents:
        • At least 37,500 truck loads, at least 3 years of work.
        • Excessive truck traffic, air pollution from sand dust, noise in Tremont St. area where there are already numerous sand mines  — EJ Pontiff Cranberries sand mine at 104 Tremont St., Edgewood Cranberry sand mine also on Tremont St.

 

PERMIT 2 – 25 FULLER STREET/ADGA REALTY LLC

Read more here: CLWC Letter to ERC Nov. 2, 2025 Fuller St.

        • The sand mining is already done, but AGDA seeks an  “after the fact” permit for 8,100 cubic yards. See the permit application here.
        • Sand mining has been going on here for years. CLWC seeks a complete audit of the volume of sand removed, the fees paid, and a wetlands investigation.

https://communitylandandwater.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/Screen-Shot-2023-07-25-at-10.56.16-AM-e1754081971988.png 263 318 Meg Sheehan https://communitylandandwater.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/FINAL-CLWC-LOGO-no-background-297x300.png Meg Sheehan2025-11-02 10:56:242025-12-29 16:41:55Carver Earth Removal Committee Must Deny Permits, Enforce Bylaw

Plymouth: North Plymouth Pulte Homes Project

October 10, 2025

Pulte Homes of New England, LLC 40B development of 163 units in North Plymouth raises concerns about water, sewer, traffic, safety, overdevelopment and more

Nov. 2, 2025: Breaking news:

CLWC demands Plymouth Conservation Commission shut down its proceedings on Pulte’s wetlands permit until Zoning Board of Appeals makes its decision on the project — as required by law

Read CLWC’s demand letter here:  Nov. 2, 2025 Letter to Plymouth Conservation Commission Pulte Homes

  • Conservation Commission must cancel its Nov. 4, 2025 public hearing on Pulte’s wetlands application or be in violation of the Wetlands Protection Act

  • Next ZBA hearing scheduled for Nov. 10, 2025

Background

One of the largest homebuilders in the U.S., Pulte Homes, proposes a 40B 163-unit development in North Plymouth along the Rail Trail at the end of Hedge Road and Prince Street.  Pulte has two proposals: one with 63 residential units and one with 100 units. According to the Town, “For both projects, 25% of the proposed homeownership units will be deed-restricted as affordable housing for households earning up to 80% of the Area Median Income.”

CLWC encourages the public to attend all public hearings and to raise their concerns. CLWC submitted comments to the ZBA and is demanding that the Conservation Commission terminate its proceedings on Pulte’s project until Pulte gets zoning approval, as required by law.

Find out more here on the Town of Plymouth ZBA website.

See the basic Pulte Homes Application to ZBA as of 9.2025

Below: map of the Pulte Homes proposal. Cape Cod Bay lies to the east. To the west is Route 3A, Court Street. The site is south of Cordage Park.

 

CLWC’s Advocacy to ZBA, Conservation Commission 

On October 10, 2025, CLWC’s expert engineers from Fuss and O’Neill submitted comments to the Zoning Board of Appeals. See the comments CLWC Comments to ZBA on Pulte Homes.

https://communitylandandwater.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/FINAL-CLWC-LOGO-no-background-297x300.png 0 0 CLwpBS https://communitylandandwater.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/FINAL-CLWC-LOGO-no-background-297x300.png CLwpBS2025-10-10 14:47:392025-12-30 17:00:33Plymouth: North Plymouth Pulte Homes Project

Plymouth: Victory in wetlands case against AD Makepeace

July 8, 2025
Read more
https://communitylandandwater.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/deer-pond--scaled.jpg 1707 2560 CLwpBS https://communitylandandwater.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/FINAL-CLWC-LOGO-no-background-297x300.png CLwpBS2025-07-08 23:28:092026-08-04 13:08:55Plymouth: Victory in wetlands case against AD Makepeace

Carver: CLWC Files Request for Wetlands Review at 0 Mayflower Road

September 6, 2024
Read more
https://communitylandandwater.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/Screenshot-2026-07-26-134329.png 821 1147 Meg Sheehan https://communitylandandwater.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/FINAL-CLWC-LOGO-no-background-297x300.png Meg Sheehan2024-09-06 14:48:472026-07-26 15:01:32Carver: CLWC Files Request for Wetlands Review at 0 Mayflower Road

Regional Water Plan: Planning for Abundance and Ecological Sustainability in Plymouth’s Water Supply

July 31, 2024
White Island Pond in Plymouth, part of Plymouth’s drinking water supply

On July 31, 2024, Community Land and Water Coalition participated in a round table discussion of local and regional environmental conservation organizations hosted by the Old Colony Planning Council. The goal of the roundtable discussion was to gather firsthand, on the ground knowledge from stakeholder groups about the challenges and opportunities in preserving local natural water resources. 

The Old Colony Planning Council developing its first Regional Water Plan. The goal is to address growing threats to water supply and water quality in the Southeastern Massachusetts region, including overdevelopment, conversion of open space to developed land, decreasing well depths, increased withdrawals, ecological damage, and degradation of local water quality.

According to OCPC, “The aim is to help ensure affordable, safe, abundant, and ecologically sustainable water now and into the future.”

A Steering Committee comprised of representatives from the 17 cities and towns in the Old Colony Planning Council region, along with consultants, state and federal officials, and environmental groups are working on the Plan. More information about the Regional Water Plan can be found on their website. A unique aspect of the Plans is that it’s goal is not to minimize damage to the environment from water withdrawals, but to actually make our ecosystems healthier through planning for abundance.

The robust roundtable discussion on July 31 resulted in a consensus over many roadblocks to ecological and water conservation in the region. 

During the discussion, the groups decided that one of the greatest challenges facing the region is how local residents, activists, and officials can communicate the benefits of water and land conservation to other decision makers. There is a trend in this region that municipal financial shortfalls must be met with increased development, and municipal water shortages must be met with new wells. One of the charges before this group of conservation organizations is the need to communicate the long term benefits of water conservation and protection of the land the connects it. The question is, how?

What You Can Do

You can help with the adoption of the Regional Water Plan and other water conservation measures by advocating for water conservation before the Boards and Committees at Plymouth Town Hall. The Select Board will ultimately be in charge of voting on and implementing the Regional Water Plan. The Select Board in Plymouth meets every other Tuesday at 6:00 pm at Plymouth Town Hall and on Zoom. There is an opportunity for open public comment at the end of the meeting.

You can advocate before the Select Board for Plymouth to adopt all of the recommendations in the Water Conservation Framework.

Familiarize yourself with the water conservation measures recently adopted by Plymouth, available on this YouTube video.

Adhere to Plymouth’s Seasonal Water Use Restrictions.

Read our Press Release about our second Land and Water Forum, filled with great ideas on how to get involved locally.

Watch our video, Community Planning for Conservation.

https://communitylandandwater.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/drinking-water.png 1057 1409 Katherine Harrelson https://communitylandandwater.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/FINAL-CLWC-LOGO-no-background-297x300.png Katherine Harrelson2024-07-31 21:36:242025-12-30 17:00:58Regional Water Plan: Planning for Abundance and Ecological Sustainability in Plymouth’s Water Supply
Page 1 of 512345

Archives by Month

Tags

AD Makepeace Aquifer Atlantic Coastal Pine Barrens Battery battery bomb Biodiversity Carver Carver MA corruption Craig Weston Cranberry cranberry bog Cranberry Country Corruption Cranberry County Corruption Deforestation DOER drinking water Earth removal Endangered Species Extinction Federal Road Forests Groundwater Indigenous Sovereignty Jim Kane Makepeace Massachusetts mining Pine Barrens Plymouth Reckless Development Resources sand and gravel Sand mining Solar Solar gone wrong Sole Source Aquifer strip mine Strip Mining Wareham Water water quality Wetlands Zoning Board of Appeals Zoning Violations

Community Land and Water Coalition

P.O. Box 1699, Plymouth, MA 02362
Email
Phone: 508-259-9154

Please consider making a donation to help strengthen our impact!

DONATE

You can sign our Sand Mining Petition to Governor Healy and town Selectboards here

Facebook
Facebook
fb-share-icon
YouTube
Instagram
Tiktok
JOIN OUR MAILING LIST

Join Our Email List

    Copyright © Community Land & Water Coalition   |   Privacy Policy   |   Site By LW Creative
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Youtube
    • TikTok
    Scroll to top