Plymouth: South Ponds Preserve: Legal challenge dropped when Town withdraws parking plan

Town of Plymouth drops plan to expand parking in Town Forest

In mid-2023, amid rising concern about the threats to the South Ponds complex from misuse of the Town Forest, the Town of Plymouth dropped its plans to expand parking. A lawsuit filed by  Save the Pine Barrens in 2022 challenged  Plymouth Conservation Commission’s Order of Conditions under the Town’s Wetlands Bylaw to increase parking within 35-feet of Little South Pond. The Town dropped the plan and the lawsuit was voluntarily dismissed. 

Read more about the South Pond Preserve coalition’s efforts to build a public-private partnership with the Town of Plymouth and others for stewardship of the Preserve area. 

The Commission issued the permit despite lack of any documentation to show that the parking itself and the resulting public use of the pond and shoreline will not destroy the ten or more species listed under the Massachusetts Endangered Species Act (MESA) and the Northern Cooter protected under federal law.

The lawsuit is here. 

The Town’s Order of Conditions permit is here.