By Katie Farrell
NEWBURYPORT — The Planning Board unanimously rejected a proposal by Great Woods Post and Beam Co. to develop the Rindler estate off Toppans Lane.
Planning Board Chairman Dan Bowie said the board voted Monday to deny a request to continue a public hearing on the proposal, after the applicant did not present any further information or revisions to the initial plan filed in January.
Great Woods Post and Beam Co. filed an application requesting permission to build 20 single-family house lots on 11 acres of land. The property, which belongs to the Rindler family, extends back near the new medical center that is being built by Anna Jaques Hospital and abuts the hospital parking lot.
In March, the developer told the Planning Board that they would reconsider their submitted proposal in the wake of vocal opposition from the Planning Board and neighbors.
At a public hearing in January, neighbors of the property expressed dismay and disgust at the proposed subdivision. Many questioned how the massive development would fit in with their neighborhood, calling it "embarrassing" and "cookie cutter."
The move by the Planning Board this week effectively ended all discussion on that set of plans, but the developer could return with a new proposal, Bowie said, and indicated that would likely happen.
Bowie said yesterday he has witnessed only a handful of times that the Planning Board has denied an application.
"I take no satisfaction in denying the plan," he said, adding that the board will "go to great lengths" to reach a plan they will approve.
"I'm disappointed for everyone involved," he said.
The board may have voted to continue the hearing if there had been a tremendous change in the design, he said, but there was concern over how many times the hearing had already been continued since January.
Tom Smith, a neighbor of the Rindler estate, has kept a close eye on the project, attending all the Planning Board meetings on the proposal.
"We were very pleased," he said of the neighbors' reaction to the decision to reject the plan.
While it's still unclear if a new proposal will be submitted, Smith said if that does occur, he ideally would like to see a development with only a small number of residential houses that retains all of the farm land.
John Repucci, co-owner of Great Woods Post and Beam Co., did not immediately return a phone call yesterday.
