Bellingham Planning Board closes 180 Payne Street hearing, orders positive and negative decisions drafted

BELLINGHAM -- April 23, 2026, Bellingham Planning Board closes 180 Payne Street hearing and carries two street acceptance articles forward as Annual Town Meeting approaches. The board, meeting April 23 with four of five members present, voted 4-0 to close the public hearing on the proposed 800-unit, 55-and-over Payne Street residential development and directed Land Use Director Joe Layden to draft both positive and negative decisions before the May 29 deadline, a vote complicated by a legal dispute between the applicant and Town Counsel over whether a subdivision approval is required. Peer reviewer Pete of TEC told the board that groundwater levels measured at roughly 20 feet resolve the project's central prior concern, but said conveyance pipe sizing and a formal phasing plan remain outstanding. A packed hearing room of Candlelight Lane residents described foundation damage, doubled homeowners association fees now totaling roughly $1,200 per year per unit, and years of inaction by developer South Street Central Realty over a private drain pipe discovered beneath Northern Lights Way in 2024, the sole barrier to town acceptance of the 100-lot Lakeview Estates development. The Duhamel Way street acceptance article was also continued 4-0 to May 14 after required legal and engineering documents failed to materialize from developer Plumtree Custom Homes.