Bellingham Planning Board Continues 1,600-Unit Golf Course Housing Hearing to May

BELLINGHAM -- March 27, 2025, Bellingham Planning Board holds packed first hearing on 1,600-unit golf course development, continuing it to May 22. Developer Copper Mill, represented by Andrew Flynn, presented plans to build 1,600 units of 55-plus rental housing on the 330-acre New England Country Club property along Payne Street, in two five-story clusters intended to preserve roughly 280 acres of open space and retain the 18-hole golf course. State Representative Mike Soter called the proposal "the worst case of bait and switch I've ever seen," arguing voters in 2017 approved an overlay for owner-occupied townhouses and condominiums, not five-story rental buildings, and pledging to oppose any state funding requests. Town Planner Rob Lucier flagged concerns in a March 20 memo about light glare, limited screening near the Glaude Lane neighborhood in Woonsocket, single-point eastern campus access, and unresolved sewer and water capacity questions, while the applicant's own traffic study showed the nearby Pulaski Boulevard intersection running at 104 percent capacity at full buildout. A petition bearing more than 730 signatures opposing the project was submitted for the record, and the board confirmed it will hire an independent traffic peer reviewer, paid by the applicant, before the May 22 hearing.