LAKEVILLE — A revised plan to build two smaller warehouses, instead of one larger facility, on the Lakeville Hospital site was presented to residents by site owners Rhino Capital during an Oct. 19 meeting at Apponequet Regional High School.

The changes were made to accommodate neighbors’ concerns, according to Rhino Head of Construction and Development Tyler Murphy, who presented the plan to the public.

Rhino proposed building two 201,000-square-foot warehouses on the property surrounded by Main Street, Rush Pond Road, and Rhode Island Road. 

This project is a revision of Rhino’s proposed plan from 2021 to build one 402,500-square-foot warehouse on the property. The new proposal moves all truck loading docks to one side of the warehouses, which places them further away from abutting properties and reduces noise, according to Murphy.

Benefits to Lakeville would include the addition of $500,000 in tax revenue each year, with limited impact on town services, Murphy said. 

Rhino is also committed to a full clean-up of the site, which could cost $10 million. Few options are available for the land that would feature the financial resources to cover the cost, Murphy said.

The plan considered “an incredible amount of abutter and resident feedback,” according to Murphy.

During the two-hour meeting, Lakeville residents voiced their concerns about the traffic impact, noise level, and resident input when presented with the revised plan.

Residents raised concerns about the impact of truck traffic on local roads. Murphy said the proposal includes a retractable barrier by the truck entrance to stagger traffic and reduce congestion.

The development agreement, a contract between the town and Rhino to hold both parties accountable during the project, requires trucks to only drive from I-495 to the warehouse and not use back roads, according to Murphy.

Most residents who spoke agreed that the site needs to be cleaned up. The hospital closed in 1992 and has not been developed since. 

The hospital buildings were built before the United States phased out asbestos use for buildings in 1989. Hazardous materials, including used needles and bodily fluids, are said to be buried on site. 

The site is also a safety hazard, Murphy said. There have also been break-ins at the site, according to the presentation.

Residents will have their say at the Nov. 14 Special Town Meeting where they will vote on two articles related to the project. 

Article 14 relates to removing the Development Opportunity District overlaid on the mixed-use zone where Lakeville Hospital sits. Passing Article 14 would make it easier to alter the land’s zoning to accommodate Rhino’s proposal.

Lakeville residents John Jenkins and Dick Scott sued the town over the Development Opportunity District, and courts ruled that the district’s layout was not specific enough and lacked key details. Rhino’s first plan was scrapped as a result.

Special Town Meeting Article 15 relates to the hospital site’s proposed development. 

If passed, it would alter Lakeville’s zoning bylaws and allow “Warehouses, Offices, or Facilities for Distributing Merchandise” to be built as primary uses in mixed-use zones. 

The hospital site is the only area zoned for mixed-use in Lakeville. Lakeville cannot rezone the full parcel to industrial, which allows warehouses on industrial-zoned lands as a primary use, according to Murphy, because there are existing businesses already in the mixed-use zone that would not fit into an industrially zoned parcel. 

Passing Article 15 would allow Rhino to undergo a site plan review for the new proposal. The review process gives the town government and residents a chance to examine the new proposal in greater detail. Passing the article would not automatically permit Rhino to start developing the land.

Planning Board Chair Mark Knox said residents “have my word” that he will not recommend the article if the development agreement is not finalized by the Nov. 14 Special Town Meeting with suitable language.

Other public comments pertained to noise levels during and after construction. Murphy said Rhino will conduct noise studies that will be peer-reviewed and examined by the town government throughout the site plan review process.

Scott, whose home abuts the property, wants to make sure Rhino takes care of residents’ concerns.

“Do [the project] so we’re not fighting for the next 10 years,” said Scott.

“It cannot keep being ‘I don’t want it in my backyard,’” said Louise Richard, a Lakeville resident since 1966. Richard said the state should have cleaned the site because the state owned the hospital, but now, she said “we need to do something. The property has to be cleaned up. It’s dangerous.”

The development agreement will be discussed at the Select Board meeting on Monday, Oct. 24, and at the Planning Board meeting on Thursday, Oct. 27.