November 19, 2025 By Carol Britton Meyer
The lengthy litigation related to the River Stone development planned for Viking Lane off Ward Street has come to an end, Town Administrator Tom Mayo reported to the select board Tuesday night.
The developer applied to the zoning board of appeals for a comprehensive permit under the state’s Chapter 40B (comprehensive permit) affordable housing law nearly a decade ago that included 36 condominium units – nine of which would be affordable.
During ZBA hearings, the developer reduced the size of the project from 36 to 32 units.
Under 40B, developers are allowed to circumvent most local regulations in exchange for an affordable housing component – usually 25 percent.
After more than two years of hearings and legal proceedings – during which there was a great deal of neighborhood opposition to the project due to concerns about community impacts – the ZBA voted in July 2018 to issue a comprehensive permit for the project subject to specific conditions, several of which the developer appealed to the state Housing Appeals Committee.
Concerns related in part to the proximity of the development to the aquifer and other environmental concerns.
The ZBA review involved in part a peer review by engineers with expertise in traffic, civil engineering, wastewater, and wetlands.
In 2022, the HAC issued a decision that upheld some of the ZBA’s conditions and overturned others.
During a well-attended meeting in Oct. 2022 in joint session with the ZBA, the select board supported appealing the Sept. 23, 55-page decision of the HAC to allow the River Stone comprehensive permit for a development off Ward Street to move forward following a 45-minute executive session. The ZBA also voted to appeal the decision.
At that time, Select Board Chair William Ramsey said, reading from a prepared statement, “The town disagrees with the HAC decision [and is] concerned that [it] may negatively impact the health and safety of future residents of the River Stone development and existing Hingham residents in the abutting neighborhood. The Town will fight the HAC decision.” The vote by both boards was unanimous.
Subsequently, the town and the ZBA appealed the HAC decision to the Land Court, which in 2024 upheld the HAC decision in its entirety.
“The town and the ZBA appealed the Land Court decision, and on August 25, 2025, the Appeals Court also affirmed the HAC decision,” Mayo explained.
The town and the ZBA then made an application to the Supreme Judicial Court for further appellate review. Last Friday, Nov. 14, the SJC denied the town’s request.
“This ends the litigation over the Comprehensive Permit issued by the zoning board for the River Stone development,” Mayo said. “The town and the ZBA will now be taking the [necessary] steps to comply with the HAC decision.”