Two days after the Conservation Commission OK'd The Green Company's plans for a senior residential community on Tall Pine Drive, the developer went before the Planning Board at its Wednesday night meeting at Town Hall to continue the approval process.

The project involves a total of 50 bedrooms, which would consist of 24 two-bedroom units and two one-bedroom units at 40 Tall Pine Drive, which is near Horse Pond Road.

"It's positive tax growth for the town. Due to age restrictions, there is not likely to many school-age children living in the property," said Joshua Fox, who was representing the Newton-based developer. 

At the Conservation Commission meeting earlier in the week, Fox stressed that the project is not a 40B development. 40B refers to the state law that allows for affordable housing in communities. It has been a source of controversy in Sudbury for months among residents who object to a planned development on Landham Road that would include some affordable housing units.

Green Company representatives spent time at the Planning Board meeting showing design plans and detailing the impact on septic systems and wetlands in the area. Nearby Dudley Brook would be protected, they said.

Fox said that the proposed development would occur in an area that already has non-residential uses, such as the 25,000-square-foot Jones & Bartlett Publishing building and its 115-car parking lot. The developer has a successful history with creating quality senior residential communities that benefit the towns where they are built, he stressed.

The Green Company is the developer of Springhouse Pond in Sudbury, as well as similar residential communities in Plymouth, Newton, Chestnut Hill and Yamouth Port.

Prior to Town Meeting in May, the Tall Pine Drive project would not have been allowed under bylaws that set 20 acres as the minimum lot size for senior residential communities. That minimum number was reduced to 10 at Town Meeting, which allows the 11-acre Tall Pine Drive site to meet that requirement.

The Board did not take a vote, since the company does not have a formal application pending before the Planning Commission, but members indicated that they favor the project. Proponents for the development have argued that it will allow another option for older residents who are looking to downsize but don't wish to leave Sudbury.

Public hearings would be held before the project could win final approval. The Planning Commission will take up the issue again at its Aug. 22 meeting.