MARION — The Planning Board has thrown its support behind the 48-unit housing development at 78 Wareham Road that will be brought before Town meeting voters next month.

The board voted unanimously Monday, April 4 to recommend voters support the project the second time around, with Christopher Collings abstaining because he lives close to the site. The project failed to pass at last fall’s Town Meeting, falling short of the two-thirds vote required to make the needed zoning change.

Matthew Zuker, founder and principal of NewMeadow Development, has been committed to community outreach about the plan. He has said that unanswered questions at the fall Town Meeting caused voters to reject the zoning change.

Nearly all the seats at the Marion Music Hall were filled on Saturday, April 2, for his first informational meeting.

Zuker spent the first part of the meeting pitching the concept, which consists of 36 detached homes and 12 attached townhouses, with six buildings of two homes.

This requires a zoning change to accommodate ten units in an acre, technically allowing as many as 12 units per acre. But this density will not happen on the site because his company has signed a permanent deed restriction that would cap building on the 30-acre site to 48 units.

Selectman John Waterman voiced support for the project, noting that Zuker will contribute $1.2 million to do infrastructure work for the area.

“​​The fact he’s paying for this is a huge savings, not just for the town, but for the neighborhood,” Waterman said. He also noted that more than 20% of the town is over 65 years old, and that this development would appeal to the aging population.

Wendy Cullum, a Marion resident who worked on the Master Plan in 2015, weighed in with historical context.

“This property was available back then, and this is what we envisioned for it,” she said, adding that the aging population would want to downsize to smaller homes. “We don’t need larger homes in Marion. We are getting older. This is not a young town.”

Zuker clarified that while the development was marketed to ages 55 and older, it would not be restricted to that age range.

Some residents expressed concern about whether the development’s location would leave it susceptible to storm damage. Questions were raised about how up-to-date the Federal Emergency Management Agency flood maps were and whether the homes would be vulnerable to flooding.

Waterman assured them that the project does not sit in a velocity zone, which includes areas that would receive storm surge from winds and tide.

“We are working with the town and doing all we can to ensure it is a good development for the town all the way down to the design,” said Zuker.

There were also questions about whether there would be any affordable housing units available. Zuker stated that they hadn’t gotten that far yet.

Zuker will host another informational meeting on Thursday, April 7, at 6 p.m. at the music hall, 164 Front St.