REHOBOTH - Contractor/developer John Ferreira will have another chance to get a special groundwater permit for the Kingsley Estates subdivision.

The planning board has rescinded an earlier decision to deny the permit after a revised project plan was submitted.

A public hearing on the matter is now scheduled for Jan. 21, the second time a public hearing on the groundwater permit has been reopened.

"We are pleased with the planning board's decision to rescind the alleged denial of our client's special permit application previously filed with the town clerk," attorney Eric S. Brainsky said.

The sticking point in the application process, which has been going on for more than a year, involves drainage swales, grassy depressions that carry stormwater runoff. The applicant's revised plans now include incorporating a liner of clay-like materials in the swales.

Kenneth DeCosta, senior vice president of PARE Corporation, the town's engineering consultant on the project, told the planning board that "the intent of the bylaw has been satisfied."

The planning board, with six of the seven members present, voted unanimously to rescind its previous ruling denying the permit.

Ferreira agreed last year to obtain the permit as part of a negotiated settlement with the town, but the application process has been a lengthy one.

'Long process'

"This has been a long, ongoing process, and I hope we resolve this to the best interests of the town," planning board Vice Chairman Mike Costello said.

The hearing to consider the revised proposal will take place during the board's meeting at 7:30 p.m. Jan. 21.