Tension over a proposed family homeless shelter on Cape Cod is boiling as a Massachusetts housing attorney told a town board it should be “embarrassed” for going “off the rails” with its concerns over the project.

Robert Brennan, an attorney for the applicant, Housing Assistance Corp., continues to unleash his frustration on how the Dennis Planning Board “allowed misstatements to come in” during a May hearing on the project.

Housing Assistance intends to morph its three family shelters in Hyannis, Bourne and Falmouth, into one central space at a former 128-bed nursing home in South Dennis.

Project officials have stressed that the 57,000-square-foot facility would house up to 79 homeless families, or 177 individuals, mostly single mothers with infants and young children. But residents and several officials in Dennis and neighboring Harwich argue the center could be turned over to migrants.

“They were not talking about any element of the project, (they were) talking about who these people were,” Brennan said of the concerns, in a meeting with the Dennis Planning Board on Monday. “That they are the people at Salvation Army that take all of the shoes.”

“Each member who sat through that, who allowed those misstatements to come in, who took that as testimony in your hearing,” he continued, “should be embarrassed because that was so far upfield with what the charge of this board is.”

Brennan’s remarks are similar to those he made to the Cape Cod Commission in July when the regional board found the “family transitional shelter” would have no regional impact and denied a discretionary referral from Dennis and Harwich.

Dennis Planning Board member Rich Hamlin said the attorney’s criticism doesn’t accurately convey the board’s concerns.

The board has taken exception to how attorneys and the town building commissioner have determined the project fits the criteria of the Dover Amendment — a state statute that exempts agricultural, religious, and educational uses from certain zoning restrictions.

“I don’t care who lives in this place, period,” Hamlin said. “This issue for me is one simple item: Dover Amendment. It is not the primary use of this facility, period, and I am taken aback by your comments, your insults. I’ve done my homework.”

Brennan shot back, “Anyone who watched that May 20 hearing was appalled.”

Board Chairman Paul McCormick Jr., responded, “Mr. Brennan, you don’t have to yell at us. We’ve heard you, we want to deliberate.”

Homeless families and individuals would receive lessons at the facility on “life skills,” project leaders have said. Occupancy would be phased in over time, about three to four months before the facility is full.

Tenants would be required to take lessons on financial management, family planning, MassHealth enrollment, housing search, parenting, cooking and other educational interventions.

Housing Assistance received a permit last week for the facility. The nonprofit now must apply for Board of Health permits, Town Planner Paul Foley told the Planning Board which tabled a vote on whether it will file an appeal later this month.

Brennan slammed the board for not providing notice it would be considering and voting on additional special conditions – one being a study on how many food deliveries would be made to the facility – at a July 22 meeting.

“You are floundering here,” he said. “I understand immigration is an issue. We have a broken immigration system. This is not it. This is not the issue here.”

In a “Frequently Asked Questions” section on the organization’s website, officials say the endeavor is part of “long-term strategic planning that predates the immigration crisis.”

“Once it is open, this new family shelter will serve as a stable, supportive home for families, many with deep roots on Cape Cod, who need our help on the path to permanent housing,” the section states. “There is already the possibility of migrant families staying in our shelter if they qualify based on current state housing laws and admission standards, which we are required to follow.”

A Cape Cod fight over a proposed family homeless shelter is continuing in Dennis. (Matt Stone/Boston Herald)