@clay I don’t think that using .local is a good choice, as reported here, .local has a very specific purpose and .test would be the right choice to do.
As reported above, I think Apple uses .local for bonjour services on macOS, which could cause potential conflicts.
https://support.apple.com/en-gb/HT203136
At least we should have the chance to change this globally in the preferences of the app, and not only every time we start a new local website.