PLANNING BOARD MINUTES

February 9, 2022, 6pm

Town Council Chambers – Town Hall

350 East Main Road

Middletown, RI 02842

 

Board members present:

Paul Croce, Chair                                                   Ron Wolanski, Town Planner

Bill Nash, Vice Chair                                                          Michael Monti, Assistant Town Solicitor

Michael Fenton, Secretary

Art Weber

B.J. Owen (via Zoom)

John Ciummo           

Joe Pierik           

Mr. Croce called the meeting to order at 6:00pm           

4.            Approval of minutes

January 12, 2022 regular Planning Board meeting, Motion by Mr. Weber seconded by Mr. Ciummo to approve. Vote: 7-0-0

January 24, 2022 special meeting, Motion by Mr. Nash, seconded by Mr. Weber, to approve. Vote: 7-0-0

2. Correspondence – None received

3.         Old Business

a.    Public Hearing - Application of GD Middletown West Main I, LLC for Development Plan Review, including request for waiver from certain design standards of the Middletown Rules and Regulations Regarding the Subdivision and Development of Land Section 521, and recommendation to the Zoning Board of Review regarding special use permit application for development in Zone 1 of the Watershed Protection District, to allow construction of a ground-mounted solar photovoltaic installation on a property located at 1747 West Main Road, Plat 111 Lot 9A.

                                  i.        The applicant was represented by attorney Jay Lynch. He requested that the application be continued to the April Planning Board meeting. His client is continuing work to addresses comments from the Town’s consulting engineer.

                                 ii.        Motion by Mr. Nash, seconded by Mr. Weber, to continue the matter to the April 13, 2022 regular Planning Board meeting.

                                iii.        Vote 7-0-0

b.    Public Hearing – Application of Juan Campos for Preliminary Plan approval of a 5-lot subdivision including extension of an existing town road. The property is located at the end of Serenity Drive, with frontage also on Maidford River Road, and is identified as Tax Assessor’s Plat 120, Lots 68-A & 68-B.

                                  i.        Mr. Wolanski stated that the applicant’s attorney provided an email correspondence requesting a continuance to the April meeting to allow time to respond to comments from the Town’s engineer.

                                 ii.        Motion by Mr. Nash, seconded by Mr. Ciummo, to continue the matter to the April 13, 2022 regular meeting.

                                iii.        Vote: 7-0-0.

c.       Request of Benjamin J. Contessa for approval of an administrative subdivision to transfer 1,960 sq.ft. of land from one existing lot to another. Property located at 183 Wolcott Ave., Plat 115SE, Lots 282 & 283.

                                  i.     Mr. Contessa presented a revised plan for the subdivision as requested by the Board during the prior meeting.

                                                ii.      Mr. Croce noted that the new design reduces the amount of zoning relief needed. Only relief for frontage of one of the proposed lots is now necessary.

                                iii.    Mr. Nash noted that a table on the plan listing the proposed lot areas is not consistent with the revised plan.

                                iv.    Motion by Mr. Nash seconded by Mr. Weber to make the required findings and approve the plan subject to the following conditions:

1.    Prior to endorsement and recording of the plan, the required relief must be granted by the Zoning Board of Review and the recorded decision provided to the Planning Department.

2.    Prior to recording, the plan must be revised to correctly indicate the existing and proposed area of each lot.

                                 v.     Vote: 7-0-0.

4.            New Business

a.       Request of Peter Gallipeau, developer of the Saltwood Farm subdivision, Bailey Ave., Plat 126, Lot 4, for extension of the time to record the approved plans for subdivision phases 3 & 4 to July 29, 2022.

                                  i.    Mr. Ciummo recused himself from discussion of this item

                                 ii.    Mr. Gallipeau described the status of the development, including delays in completing water lines.

                                iii.    Motion by Mr. Nash, seconded by Ms. Owen, to grant the requested extension. Vote: 6-0-0

b.    Review of proposed amendments to Zoning Ordinance, Article 13 - Off-street Parking and Loading. Consider recommendation to the Town Council

                                  i.    Mr. Nash and Mr. Pierik described the work of the subcommittee which drafted the proposed amendments. The goal was to simplify the parking regulations and tie them to the zoning use categories.

                                 ii.    There was a discussion of questions raised by a Town Council member and Board members.

                                iii.    There was consensus that the Board should hold a public workshop meeting to present the proposed amendments and address questions. Mr. Wolanski suggested that Board members review the draft and forward their questions to him for distribution prior to the public workshop.

                               iv.    Mr. Wolanski was asked to poll the Board members to identify a date for the public workshop.

5.            Updates

a.    Mr. Croce noted documents distributed by the planner to the Board, including the executive summary from Comprehensive Plan and a letter received from a resident of West House regarding the proposed expansion of that facility. There was discussion of the desire to notify tenants, not just abutting property owners of pending applications. Mr. Wolanski will discuss options with the Town Solicitor.

b.    Status Report on Planning Board Action Items – There were no comments or questions.

c.     Committee reports

1.    Use Table/Parking Subcommittee -Mr. Nash reported that the subcommittee will continue its work on review of the use table. A meeting has yet to be scheduled.

2.    Tree Commission – Ms. Owen stated that the commission is working on tree planting at the Aquidneck Ave. multi-use fields at the former drive-in property. It is also working to coordinate activities as part of Earth Week, April 15-23^rd.

3.    Open Space & Fields Committee – Mr. Fenton stated that the committee is reviewing a proposed “futsal” mini-soccer proposal recently presented to the OS&F committee for their support before they go to the Town Council. The committee is also looking at options for an east – west bike path through the town, and is finalizing scoring procedures for evaluating potential property acquisitions.

4.    Conservation Commission – Mr. Pierik stated that recent meetings have been cancelled due to lack of business.

5.    Affordable Housing Committee – Mr. Weber asked why the Town’s affordable housing consultant, Frank Spinella, has not attended Planning Board meetings. Mr. Wolanski stated that Mr. Spinella has been asked to review recent affordable housing applications and has provided comments to the Board.

                                 v.    Motion by Ms. Owen, seconded by Mr. Weber to adjourn. Vote: 7-0-0

Meeting adjourned at approximately 6:55pm.

Respectfully submitted,

Mike Fenton, Secretary