PLANNING BOARD MINUTES

March 30, 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                                                            Peter Regan, Town Solicitor

Michael Fenton, Secretary

Art Weber

B.J. Owen (via Zoom)

Joe Pierik

Member absent:

John Ciummo           

 

           

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

1.                  Public Workshop – Presentation and discussion of potential amendments to the Middletown Zoning Ordinance, Article 13 - Off-street Parking and Loading. If adopted by the Town Council, the proposed amendments would modify the minimum off-street parking requirements throughout the town.

a.    Mr. Croce introduced the topic of discussion and requested that Mr. Wolanski proceed with his presentation of the proposed amendments.

b.    Mr. Wolanski provided a slide presentation, including the background on the Town Council requests for review of the current parking regulations, and proposed amendments recommended by the subcommittee.

c.     Mr. Croce opened the floor for public input.

d.    Middletown resident Judith Rosenthal, attending via Zoom, suggested that the number of parking spaces required for hotels with restaurants incorporate the requirement of stand-alone restaurants of 1 space per 3 persons based on the fire code occupancy limit.

e.    There being no other members of the public wishing to speak, Mr. Croce proceeded to walk through each section of the proposed draft, dated 3/7/2022, and requested input from Planning Board members.

f.      Items of discussion included:

                                          i.    Section 1301 & 1302 – need to revise language to clarify that parking surfaces such as gravel or clam shells are permissible for one- and two-family dwellings. Consider adding language requiring proper base materials and methods to delineate the parking area.

                                         ii.    Section 1304 –

A.  Agricultural – Consider adding a parking requirement for veterinary hospitals

B. Residential – add reference to the short-term rental ordinance; add parking requirement for hotel with restaurant (1 space per 3 fire code occupancy with 10% discount due to the shared use)

E. Manufacturing – add parking requirement for customers (1 space per 3 fire code occupancy)

F. Transportation, Communication, Utilities – Mr. Wolanski was asked to research parking standards for storage facilities.

I. Retail Commercial – It was noted that parking requirements for marijuana related uses might have to be addressed at a later date based on state legislation legalizing the sale for recreational use.

M. Indoor Commercial Amusement Services – agreement to add “Entertainment” to the title of the section.

O. Commercial Outdoor Recreation – Discussion that if an amusement park were proposed, the parking required could be determined during the Development Plan Review process; Tennis/other court games will have requirement of one space per court; Swimming pools will require parking based on capacity limits, which Mr. Wolanski was asked to research.

P. Accessory uses – add reference to the current farm accessory uses section of the Zoning Ordinance.

g.    Mr. Wolanski was asked to work with the Town Solicitor to revise the draft for presentation to the Board during a future meeting.

 

Motion by Mr. Nash, seconded by Mr. Weber to adjourn. Vote: 6-0-0

 

Meeting adjourned at approximately 7:35 pm.

Respectfully submitted,

Mike Fenton, Secretary