OLD BUSINESS

BOMBARDIER - MINOR SUBDIVISION - (ID#: 20-007) - Continued from August 20, 2020

Minor Subdivision - Preliminary Plan Review

AP 9 / Lot 79 – 2 Danecroft Ave

.988 Acres (approx.)/R-20 Zone

Applicant/Owner: Kenneth Bombardier

Engineer: Todd Chaplin, PE, Mount Hope Engineering, Inc.

a.     Review and discuss the proposed submission with the project proponent.

b.     The Board may approve the Preliminary Plan as submitted, approve with changes and/or conditions, deny the application, or continue the meeting to a future date.

c.      The Board may make a recommendation on the required dimensional relief.

d.        The Board may make a recommendation to the Town Council on the proposed road abandonment.

e.      The Board may delegate Final Plan approval to the Administrative Officer.

Todd Chaplin, with Mount Hope Engineering, represented the applicant on this request to subdivide a property located on a paper street known as “Briarcliff Avenue”.  Mr. Chaplin stated that the proposal was for the private lane to service two lots but that the Town was not in agreement with this proposal while the paper street is still owned by Town for liability reasons. Mr. Chaplin stated that, if the subdivision is approved, the applicant will seek abandonment of the road and divide the area between the two lots.  Mr. Chaplin added that water and sewer are both available and the property has no wetlands.

Solicitor Scott Levesque stated that the applicant is now asking for the Town to abandon the road resulting in a shared driveway over private property.  Town Planner Mike Phillips stated that the petition for abandonment would need to be filed with the Town Council and this Board would also need to make a recommendation on the requested zoning relief.

John Steere made a motion, seconded by Jennifer Hawkins, to approve the Preliminary Plan, recommending the requested zoning relief be granted, being subject to appropriate utility connections, abandonment of the road, dimensional relief from the Zoning Board, and recommending the abandonment of Briarcliff Avenue and that the Final Plan approval be handled administratively.

The vote on the motion was as follows:

Voting In Favor:  Members Colavecchio, Gizzarelli, Hawkins, Ruotolo, and Steere

Voting In Opposition:  None

Abstaining:  Member Moan

The vote on the motion being five in favor with one abstention, the motion carried.

RUBIUS THERAPEUTICS - (ID#: 20-009) PRE-APPLICATION/CONCEPT REVIEW 

Continued from September 17, 2020 

Major Land Development – Pre-Application/Concept Review

AP 49 / Lot 78 – 30 Hanton City Road

15.55 Acres (approx.) / Zoning District: PCD-B

Applicant/Owner: Rubius Therapeutics, Inc.

Engineer: Joe Casali Engineering, Inc.

a.   The Board will review the submission with the applicant and provide input for future review stages.

Chris Patterson, Senior Director of Facilities and Engineering for Rubius Therapeutics, stated that Rubius Therapeutics is seeking to construct an additional manufacturing facility at some point in the future.  Also present from Rubius was Brian Gillis, Vice President of Manufacturing and Supply Chain.

Joe Casali, Registered Professional Engineer with offices at 300 Post Road in Warwick, reviewed a PowerPoint presentation of the proposal with the Board.

Joe Casali stated that the parcel has 219 parking spaces for what they expect to be a maximum of 203 persons.  Mr. Casali stated that they are proposing to extend the sewer line and are in discussions with Fidelity who presently has a lot less people onsite due to COVID-19.  Mr. Casali stated that they are in need of fire, sewer, and water department approvals and will then appear back for Preliminary Plan review but are seeking conceptual feedback from the Town.

Mike Moan questioned whether the water service available would be able to provide enough water for their manufacturing purposes and Joe Casali replied that his understanding is that the business is changing and the applicant is proposing a fire line around the facility and thinks this will meet with the requirements of the Fire Chief.  Chris Patterson added that they are a single use technology which extremely lessens the burden on sewer and water and doesn’t have any concerns with utilities and consumption.

Mike Moan questioned whether they have considered solar generation on the expanse of the roof and Joe Casali replied that is something they can talk about but was not part of their initial conversations.

Jennifer Hawkins questioned how many new employees would this facility generate and would they consider reducing the number of parking spaces?  Joe Casali replied that the attempt is to balance impervious area with environmental concerns but a maximum capacity of 203 employees.  Brian Gillis added that this is an exploratory phase and the number of new employees would be determined on what they decide to do but that 100-200 new people would be a reasonable estimate.

Town Planner Mike Phillips questioned a traffic light on Douglas Pike and Joe Casali replied that initially there were discussions due to the amount of people at Alexion and Fidelity and that a lot has changed since.  Mr. Casali noted that the applicant is in discussions with Fidelity and that, based on the Island Woods covenant, if they wanted a light it they would get one but that it is open for discussion.  Mr. Casali added that other options could be to access the site via Salem Street, Essex Street, or just Decotis Farm Road with a gate at Technology Way.

Curtis Ruotolo stated that the Town welcomes the new jobs but would ask that the applicant try to balance the site with cuts and fills as much as possible. 

NEW BUSINESS

Stillwater COVE (formerly Stillwaters Place) - (ID#:06-014) - MAJOR LAND DEVELOPMENT PROJECT – APPROVED OCTOBER 25, 2013

Minor Change to An approved Plan - SET BOND AMOUNT GUARANTEEING CONSTRUCTION OF (3) OFF-SITE LMI UNITS LOCATED AT 5-7 HILL STREET

Owner/Developer: Stillwater Pond Development, LLC - Angelo Grilli

a.     Review and discuss the proposed surety bond amount.

b.     The Board may approve the proposed bond amount, revise the bond amount or continue the meeting to a future date.

Town Planner Mike Phillips stated that Stillwater Pond Development, formerly Stillwater Place, received Final Plan approval in 2013 and a zone change from Town Council in 2006 stipulated that 3 LMI units be constructed offsite.  Mr. Phillips stated that the applicant identified 5-7 Hill Street for construction of those units and began renovation last year on three 3 bedroom units to be rebuilt to “like new” status.  Mr. Phillips stated that there have been a significant amount of conversations and delays due to COVID and the Town is requesting posting a bond sufficient enough to ensure the building of those units.  Mr. Phillips added that the developer, Angelo Grilli, came forward with a budget and that he is suggesting a 10% fee on top of that because building materials are presently through the roof.

Angelo Grilli stated that he recently received a building permit and is moving forward with renovations on the building that he purchased with a $200,000 renovation budget.  Mr. Grilli stated that he has every intention of completing this project working closely with the Building Officials office and that he is hoping to finish the project in the next 6 months.

Jennifer Hawkins questioned the significant delay and amount of cost at the Stillwater Cove project and Angelo Grilli replied that the building permit was supposed to be issued after the 22^nd unit at Stillwater was completed and that was just sold about 3 weeks ago.  Mr. Grilli stated that the cost at Stillwater is totally different because the project was ground up with excavation and that this structure has a foundation and a new roof and he is simply renovating inside.

Angelo Grilli stated that he agreed not to have Certificates of Occupancies granted on Building 16, having four units, and the model unit 3D, for a total of 5 units, until such time that Hill Street is close to having occupancy.

John Steere made a motion, seconded by Jennifer Hawkins, to accept the bond in the amount of $235,000 as recommended by the Town and foregoing any Certificates of Occupancy on Building 16 and Unit 3D.  The vote on the motion was all in favor and the motion carried.

REVIEW AND DISCUSS ZONING MAP AMENDMENTS CALLED FOR IN THE COMPREHENSIVE COMMUNITY PLAN

a.     Review and discuss map amendments called for in Figure LU-12- Inconsistencies

between Future Land Use and Existing Zoning Map,

b.     The Board may make a recommendation that the Town Council begin the process of adopting the zoning amendments.

c.      The Board may continue the discussion to a future date.

Town Planner Mike Phillips gave a PowerPoint presentation of the zoning map amendments being called for in the Comprehensive Plan.

Planner Phillips stated that the presentation consists of land use and zoning changes as called for in the Comprehensive Plan and gave an overview of the type of changes the Board is looking at.  Mr. Phillips stated there is an analysis of inconsistencies between the future land use map and zoning and the Town is required to have a timeline for making these changes.  Mr. Phillips stated that other issues are eliminating split zone lots that don’t make sense, re-zonings that have not been reflected in the maps and land use map changes to agree with zoning changes. 

Mike Moan questioned what the public notice will be with regard to the changes and Planner Phillips replied that it will be a general notice advertisement in the newspaper listing the affected lots.

Curtis Rutolo made a motion, seconded by John Steere, that the Board gives a positive recommendation to the Town Council to make the zone changes as discussed tonight.  The vote on the motion was all in favor and the motion carried.

John Steere made a motion, seconded by Richard Colavecchio, to adjourn the meeting at 8:12 pm.  The vote on the motion was all in favor and the motion carried.

The next meeting is scheduled for Thursday, November 12, 2020.

Respectfully submitted,

Donna A. Corrao, Recording Secretary