| | Town of Smithfield Planning Board 64 FARNUM PIKE ESMOND, RHODE ISLAND 02917 September 15, 2022 Virtual Meeting Minutes |
Members Present: Al Gizzarelli, Charles Boyd, Richard Colavecchio, Jennifer Hawkins, Al Nani, Michael Moan, Joseph Rotella, and John Yoakum
Members Absent: Ken Orabona
Others Present: Michael Phillips, Town Planner, Scott Levesque, Assistant Town Solicitor
Chairman Al Gizzarelli opened the September 15, 2022 meeting of the Smithfield Planning Board at 6:04 p.m.
Discuss and approve the August 18, 2022 meeting minutes.
Al Nani made a motion, seconded by John Yoakum, to approve the Planning Board meeting minutes for August 18, 2022. The vote on the motion was as follows:
Voting In Favor: Members Boyd, Colavecchio, Rotella, Gizzarelli, Colavecchio, Nani, Moan and Yoakum
Voting In Opposition: None
Abstaining: Member Hawkins
The vote on the motion being seven in favor, with one abstention, the motion carried.
REGULAR AGENDA
Comprehensive Permit Application - Major Land Development
AP 44 / Lot 82 – 89 West Greenville Road
43 Acres (approx.)/Zone: R-80
Applicant/Owner: West Greenville Road, LLC
Engineer: Samuel Hemenway, PE – Garofalo & Associates, Inc.
a. The Board will review the submission with the applicant and provide input for future review stages.
Sam Hemingway, Project Engineer with Garofalo & Associates, reviewed the plan set stating that the property has an agricultural use and having significant upland areas of the property which will be left as open space. Mr. Hemingway stated that, due to constraints on the property, they are proposing a singular road with a cul-de-sac at the end. Mr. Hemingway stated that the property will be serviced by public water and sewer and meets with all setbacks. Mr. Hemingway noted that they have flagged and identified wetlands with a wetland verification permit pending with RIDEM.
Michael Moan questioned the waivers being requested and Mr. Hemingway replied roadway length and number of units on the road.
Solicitor Scott Levesque stated that the Board must make the findings in accordance with the new Section 12.5 and that this project is in the area of town as outlined in the Section 12.5.1 which the applicant has confirmed the property is in the Greenville area. Solicitor Levesque stated that the project must also be in support of the performance standard identified in Section 12.5.4 and it is clear the applicant is intending to connect to public sewer and water. Solicitor Levesque stated that the only outstanding issue is the third requirement which is whether the applicant meets the required parking. Sam Hemenway, Project Engineer with Garofalo, stated that it is their intent to comply with parking requirement.
Jennifer Hawkins questioned the number of bedrooms and the percentage of LMI they are targeting. Mr. Hemenway replied that the units will be 2 bedroom and 25% will be LMI which may be a mix of homeowner and rental. Ms. Hawkins stated that this meets the new criteria of being in the village of Greenville and connected to water and sewer but would request consideration of larger 3 bedroom units for families and attempt to get closer to 80% AMI. Town Planner Michael Phillips noted that rental units have to be at 80% AMI. Attorney Mancini stated that the project will be governed by a letter of eligibility and monitored by a monitoring agent to be compliant with Section 12.5.
Michael Moan suggested looking at the possibility of resident use for the open space such as a community garden with walking trail.
Major Land Development – Public Hearing
AP 49 / Lot 126 – 0 John Mowry Road
89 Acres (approx.) / Zone: PD
Applicant/Owner: Bryant University
Engineer: Joe Casali Engineering, Inc.
a. The Board will review and discuss the proposed submission with the project proponent.
b. The Board will conduct a public hearing to receive input on the proposed project.
c. 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.
d. The Board may authorize the Town Planner to prepare a written decision consistent with the Board’s findings of fact and motion for signature by the Chair and subsequent recording.
Attorney Chris O’Connor represented the applicant stating that the project received Master Plan approval in March and a positive recommendation on a special use permit from the Zoning Board in May and are here seeking preliminary plan approval tonight.
Joe Casali, Registered Professional Engineer having offices located at 300 Post Road in Warwick, reviewed the plan set stating that the property is located in the PD zone and abuts the R-80 zone which requires a 100 foot setback from residential property. Mr. Casali stated that a 10,000 square foot warehouse is planned to be built immediately with the other 10,000 square foot warehouse facility being reserved for future expansion. Mr. Casali stated that Scott Rabideau, with Natural Resource Services, has flagged the wetlands and have buffers associated with new RIDEM regulations. Mr. Casali stated that the proposal is for a warehouse to support maintenance facilities and will extend the existing water main to provide for domestic water and fire protection and will tie in to the existing sewer main. Mr. Casali noted that the project is pending RIDEM wetlands permit, Soil Erosion and Water Department approvals.
Charles Boyd questioned what the warehouse will be storing and Joe Casali replied they don’t anticipate anything hazardous or flammable. Thomas Mann, Director of Capital Projects for Bryant University, stated that they planned this facility to store bulk furniture and bulky items like soccer goals, pads, equipment, spare carpet, ceiling tiles, pipe, and plumbing and is not expecting to store hazardous materials.
Attorney Chris O’Connor requested the PowerPoint presentation being made part of the record.
The public hearing was opened at 6:37 p.m.
James Jamroz, 9 Dongay Road, stated his concern with tractor trailers and hours of operation for construction. Thomas Mann, with Bryant University, replied that this is intended to be a long-term storage facility and not a central receiving area.
Ronald Couture, 9 Levesque Drive, stated his concern with overflow of materials such as fertilizer. Thomas Mann, with Bryant University, replied they do not intend to use this facility to store fertilizer and racking system for shelving units for bulk storage items. Mr. Mann added that this facility is not designed to store any hazardous materials and does not see a need to store fertilizer.
Richard Colavecchio made a motion, seconded by John Yoakum, to approve the Preliminary Plan incorporating the Planner’s memorandum dated September 7, 2022 submitted as Board’s Exhibit #1, the Findings of Fact submitted as Board’s Exhibit #2, being contingent on any stone walls removed being reconstructed, all required state and local permits being submitted at Final Plan, and Final Plan being approved administratively. The vote on the motion was all in favor and the motion carried.
Soil Erosion Committee.
a. The Board will discuss appointments from the membership of the Board to the Soil Erosion Committee.
b. The Board will vote on appointments to the Soil Erosion Committee.
John Yoakum stated that the Soil Erosion meetings are right before the Planning Board meetings but that they don’t meet every month and are usually very quick. Planner Phillips stated that it is really an engineering review since the Town engineer does a comprehensive review.
Al Gizzarelli made a motion, seconded by John Yoakum, to appoint Richard Colavecchio to the Soil Erosion Committee. The vote on the motion was all in favor and the motion carried.
Al Nani made a motion, seconded by Jennifer Hawkins, to adjourn the meeting at 6:52 pm. The vote on the motion was all in favor and the motion carried.
The next meeting is scheduled for Thursday, September 15, 2022 at 6:00 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Donna A. Corrao, Recording Secretary