TOWN OF TIVERTON
ZONING BOARD OF APPEALS MINUTES SEPTEMBER 6, 2023
The following petitions were received and heard by the Tiverton Zoning Board of Appeals on Wednesday, September 6, 2023 at 8:10 p.m.
Members present: Chairwoman Lise Gescheidt, Vice Chairman David Collins, Mr. John Jackson, Ms. Jennifer Hilton-Cavanagh, and Mr. Edwin Schober.
Also present were: Mr. Michael Marcello, Esq., Town Solicitor, Mr. John Hoyle Jr., Tiverton Building & Zoning Official, and Ms. Mary-Ann Escobar, Court Stenographer.
1) Call to Order
The Chairwoman called the meeting of the Tiverton Zoning Board of Appeals to order at 8:10 p.m.
2) Considering of the following applications: Continued from July 5, 2023 2a) Appeal of Planning Board Decision:
A petition has been filed by Sakonnet Partners, LLC, 97 John Clarke Road,
Middletown, RI 02842, appealing the Planning Board’s decision to deny the Zoning Ordinance Article XX, Development Plan Review, application to construct a crematorium at 730 Main Road, Tiverton, RI 02878.
DECISION: Jay Lynch, Esq., appeared before the Board on behalf of the petition. The petitioner was sworn in.
Mr. Lynch stated that the property was located in the General Commercial business overlay zoning district and a crematorium was permitted by-right. He opined that the Development Plan Review did not include standards regarding the Comprehensive Community Plan or matters of public safety and welfare, therefore the Tiverton Planning Board’s (TPB) denial of the application on those grounds was in error. The TPB acknowledged that they did not have authority over air quality issues but used it as a reason to deny the petition.
The Chairwoman stated that the zoning ordinance was put in place with the community interest in mind and therefore the zoning code must be consistent with the Comprehensive Community Plan. Mr. Lynch disagreed.
The Chairwoman inquired if approval from the RI Department of Environmental Management (RIDEM) for air quality or storm water had been acquired. Mr. Lynch replied that those matters were under review by RIDEM. The Chairwoman asked if the air quality and stormwater plan applications to RIDEM had been submitted to the PB, noting that the PB requested this documentation. Mr. Lynch responded in the negative, and said that this wasn’t subject to PB review.
The Chairwoman noted that there were no submission documents regarding the height of the smoke stacks. Mr. Lynch replied that the information was on the plan. The Chairwoman commented that there seemed to be no buffer of the smoke stacks to the houses at the bottom of the hill.
Todd Romano, Esq., on behalf of the PB opined that a crematorium is allowed
by-right but this particular plan was not allowable, noting that the applicant did not provide much of the information requested by the PB. He continued to say that referencing the Comprehensive Community Plan was permitted by the PB.
Steven Sypole, Esq., on behalf of Tiverton Residents Against Crematorium agreed with Mr. Romano and the PB decision. He said that the applicant did not meet the criteria, and no expert testimony was given to contradict the expert testimony on record.
The Chairwoman asked for public comment.
Gerhard Leib, of 620 Old Colony Terrace considered the project to be a manufacturing use not a building with multiple uses such as a funeral home with a crematorium. He was concerned about traffic and smoke issues.
Dr. Robert Bishop, of 81 Leeshore Lane stated that RIDEM standards considers only the particles on the ground and not those in the air, noting that smoke rises.
The Board took no further input from the applicants and there were no comments from the audience. The Chairwoman closed the public hearing.
Mr. Collins did not notice any blatant errors made by the PB and supported the PB’s decision. Mr. Jackson said that the PB did their best to weigh the facts presented to them and supported the PB. Ms. Hilton-Cavanagh agreed and was not confident in overturning the PB’s decision. Mr. Schober also agreed with the PB.
The Chairwoman noted that there were a lot of unresolved matters: the applicant did not obtain a physical alteration or air quality permit, there was conflicting information regarding hours of operation of the crematorium, the height of the smoke stacks upwind and uphill from the abutters was unclear, a memorandum from March 7, 2023 was not received by the Town until the day of the hearing, and there was no final determination from the Fire Marshall on record. She stated that the municipal Boards must consider the health, safety, and welfare of the public and the applicant had sufficient time to submit the information requested by the PB.
The Chairwoman made a motion to dismiss the appeal and uphold the PB’s decision. Ms. Hilton-Cavanagh seconded the motion. The motion was unanimous. Voting in favor of the motion were: Ms. Gescheidt, Mr. Collins, Mr. Jackson, Ms. Hilton-Cavanagh, and Mr. Schober.
3) Adjournment
made a motion to adjourn the meeting at 9:00 p.m. (Whereupon the Zoning Board of Review meeting ended at 9:00 p.m.)
Submitted by: Tara Ferreira Approval Date: January 10, 2024 Tara Ferreira