North Kingstown Planning Commission Meeting – September 20, 2022

The North Kingstown Planning Commission met Tuesday, September 20, 2022, at 7:00 p.m. in the Municipal Offices Court Room, 100 Fairway Drive, North Kingstown, RI. The commission approved a construction cost estimate for Carriage Hill Farm, approved a request to combine master and preliminary review for West Shannock Associates, discussed potential updates to the Zoning Ordinance and Subdivision and Land Development Regulations, and acted on the September 6, 2022 minutes.

Construction Cost Estimate

• The commission reviewed a revised construction cost estimate for Carriage Hill Farm, a 3-lot minor subdivision at Assessor's Plat 4, Lot 2, 2860 Tower Hill Road.
• Allie, the town's pending deputy director, outlined revisions: adding 40 linear feet of 12-inch pipe and two 12-inch pipe end sections, and raising the hot mix asphalt unit price from about $100 per ton to $300 per ton because only a small quantity of asphalt is involved.
• The commission approved the estimate in the amount of $148,353.74, including contingency, with no opposition.

Master/Preliminary Review Combination

• Chairman James Grundy recused himself because he owns property adjacent to the West Shannock Associates site, and Vice Chairman Patrick Roach presided.
• West Shannock Associates requested combining the master and preliminary stages for a major land development project at Assessor's Plat 79, Lot 50, 280 Dry Bridge Road, zoned Light Industrial and located in the Groundwater Wellhead Protection Area.
• Discussion noted that an earlier application existed approximately a decade earlier, but the new request would be reviewed as a new master/preliminary submission, not as approval of the old application. Several commissioners expressed concern about setting a precedent for large or old projects.
• The commission approved the combination by voice vote. The approved motion recognized that no element of the prior application carries forward, no grandfather rights attach, and current state regulatory changes and preliminary completeness requirements must still be met.

Public Comments & Testimony

• A public commenter who said he formerly served on the Town Council said special use permits should receive a final vote by the Town Council rather than appointed boards, criticized the Zoning Board's recent decision on the Easy Stay Motel, and argued the Post Road Corridor zoning should be reverted to older zoning. He also urged the commission to make property addresses more prominent in public notices and cautioned about groundwater/wellhead protection concerns in the Dry Bridge Road area.
• A member of the public named Kathy asked that commission handouts, such as the staff's regulation-update list, be made available to observers at meetings or attached to the agenda. She also noted difficulty hearing and hoped the future town hall would have better audio.

Discussion: Zoning and Subdivision Regulation Updates

• Planning staff distributed a working list of potential ordinance and regulation amendments, including a summary of 2022 state legislative changes. The list was not attached to the agenda because it was completed at the last minute.
• Commissioners agreed to work through the list incrementally. Members will email staff with topics they want to research, small groups will work to avoid quorum issues, and proposals will come back for later advertised discussion and public hearing.
• Topics raised during discussion included construction bond adequacy for long projects and inflation, comparing estimates to final designs, making findings and documenting consideration of criteria, inconsistencies between ordinance sections, lighting standards versus OSHA requirements, and Post Road corridor issues such as "hockey stick" lots and access.

Key Outcomes

• Approved the Carriage Hill Farm construction cost estimate of $148,353.74.
• Approved the combined master/preliminary review for the West Shannock Associates application at 280 Dry Bridge Road, with Chairman Grundy recused.
• Launched a working process for ordinance and regulation review; commissioners are to send topic preferences to staff.
• Approved the September 6, 2022 meeting minutes as amended. One commissioner said they would abstain because they were not present at that meeting.