Planning Commission Meeting – December 20, 2022: Pinewood Village Hearing Continued, Routine Approvals
STREAMING COPY IN PREPARATION — RECORDING AVAILABLE FROM THE ORIGINAL SOURCE
Planning Commission Meeting – December 20, 2022
The North Kingstown Planning Commission met on Tuesday, December 20, 2022, at 7:00 PM in Town Hall. The agenda was reordered to address two routine items first, then a public hearing on the Pinewood Village comprehensive permit major land development. The commission approved two routine items unanimously and voted to continue the Pinewood Village hearing to January 17, 2023, to allow additional time for deliberation and final conditions.
Consent Calendar
- Development Plan Review Waiver (Ivy Physical Therapy): The commission unanimously (6-0) approved a waiver of development plan review for a tenant fit-out at 20 Frenchtown Road. The applicant is not altering the site beyond adding a sign; the space is 2,400 sq. ft. in a 150,000 sq. ft. building.
- Recommendation to Zoning Board (Palmer Beebe): The commission unanimously (6-0) sent a positive recommendation to the Zoning Board of Review for dimensional variances to accommodate an exterior compressor unit at 26 Brown Street. The variances are for setbacks in the Wickford Village Center district, adjacent to residential. The compressor will not exceed the existing nonconformity.
- Approval of November 15, 2022 Minutes: The minutes were approved as amended (5-0-1, with one abstention) after minor corrections.
Public Comments & Testimony
- Ricky Thompson (194 Plain Road) spoke in favor of the Pinewood Village project, citing the developer’s responsiveness to neighbor concerns, including an eight-foot berm and additional buffering along Plain Road. He noted the developer’s efforts to eliminate the possibility of a big-box commercial operation on the site.
- Andrew Jones (102 Plain Road) opposed the project, arguing it is too dense for the location (88 units vs. original 17-bedroom zoning), poses groundwater contamination risks with an experimental septic system, and creates traffic and safety issues. He questioned the developer’s use of 13 exceptions and urged the commission to reject the plan.
- Tom Gothier (1690 Ten Rod Road) expressed concern about repeated zoning changes in the area, the impact on groundwater, and the potential for the project to harm the rural character. He asked the commission to consider the neighbors’ perspective.
- Mike Rosendale (42 Laurel Ridge Lane) highlighted the 900% increase in bedrooms (from 16.8 to 176) and urged the commission to wait for the impact of the Rolling Greens development before approving Pinewood Village.
- Eric Smith (116 Plain Road) opposed the project, stating it does not fit the rural atmosphere of the intersection and called it “shoehorning” units.
- Dylan Krawczyk (HOA board member) raised concerns about the experimental septic system, increased traffic, school bus safety, and the potential for more children than projected. He noted that two-bedroom apartments can house multiple children and that North Kingstown’s schools are already seeing growth.
Discussion Items
- Pinewood Village Preliminary Plan Public Hearing (Continued): The applicant, Pinewood Village LLC, proposes 88 apartment units (66 market-rate, 22 affordable) on 9.6 acres at 50 South County Trail, zoned Compact Village Development (CVD) and in the Groundwater Protection Overlay District. The plan is nearly identical to the master plan approved in December 2021. Key discussion points:
- Septic System: The proposed on-site wastewater treatment system is an experimental membrane bioreactor (MBR) technology awaiting RIDEM certification. The town engineer noted that the original master plan approval relied on a class two certified system, but the applicant now seeks an experimental system. The applicant’s engineer, Eric Prevy, stated the system is scalable and has backup options (e.g., chemical feeds, larger tanks). The commission discussed reporting frequency and duration, with a consensus to require monthly monitoring reports to the town for at least four years or until the system is removed from the experimental list, whichever comes first.
- Traffic and Safety: The traffic study was reviewed at master plan; signal timing modifications at Route 2/102 were approved by RIDOT. The applicant’s request for a pedestrian crossing at that intersection was declined by RIDOT, who recommended the town pursue it separately. The commission agreed to condition a safe school bus stop with shelter if required by the school department.
- Landscaping and Buffering: The landscape architect, John Carter, proposed an eight-foot berm along Plain Road with additional evergreen plantings. The tree warden’s comments were addressed, with the commission preferring deer-resistant species and an evergreen buffer at least 20 feet from Route 2 pavement.
- Waivers: The applicant requested several waivers from subdivision regulations (e.g., street radii, horizontal curves), all of which were previously granted at master plan and unchanged. The commission noted they would be re-approved at preliminary.
Key Outcomes
- Ivy Physical Therapy Waiver: Approved 6-0.
- Palmer Beebe Recommendation: Approved 6-0.
- November 15, 2022 Minutes: Approved 5-0-1.
- Pinewood Village Public Hearing: Continued to January 17, 2023, at 7:00 PM. The commission will deliberate on findings and conditions. The applicant granted an additional 30 days for the final decision. The commission reached a consensus on several conditions, including: monthly monitoring reports to the town for at least four years or until the system is no longer experimental; preparation of a cost estimate; final plan submission to include tree warden-approved species, school bus stop location, and dumpster shielding; and a requirement that the final plan return to the commission for approval.
Meeting Transcript
Oh yeah. Yeah, I said the point. Yeah, yeah, exactly. Okay, good evening. I'd like to welcome everyone to the Tuesday, December 20th, 2022 Planning Commission meeting. Uh we have three items on the agenda, and um we're gonna flip it and do it in reverse order just because the first two are I think might be a little bit less involved than the uh item three A. So the first item we're gonna do is a development plan review waiver request, the request to waive the development plan review approval requirements for Ivy physical therapy to be located in the Hunt River Commons Complex, 20 French Town Road, Cessus Plat 177 Lot 21 zone post road. Is anyone here representing that application? Jim, I don't believe anyone was coming to the meeting from the application. Um do you want to walk us through this? I think it's a little kind of sure. This is um similar to the the waiver request you had at your last meeting. Um they're doing some tenant fit outs in this building and and adding new tenants to it, moving things around. And as you know, the um groundwater ordinance requires that any alteration change of use, blah blah blah blah blah needs to go for development plan review in the planning commission. Um this is a similar case where they're they're not changing anything on the site other than adding a tenant to a to a a space, a retail space. In this case, it's a um a physical therapy rehab outfit. So they're asking the same thing, uh they're asking for the same waiver of the development approval um and have submitted a letter indicating that they are not doing any any work to the the property. I mean other than probably adding a sign. And in this case, we'd we can certainly ask them the same thing for um for uh capacity, a pseudo capacity, but it'll it'll most certainly be minimal in in this case. This is a twenty-four hundred square foot space and almost a hundred and fifty thousand square foot building. Minimal does anyone have any questions as it relates to this application. No, they're not gonna like to make a motion to approve the development plan review waiver request. I'll make a motion that we approve it. Second. Is there any discussion? All in favor? Aye. Any opposed? Okay, thank you. That's six zero. Uh item three B is a recommendation to the zoning board, the application of Palma BB for dimensional variances to accommodate an exterior compressor unit in accordance with Article 4 Dimensional Regulations Table 2B, business districts to be located at the rear of the structure of 26 Brown Street, also known as Assessors Plat 117, lot two eighty-seven, zoned uh Wickford Village Center. And we're just gonna handle this one too, Jim. Okay. So um it's a commercial application and um because they need relief from the zoning board, it requires a recommendation from the planning commission to the zoning board. Um you have done these in the past. Um they are seeking three different variances to um are it's a little confusing because one of them is just for the regular setback, it but there's also a standard of of needing a variance because it's adjacent to residential district, so out of an abundance of caution, Joe has listed all three variances that they need. The existing structure is already within the setback, so pretty much anything they do there is it would require relief. So these are for some condensers for the new um tenant that is gonna be in the building. Um I don't know if you need the actual dimensions, Jim, for any of them, or if you want me to get into more detail, but it's pretty straightforward. They're decided in rear step. Is that the compressors will not exceed the existing conventional nonconformity existing at the property? So that's true. No. This is we've talked about whether or not mechanical components are structures. Yes, yep. We haven't changed it yet, so we're still reviewing them this way. Yep. Does anyone have any questions on this application? We could confirm the perimeter survey that's included in a size. Yep, I confirmed that with Joe today.
openpublica.com