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OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD

Record of Proceedings

North Kingstown Planning Commission Meeting - May 16, 2023

Planning Commission — Tuesday, May 16, 2023

BodyNorth Kingstown, Rhode Island

SessionPlanning Commission

DateTuesday, May 16, 2023

StatusFILED

Video Record

0:00 / 1:19:39

Transcript — VerbatimClick a timed line to jump · ⧉ to share it

0:00

With what we do with the ETAB's agenda.

0:11

But you're it's running actually.

0:15

Okay, I put the recorder back on.

0:17

You can please.

0:23

Did you email it to me?

0:25

Okay.

0:25

So at this point, I'm gonna call the Tuesday, May 16th, 2023 Planning Commission meeting to water.

0:32

The first item on the agenda, item 3A is a waiver request master plan checklist requirement for major land development application of AR building company for post-road apartments.

0:42

138 unit multifamily project located off of Post Road, also known as Assessors Plat 136, LOS 9 and 21 zone post road.

0:53

And we have an email from John Bolton, the attorney for the applicant.

0:59

And I'll read this into the record.

1:01

This is dated uh Monday, May 15th, 2023 at 254 p.m.

1:07

Uh Nicole, please withdraw or remove applicants' waiver requests from the planning commission agenda for tomorrow 516 evening.

1:15

Uh the applicant is not moving forward with this project.

1:18

Thank you, John J.

1:18

Bolden partner.

1:20

Uh based on that and the withdrawal Nicole, I don't think we need to take any action at all.

1:26

Okay.

1:27

Um with this, we will move to the second item on the agenda, and I am recused on that, so I'll be turning it over to Vice Chair Pat Roach.

1:37

Okay.

1:39

Uh did you want to say anything, Nicole?

1:42

I guess I should say what we're doing.

1:45

The uh item 3B, decision letter, request of the Quantzett Development Corporation for approval of a major variance to allow workforce housing within the Quantzett Business Park at Assessors Plat 182 Lots 9, 16, and 17 in accordance with section 4.5 point two B small b of the Quant Development Corporation development package.

2:12

Did you want to say something to call I have nothing exciting to say?

2:16

We have the drafts.

2:18

Um approval decision in front of you.

2:23

Um I know that you sent some comments over.

2:26

I have not been on my computer to see them since.

2:28

So if we want to discuss those before making any you did not um you did not vote at the last meeting, you authorized us to draft something and bring it back to you.

2:41

Of course, I may not have uh included the file when I sent the email to you anyway.

2:47

So do you want me to basically on the biggest comment was on the second paragraph?

2:56

Um first sentence reads Planning Commission understands that section 21100 of the North Kingstown zoning ordinance, comma development proposals in Quantzett Business Park shall be reviewed under the procedures, but just didn't sound right.

3:12

So I I made a ch I suggested a change of um after North Kingstown zoning ordinance, just say requires that development proposals in Quantzett Business Park be reviewed, delete the shell and insert um requires that after zoning ordinance.

3:41

We can still discuss.

3:43

Yeah, we'll leave it.

3:45

We're here for you.

3:47

What do you mean?

3:48

I just don't like the term workforce housing.

3:50

Oh I think that's more of a just it's a commonly accepted term, right?

3:55

But my comment was I think often when people use the term workforce, they're they seem to be referring to a group they don't belong to.

4:04

That's a fair point.

4:05

Yeah, but anyway, we can we can do it.

4:08

That's a battle for another day, right?

4:10

Yeah, yeah.

4:13

Oh, though so uh does anybody else have any other did everybody get a chance to review it?

4:22

I didn't have any comments.

4:25

Did a good job.

4:26

Thank you.

4:26

Well, you did just wrote what you said.

4:28

So we need to vote on it.

4:30

You do still need to vote because you have not voted on you, haven't taken any action yet.

4:34

Do I uh hear a motion to uh approve sending this letter to QDC?

4:41

I'll make a motion that we uh forward this letter to QDC.

4:47

I'll second any discussion all in favor?

4:52

Say I'll aye.

4:54

Any opposed motion passes uh four to zero.

5:00

Uh I'll make the changes and then uh sign.

5:02

That works.

5:03

Yeah.

5:04

Um actually, oh yeah, those changes.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting

Zoning Ordinance█████████████████████████████████████████████53%

Land Use Planning████████████████19%

Environmental Protection██████████12%

Procedural█████████11%

Comprehensive Planning███3%

Groundwater Management██2%

Summary of Proceedings

North Kingstown Planning Commission Meeting - May 16, 2023

The North Kingstown Planning Commission convened on May 16, 2023, at 7:00 PM at the Municipal Offices Building, 100 Fairway Dr., North Kingstown, RI. The meeting addressed several land use applications, including a withdrawn waiver request, a variance approval for workforce housing in the Quonset Business Park, and multiple zoning and comprehensive plan amendments for parcels along Quaker Lane and Pleasant Valley Road. Key decisions were made, and several items were continued for further review.

Consent Calendar

No formal consent calendar was presented, but the meeting included the approval of minutes from April 4, 2023, and April 18, 2023, with minor editorial changes.

Public Comments & Testimony

No members of the public spoke during the meeting.

Discussion Items

Item 3A: Waiver Request Withdrawn – The applicant, A.R. Building Company, withdrew its waiver request for the Post Road Apartments (138-unit multi-family project) via email from attorney John Bolton, stating the project was not moving forward. No action was taken by the commission.
Item 3B: QDC Major Variance – Decision Letter Approved – The commission reviewed and voted 4-0 to approve a decision letter for the Quonset Development Corporation (QDC) requesting a major variance to allow workforce housing within the Quonset Business Park (Assessor's Plat 182 Lots 9, 16, 17). Commissioner Borowick suggested a minor wording change (replacing 'under the procedures' with 'requires that development proposals… be reviewed'), which was accepted. Chair Grundy recused himself from this vote.
Items 3C & 3D: 3760 Quaker Lane – Comprehensive Plan Amendment and Zoning Map Amendment – These applications sought to change the Future Land Use Map from Commercial and Low Density Residential to Commercial, and the zoning from General Business/Rural Residential to General Business on a 7.5-acre parcel. The applicant (represented by Nicholas Goodyear, attorney; Nicholas Heatland, engineer; and Edward Pimentel, planning consultant) proposed a conservation easement over environmentally constrained rear portions. The commission debated past encroachment and restoration promises from a previous application. Chair Grundy expressed concern about trustworthiness, noting the applicant had previously agreed to restore illegally used residential land but appeared to still be using it. After discussion, the commission voted unanimously to continue the public hearing to July 18, 2023, to allow for a site visit and review of prior meeting minutes.
Items 3E & 3F: 84 Pleasant Valley Road and 70 Pleasant Valley Road – Zoning Ordinance Amendments – Both parcels are located on Quaker Lane near the projects above. Item 3E sought to remove use restrictions (adopted under ordinance 91-10) on a General Business Use Limited parcel; Item 3F sought to rezone a parcel from Neighborhood Business to General Business. The commission noted that the surrounding area is predominantly General Business, making the Neighborhood Business designation inconsistent and potentially spot zoning. Commissioner McCue recommended incorporating bike safety improvements from the Comprehensive Plan. No public comment was heard. The commission reached positive consensus on both items, agreeing that staff should draft formal recommendations to the Town Council. These recommendations will be brought back for a vote on June 6, 2023. A motion to continue to that date passed 5-0.

Key Outcomes

Item 3B: Approved decision letter to QDC (4-0; Grundy recused).
Items 3C/3D: Continued to July 18, 2023, with a site visit and review of prior minutes (unanimous).
Item 3E (84 Pleasant Valley Road): Positive consensus to remove use restrictions; formal recommendation to be presented June 6, 2023 (5-0).
Item 3F (70 Pleasant Valley Road): Positive consensus to rezone to General Business; formal recommendation to be presented June 6, 2023 (5-0).
Minutes: Approved for April 4, 2023 (5-0) and April 18, 2023 (4-0, with Grundy and McCue excused from one vote).
Adjournment: Motion passed.

Meeting Transcript

With what we do with the ETAB's agenda. But you're it's running actually. Okay, I put the recorder back on. You can please. Did you email it to me? Okay. So at this point, I'm gonna call the Tuesday, May 16th, 2023 Planning Commission meeting to water. The first item on the agenda, item 3A is a waiver request master plan checklist requirement for major land development application of AR building company for post-road apartments. 138 unit multifamily project located off of Post Road, also known as Assessors Plat 136, LOS 9 and 21 zone post road. And we have an email from John Bolton, the attorney for the applicant. And I'll read this into the record. This is dated uh Monday, May 15th, 2023 at 254 p.m. Uh Nicole, please withdraw or remove applicants' waiver requests from the planning commission agenda for tomorrow 516 evening. Uh the applicant is not moving forward with this project. Thank you, John J. Bolden partner. Uh based on that and the withdrawal Nicole, I don't think we need to take any action at all. Okay. Um with this, we will move to the second item on the agenda, and I am recused on that, so I'll be turning it over to Vice Chair Pat Roach. Okay. Uh did you want to say anything, Nicole? I guess I should say what we're doing. The uh item 3B, decision letter, request of the Quantzett Development Corporation for approval of a major variance to allow workforce housing within the Quantzett Business Park at Assessors Plat 182 Lots 9, 16, and 17 in accordance with section 4.5 point two B small b of the Quant Development Corporation development package. Did you want to say something to call I have nothing exciting to say? We have the drafts. Um approval decision in front of you. Um I know that you sent some comments over. I have not been on my computer to see them since. So if we want to discuss those before making any you did not um you did not vote at the last meeting, you authorized us to draft something and bring it back to you. Of course, I may not have uh included the file when I sent the email to you anyway. So do you want me to basically on the biggest comment was on the second paragraph? Um first sentence reads Planning Commission understands that section 21100 of the North Kingstown zoning ordinance, comma development proposals in Quantzett Business Park shall be reviewed under the procedures, but just didn't sound right. So I I made a ch I suggested a change of um after North Kingstown zoning ordinance, just say requires that development proposals in Quantzett Business Park be reviewed, delete the shell and insert um requires that after zoning ordinance. We can still discuss. Yeah, we'll leave it. We're here for you. What do you mean? I just don't like the term workforce housing. Oh I think that's more of a just it's a commonly accepted term, right? But my comment was I think often when people use the term workforce, they're they seem to be referring to a group they don't belong to. That's a fair point. Yeah, but anyway, we can we can do it. That's a battle for another day, right? Yeah, yeah. Oh, though so uh does anybody else have any other did everybody get a chance to review it? I didn't have any comments. Did a good job. Thank you. Well, you did just wrote what you said. So we need to vote on it.

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