North Smithfield Town Council - March 4, 2019
Meeting — March 4, 2019
Meeting overview
Agenda at a glance
| Item | Summary | Outcome |
|---|---|---|
| Open Forum: Gold Property Acquisition | Conservation Commission member requested the Council place the 148-acre Gold Property acquisition on the agenda for a public hearing and vote as soon as possible, citing a $400,000 DEM grant expiring June 30, 2019, and asked to join the evening's related executive session. | Referred to executive session |
| Fire Apparatus Emergency | Fire Chief reported Engine 2 failed state inspection due to frame rot and was taken out of service; a loaner from Nasonville and the department's older reserve engine (Engine 3) are being used as short-term substitutes while replacement options are researched. | Informational |
| Comprehensive Plan & Zoning — Advance Comment | A resident previewed concerns about the pending March 18 comprehensive plan hearing, citing specific plan sections on incompatible land use, retail scale, and aquifer protection. | Comment, no action |
| Route 102 (Assessor's Plat 4, Lot 144) — Zone Change, Second Reading | Rezoning from residential to Business Highway for a property associated with Russo Automotive, within the town's Water Supply Overlay/aquifer protection district. See detail below. | Approved with stipulations |
| Change Order — Town Hall Renovation Asbestos Abatement | Approved an $8,915 change order after contractors discovered an additional ~200 feet of asbestos-encased pipe during demolition, requiring an amended abatement plan. | Approved |
Key issues and discussion
The Gold Property: A Time-Limited $400,000 Grant
Conservation Commission member Paul Soares read a letter into the record describing the roughly 148-acre Gold Property — fields, forest, streams, all of Lake Bel Air, frontage on Tocqueville Pond, an historic cemetery, and 19th-century structures — as a top preservation priority under the town's 2019 comprehensive plan's natural resources section. He cited a 2001 resident visioning survey and the town's 2006 voter-approved $3 million open space bond (about $2.5 million of which remained available) as long-standing public support for the purchase, and noted RIDEM had awarded the town its highest available grant, $400,000, toward the $1,950,000 asking price — an offer set to expire June 30, 2019 unless the town entered a valid purchase-and-sale agreement before then. He asked the Council to place the matter on an agenda for public hearing and vote, and requested the Commission be included in that evening's related executive session to present additional supporting information. This property was later acquired by the town and is referenced in 2026 Rankin Estates hearings as the "Gold Forest," a 156-acre conservation parcel bordering the Rankin Estates site to the north.
Fire Apparatus Failure
The fire chief reported that Engine 2 — a 15-to-16-year-old truck built with a reinforced frame — failed state inspection due to frame rot serious enough that the body could reportedly be lifted off the frame without fully detaching it. A loaner vehicle from Nasonville and the department's retired reserve engine (Engine 3, held in reserve since Engine 1 was replaced) are being used as short-term substitutes while the department researches replacement options, including used vehicles and demonstrator models, given that the department's last apparatus purchase cost approximately half a million dollars. A councilmember asked about available third-party/equipment funding, which stood at roughly $300,000 but is also relied on for day-to-day rescue and apparatus expenses.
Route 102 Business Highway Rezoning
The evening's longest discussion concerned a second-reading vote to rezone a portion of Assessor's Plat 4, Lot 144 — associated with Russo Automotive — from residential to Business Highway, following an earlier Planning Board-approved lot subdivision creating two parcels on the property. The site sits within the town's Water Supply Overlay/aquifer protection district near the Slatersville Reservoir area. Councilmembers raised concerns that the applicant had not disclosed what specific business would occupy the rezoned property, meaning the Council was effectively approving the full range of uses permitted under Business Highway zoning (including drive-through restaurants, package stores, and other uses) without knowing the actual proposal. The town planner confirmed the Planning Board had not analyzed potential environmental impacts in detail, reasoning that existing aquifer overlay regulations and stormwater management requirements would apply regardless of the specific use. An initial motion to deny the rezoning failed on a closely divided vote after some confusion over one councilmember's vote. A subsequent motion to approve, with stipulations, ultimately passed: strict compliance with the town's Water Supply Overlay ordinance (Section 619) and its list of prohibited uses; a ban on overnight or outdoor storage of vehicles or construction equipment on the property; a required evergreen/shrub privacy buffer along residential boundaries, subject to Planning Board approval; removal of one parcel (Parcel B/Area D) from the rezoning, keeping it residential; well water testing every three years; and — after further discussion of a possible "sunset clause," which the town solicitor advised against as legally unusual for a zoning change — a final added condition limiting the effectively-Business-Highway-zoned property to only those uses that would otherwise be permitted under the town's less-intensive Business Neighborhood designation.
Open forum & comments
| Speaker | Summary |
|---|---|
| Resident, Slatersville area Conservation Commission — Gold Property |
Detailed the Gold Property's ecological and historic value and the time-sensitive $400,000 DEM grant; requested a Council hearing/vote and inclusion in that evening's executive session (see detail above). |
| Resident Comprehensive plan preview |
Previewed specific concerns ahead of the March 18 comprehensive plan hearing, citing plan language on preventing incompatible non-residential uses in residential neighborhoods, limiting strip-style commercial development, and strengthening aquifer/groundwater protection overlays; questioned whether pending zoning actions were consistent with these stated plan goals. |