Time ran out last Wednesday for the Planning Board to reach a decision on a proposal to build two buildings with a total of 65,000 square feet as garages and storage space for private contractors on the site of a valve manufacturing plant. Although developers and those opposed to the project completed their presentations, board chair Philip Slocum said they had to vacate the Veterans Middle School auditorium by 11:15 p.m. and that didn’t allow time for board members to pose questions. The meeting was continued to Feb. 8 at the community room of the City Hall Annex in the Sawtooth Building in Apponaug beginning at 6 p.m.

Regardless of how the board rules, it appears clean up of the site is years away.

The petition of land owners Lee Beausoleil of Beausoleil Asphalt & Sons and Artak Avagyan of A-Star Oil, first aired last June has galvanized the Pawtuxet neighborhood that wants to see the 15-acre Pawtuxet River site cleaned up and cite concerns over development in the flood plain. A priority to the community is the preservation a river trail that for 30 years has been accessible as part of a loop that runs alongside the north and south banks of the river.

Nicholas Goodier, attorney for the land owners, said last week his clients were in a Catch 22. He said the Department of Environmental Management advised them to post no trespassing signs on the property, effectively closing the trail. That provoked a community outcry and for Mayor Frank Picozzi to ask them to open the trail.

Jeff Sutton, of the Pawtuxet Green Revival, is encouraged by the board’s denial earlier in the evening of master plan approval of a dog parlor and veterinary hospital on Jefferson Boulevard adjacent to the entrance of Wethersfield Commons. An estimated 110 Wethersfield Commons residents opposed that project on the basis of anticipated noise of barking dogs and traffic cutting through the complex of 493 condominiums. While the area is appropriately zoned for a dog parlor, the board found it too intensive a development for the site and inconsistent with the comprehensive plan.

“Based on the board's decision to deny the pet lodge plan, if they use the same standard of review for our case, we believe the board will deny the plan for contractor storage units based on the health, safety, and quality of life of the surrounding residential neighborhood,” Sutton wrote in an email. He said that since the board was presented a petition in opposition of the storage units signed by 600 it has grown to 840.

The petition which Sutton read to the board says that contrary to city laws to protect the Pawtuxet River the proposed development “seeks to store oil, gas and other harmful chemicals on the banks of the Pawtuxet River, likely leading to the improper disposal of waste.”

In a telephone call last week, Goodier pointed out that his clients razed the Hammel Dahl valve manufacturing plant on the property and seek to replace it with two buildings with an overall reduction in size.

“Since 2020 this project has substantially evolved,” he said noting that the scope of the development has been reduced and the owners are prepared to ensure more than seven acres including a trail on the river bank would be preserved. During last Wednesday’s hearing Goodier disclosed discussions with the Pawtuxet River Authority to oversee the property. That prompted allegations the authority was ill-equipped to act as steward of the property that in turn had river authority board member Carl Santucci questioning whether any in the audience had taken the time, as he has done, to pull tires and other debris from the river.

However the board rules, and unless the parties reach a compromise, cleaning up the site that is being used for the storage of pipes and piles of broken concrete and other debris could be years away. Should either party contest the board’s ruling, the first step would be an appeal to the Zoning Board of Review. That could take six months to be heard and depending on the outcome could be appealed to Superior Court, which could take two years. The board has the authority to establish conditions on its approval that could ensure a cleanup as well as neighborhood projections. As of Wednesday the planning department had not had any additional discussions with the land owners concerning plan revisions.

A board member spoken to following the meeting was agreeable to a reduced plan with conditions for a site cleanup, but said the owners aren’t prepared to revise plans. On Wednesday Kravitz said he had not heard from the owners.

“I don’t know what they are going to do next,” he said.

Kravitz proposed at the end of last Wednesday’s hearing  a plan that would preserve the trail as it is today and more of the lot as open space while giving the applicants the building space they want that he suggests could be hidden, as well as protected from flood waters with a berm topped by trees.  That plan was not well received by either the applicants or the opposition.

The avenue of argument that the project is not allowable within the light industrial zone as made by former Warwick City Planner Jonathan Stevens and attorney Matt Jerzyk, a Pawtuxet resident, representing the village does not appear valid. They reasoned according to the definition of the zone the storage of trucks is not permissible. Asked about this following the meeting, City Planner Tom Kravitz said that while the overall definition doesn’t mention the storage of trucks, a list of uses under light industrial does.

Rep. Joseph McNamara talked of how access to the river and nearby open areas has diminished, saying it is “time for some restorable justice…I believe we should correct the sins of our past.” His line of reasoning was followed by other speakers.

Michelle Komar, who follows municipal issues and board meetings, suggested that the city take a broader perspective and rather than piecemeal review, “put this to rest and find the best use for this property.”