While not abutting a residential neighborhood and in the shadow of Green Airport, a proposed 541,000-square-foot distribution warehouse off Commerce Drive has raised concerns about traffic, lighting, noise and impacts on wildlife and the Buckeye Brook watershed, which includes Warwick Pond.

The proposal for the 46-acre parcel owned by Carpionato Group was given master plan approval by the Planning Board last Wednesday after a two-hour hearing that included questions from the Buckeye Brook Coalition, the Friends of Warwick Ponds and residents who are concerned that lighting and the noise of late night operations could impact their neighborhood.

NorthPoint, the Kansas City-based company that would build the warehouse covering nearly 11 acres, has still not disclosed a prospective tenant for the building. It has been referred to as an “e-commerce” facility.

Michael Johnston, of NorthPoint, said the warehouse is of a “speculative nature” and at this time he could not confirm a tenant. Nonetheless, the design of the building clearly makes it one of Warwick’s largest warehouses with 116 loading bays, 124 trailer stalls and parking for 404 vehicles. For a basis of comparison, the warehouse is equivalent in size to the Warwick Mall.

Planning Board member Valerie Butaille, who observed that the lot includes a wildlife corridor to the south, reasoned the proposed development is “way too large” for the site. She was the lone dissenting vote to grant master plan approval. Board approval came with a series of 19 recommendations, including submission of a storm water management plan; receipt of a letter from the Federal Aviation Administration confirming that the height of the building meets requirements; an archaeological survey of the site; and confirmation that there are an adequate number of fire hydrants.

Lucas Murray of the Planning Department sees the traffic study as the major consideration for the project to progress to the next level of board review – preliminary approval.

“They have a lot to do before coming back,” Murray said Tuesday.

The traffic study is required to show how Commerce Drive can accommodate the increased traffic; that the operation of the existing traffic signal at Airport Road and Commerce can handle the traffic; and the impact of the proposed traffic on Airport Road and Post Road leading to Route 37 to the north and the Airport Connector to the south. At the recommendation of board member Vincent Gambardella, the study is being extended to include the impact of traffic on Hoxsie Four Corners.

The land is zoned light industrial and does not require a zone change from the City Council. As there is a stream on the site that feeds into Buckeye Brook, the Department of Environmental Management will need to sign off on the project.

Kelly Coates, a Warwick resident and president of Carpionato Group, acknowledged concerns over traffic, lighting, noise and impacts to the environment. Referring to other Carpionato developments in the city, including conversion of the former Benny’s at Wildes Corner into a Dave’s Fresh Marketplace, he said “traffic works better.” (The relocation of Dave’s also calls for the installation of another traffic signal at Wildes Corner that hasn’t happened yet. Coates said Tuesday that the Department of Transportation has approved the light and that installation should happen with the start of the construction season. )

As for the intersection of Commerce Drive and Airport Road, which would provide access to the warehouse, Coates said “there clearly is going to have to be traffic improvements.” He assured “traffic will be better than today,” adding that his basis of comparison would be pre-COVID conditions.

“We care a lot about these people. A lot of work has to be done on traffic,” he said.

The planners heard from a resident whose property abuts Confreda Farms to the north of the site, concerned that because of the open field between her and the proposed development she would be faced with the late night beeping of trucks backing up as well as building lights and operations.

While recommendations suggest a fence or berm as a break, Murray said Tuesday he favors a 6-foot-high berm topped by evergreens as an insulator, although the nearest residences would be more than 300 feet away.

Asked this week how long it would be before Carpionato is prepared for preliminary plan approval, Coates said before returning to the city they would need DEM and DOT approvals and that the process would be another four to six months.

Last Wednesday night, the board also commenced a hearing of PRW Holding LLC’s request for preliminary plan approval to redevelop a portion of Sand Pond Plaza, located at 1160 Post Road, as a three-story self-storage facility. After nearly two hours of testimony from experts representing PRW, bringing the evening to 11 p.m., a member of area residents opposed to the project questioned if the meeting could be continued. Board Chairman Phil Slocum agreed. He said this week that the matter would be the first item on the board’s March 10 agenda.