NORTH PROVIDENCE – Calling the situation a “big deal” for both neighbors and the future of the town and its development projects, the Town Council on Tuesday ordered a stop on construction of an in-progress self-storage facility on Douglas Avenue.
The Local Insider reported last week that members were headed in this direction.
Councilors said they’re very concerned about how this project transitioned from nine single-story buildings with a foliage buffer to one very large storage building.
Councilor Mario Martone said he’s especially concerned with what this decision sets the town up for in the future. If he were the advising attorney with developer clients, he said, why not just submit a proposal that doesn’t bother anyone, then put in fine print that it could be built up to what’s allowed dimensionally by zoning.
Planning Director Brent Wiegand said he spoke with former advising attorney Kelley Morris Salvatore back in 2023 after they heard from the developer that multiple buildings weren’t as financially feasible and they wanted to switch to one building. She advised that it would be considered a minor modification and could be approved administratively, he said, as it came within dimensional height restrictions of 35 feet in all zones.
Wiegand said said that by rule, representatives from his office can approve as minor modifications anything that is up to 15 percent in excess of regulations.
Martone sought clarification that if town boards approved a height of 20 feet and someone wanted 30 feet they could just get it, and Wiegand said someone would only need a building permit.
Councilor Steve DiLorenzo asked why no one came to the council about what he considers such a significant change.
“We should have been notified. We’ve got to protect these folks, and all of a sudden we’ve got this,” her said.
Councilor Chuck Pollock asked why even come before boards for approval, and Wiegand conceded that in hindsight they should have been notified. He said there was no real administrative modification process because 35 feet is allowed by right.
Councilors, clearly frustrated, then asked if Wiegand understands their concern, and he said he does.
Martone gave the scenario of a developer coming in and asking for a zone changes, which the council approves based on certain conditions. He asked if they explicitly stated in the approval that a building could only go to 20 feet tall as the only reason they were approving it, if Wiegand would act differently, and Wiegand responded that he would hold them to the site plan and bring it back to every board involved.
Wiegand repeatedly emphasized that he wasn’t there when this project was first approved in 2017. He said the decision to allow the change was a tough one, and one based on not getting in trouble and facing a lawsuit by violating someone’s property rights.
Councilor Ron Baccala said he thinks that’s for a court to decide, and Wiegand said Morris Salvatore didn’t want to take that chance. Pollock responded that this was often Morris Salvatore’s answer, that a no might cost the town money in court.
Chris Conklin, of 44 Cushing St. told the council he now has a direct line of sight to a “giant gray structure.” He said he’s asking the same question now as he asked in 2017, that if someone sold the property with the zoning change, could someone just do whatever they wanted. He said he believes that answer was no, and that officials were doing a variance to protect the neighborhood, but this sounds as if zoning just changed permanently.
Conklin said the removal of trees around the property has also led to erosion every time it rains over the last decade or so, with no geo-stabilization effect in place anymore. The project doesn’t fit the surrounding neighborhood, he said.
Douglas Norman, of 38 Prospect St., said he now looks down over a “monstrosity,” saying it will only get worse when it’s all lit up. These are far-reaching effects that not a lot of people considered, he said.
“It’s frustrating when I can’t keep a chicken, but they can build that monstrosity in North Providence. It seems kind of silly,” said Norman.
Wiegand noted that if someone wanted to develop an office building at the same height, they could do so by right, but Martone responded that this wouldn’t be the case for storage, as that wasn’t permitted in this zone.
Council President Dino Autiello said he has a lot of questions, and it’s within the council’s authority to issue a stop-work order until they have those questions answered.
Councilors peppered Wiegand with questions about how Morris Salvatore could consider a much larger and deeper foundation less impactful, and he said it’s because it covers a smaller footprint. Autiello said he wants Morris Salvatore to come before the board.
“This is a big deal,” he said.
Morris Salvatore told The Local Insider Wednesday she’s not yet prepared to speak on the matter, but will be shortly.
Martone said there is plenty of precedent that if they order work to stop, a court might order that the building be torn down because it was approved wrongfully. He made the motion, seconded by DiLorenzo, to issue the stop-work order, which Wiegand said would be in place Wednesday morning.
Former Planning Board member Shane Piche, who shared how he was the lone no vote against the project in 2017, said he believes zoning and planning were both directed by Morris Salvatore to approve what they did. He said he thinks Wiegand was also misled a bit, and then questioned Morris Salvatore’s motives in the process.
Piche said Councilor Ron Baccala proved what can be done if the town can accomplish if it does fight a project in court, with the project on Marconi Street, and said it’s time for officials to put an end to the town being taken advantage of.
