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2026-09-16 - Town Council Special Meeting

Summary

Built from the town's posted agenda, the approved (as amended) minutes and the video captions.

  • Single item: a stop-work order for the 1204 Douglas Ave storage facility. See 1204 Douglas Avenue Storage Facility.
  • Long discussion of whether planning staff's earlier change was a minor or major modification.
  • Councilman Steven Loporchio was absent.
  • Voted to continue the matter to 10/6 so the Council can retain its own legal counsel.

Discussion highlights (from the video)

  • The council president said the council had voted to request a stop-work order, learned that only the zoning official can issue one, and that the zoning department declined to do so. See 1204 Douglas Avenue Storage Facility.
  • The town's former solicitor spoke on the 2017 advice and cited the case Town of Warren v. Frost for the point that zone-change conditions must be clear and specific in writing.
  • Project history as described: a 2017 master plan with nine buildings, a revised plan with seven buildings, and a minor modification request in July 2024 that the planning director approved in writing in December 2024.
  • Some council members argued the ordinance's reference to the approved plans limited the site layout. The former solicitor and the planning director said that was too broad to impose as a condition.
  • The planning director said the town's regulations do not define a minor modification and that he compared footprint, setbacks and buffers.
  • The developer's attorney said the project met the zone's requirements, no violations had been issued, the client relied on approved permits, and about $30 million had been invested.
  • A property owner asked about a retaining wall. The town said no certificate of occupancy would issue without the final certifications.
  • A council member moved to continue the matter to the October meeting to consider retaining outside legal counsel, saying the council was not satisfied with the answers received. No stop-work order was issued.
  • Auto-caption wording may contain errors, so names are approximate.

Agenda

Agenda posted by the town: https://opengov.sos.ri.gov/Common/DownloadMeetingFiles?FilePath=%5CNotices%5C4352%5C2026%5C566125.pdf
Additional agenda filing: https://opengov.sos.ri.gov/Common/DownloadMeetingFiles?FilePath=%5CNotices%5C4352%5C2026%5C566255.pdf

Sources

Video