Contentious housing plan up again June 19



If 19 housing units were constructed in four buildings on a single lot at 70 and 78 Narragansett Ave., traffic would increase by roughly 3 percent, according to a study by the applicant’s development team.

During a public hearing last week in front of a packed crowd, the planning commission heard about the effects the proposed project across from John A. Murphy’s law office would have on drainage and traffic. According to attorney Deb Foppert, who represents the applicant, pets, lights, noise, landscaping and building height also were concerns that surfaced during a meeting with neighbors.

The hearing, after two hours and 40 minutes, was continued to 7 p.m. June 19.

The application by Stuart Sanderson would redevelop the neighboring lots into a single parcel comprising 1.1 acres. The house at 70 Narragansett Ave. would be razed to accommodate two single-family homes attached by their garages.

The building to the west at 78 Narragansett Ave., which formerly was owned by the Ceppi family, would be renovated to accommodate three units. The third building would be a duplex built in the southeastern corner of the 78 Narragansett Ave. lot. The fourth building would be an 8,000-square-foot multifamily structure with 12 condos. The project includes five units for affordable housing.

The complex would include 35 parking spots with separate access points for vehicles entering and exiting the property. This driveway would wrap around the three structures at 78 Narraganset Ave.

Dan Cotta, president of American Engineering, said his drainage plan would meet municipal standards for runoff. While the preliminary plan called for a pervious driveway that would allow water to infiltrate straight into the ground, Cotta revised his design because of concerns from neighbors.

His new plan calls for an impervious driveway with Cape Cod berms along the property’s borders to prohibit surface water from spilling over. As for stormwater, Cotta said his design includes an underground system that would collect the water in the center of the site.

“They’ve done a fair amount of work, more work than normally would be done for the master plan because of the concerns we heard from neighbors,” Foppert said. “They’re a little ahead of the game at this point.”

As for traffic, a study by Sanderson’s team reported roughly 3,700 vehicles traverse Narragansett Avenue on a daily basis at an average speed of 28 mph. This project, however, would add 103 daily vehicles to that figure, or 2.8 percent.

Those numbers were reviewed by a third-party engineering firm, BETA Group, which found the data accurate. That independent study, however, recommended removing a parking space along Narragansett Avenue in front of the proposed complex to improve the line of sight. They also suggested taking away a parking space at the corner of Howland Avenue.

A contingency of residents has raised objections to the project, citing concerns about traffic, water and sewer use.

Town Planner Lisa Bryer said the planning commission does not have carte blanche to reject it because the town has not met the 10 percent mandate for affordable housing — Jamestown “hovers at about 4 percent,” she said. The state has strict guidelines for projects that include these units, she said.

“The law is very specific about the reasons for this project to be denied,” Bryer said.

Foppert said the project meets all of these concerns because the complex would not threaten the environment or public safety. Also, it is consistent with the comprehensive plan. There are no wetlands within 200 feet, she said, and the project meets the maximum height (35 feet) and lot coverage; the proposal’s buildings make up 35 percent of the lot, which is within the 55 percent threshold.