Planning Board Approves 45,900‑Square‑Foot Addition, Grants Height Variance at 20 Providence Pike

The North Smithfield Planning Board on March 13 approved master plan, dimensional variance and special‑use permit requests for a warehouse expansion at 20 Providence Pike owned by K and B Properties, LLC.

Attorney Joseph Brennan, representing the applicant, told the board the project would add a 45,900‑square‑foot warehouse and a 4,316‑square‑foot office to an existing 73,000‑square‑foot building on a roughly seven‑acre lot, and would provide 20 additional parking spaces. He said the applicant sought a two‑foot height variance to allow the expansion to match the existing building’s 37‑foot height in places where topography changes the grade.

Planner Carullo explained the request is in the town’s Water Supply Protection Overlay District and reviewed application requirements for a special‑use permit. Engineer Nick Papiano testified the site’s grade varies roughly 12 feet north to south and described stormwater, erosion control and other environmental measures included with the application. Papiano said applicable state and federal permits were in place or underway, and that the project would comply with Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management (DEM) and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) requirements for groundwater protection, stormwater, air and pollutant discharge where applicable.

Brennan and engineer Papiano told the board the plan includes a soil‑erosion and sediment control plan, that the project has (or will obtain) required permits (including RIPDES/stormwater permits), and that the application does not include underground storage tanks. Brian Beck, identified as one of the owners, said the applicant currently has solar panels on about 70 percent of the existing building and plans to extend solar generation to cover the new building.

Board members asked about retaining walls, grading, a previously reported piece of equipment near the railroad, pavement markings and truck routing. The applicant agreed to add signage and pavement striping to ensure tractor‑trailers exit the site by turning right only, to avoid routing trucks over a nearby stone arch bridge. The planning office also sought a landscaping/screening plan to soften the north/south exposure of the building toward nearby residential properties; the applicant agreed that a registered landscape architect would produce a screening plan as a condition of approval.

The board opened and then closed the public hearing with no substantive public testimony on the project. The board voted in favor of the dimensional variance (to allow a 37‑foot portion where 35 feet is allowed), the special‑use permit for the Water Supply Protection Overlay District, and final major land development (preliminary) approval, each vote recorded by roll call. The board incorporated planning office findings and agreed the project met the standards for the requested relief as presented.

The approvals carried conditions set out in the planning department’s findings; the board read an amendment to stipulation number 1 clarifying that the driveway on Providence Pike will include signage and pavement markings prohibiting right turns for tractor‑trailers to prevent access to the stone arch bridge. The applicant agreed to comply with the planning office’s full list of stipulations and to provide required construction‑period controls and state permits prior to work commencing.

A preliminary implementation note from the applicant: no tenant is identified yet, and the owner said there is no plan to store hazardous waste at this time; the building is being marketed for lease. The board recorded its approvals on the record and closed the item.