Planning commission approves amended development plan for Maplewood garden/landscape site with buffer and night-operations conditions

The Coventry Planning Commission on April 23 approved an amended development plan for a proposed garden and landscape business at 2043 Maplewood Road, subject to conditions including a vegetated buffer to screen adjacent Maple Root Road homes, a replacement requirement for any plantings that die, and a prohibition on running equipment on-site between 10 p.m. and 7 a.m.

John Pontarelli, listed in materials as owner/applicant for Backstreet Holdings LLC (doing business as ProScape landscaping), told the commission the team had obtained a modified permit from the Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management (RIDEM) to move a surface retention basin about 100 feet toward the road. Engineer Sam Hemingway of Garifall & Associates explained the proposed shift maintains the same functionality as originally approved but relocates the basin to better support later frontage operations such as a garden shop.

Neighbors attended to raise concerns about on-site construction storage, machinery, overnight lighting and aesthetics. Patricia Perry, a Maple Root Road resident, said vehicles and lights at the site had been disruptive to nearby homes; Roger Leclerc and other neighbors described parked equipment and materials visible from residences. Pontarelli said construction activity had required temporary staging but that the site would be organized and he expected to install the planted buffer within "the next 2 to 3 weeks." He added he planned to move stored materials into the corner of the site as the parking lot and permanent screening were completed.

Attorney Steven Moretti and Panarelli's team told the commission that exterior siding is baked into the metal panels and that painting would not be durable; Moretti argued that white meets the ordinance's definition of a neutral color. Several commissioners and neighbors pressed for additional screening; staff and the chair suggested extending a double staggered row of arborvitae northward to screen all Maple Root Road single-family homes. After discussion the chair and staff proposed a revised condition specifying a single row of 10- to 12-foot vegetated buffer (green giant arborvitae) extending north from the existing planting line to the last house on Maple Root Road.

Planner staff recommended approval with conditions; commissioners voted to approve the amended development plan with the following conditions recorded in the motion: require a vegetated buffer of 10'to 12-foot arborvitae planted in a single staggered row extending northward to screen Maple Root Road single-family dwellings; the applicant to replace any plantings that die at his expense; a prohibition on running equipment on-site between 10 p.m. and 7 a.m.; and incorporation of the staff report findings and other standard conditions.

Commission minutes record a unanimous voice vote approving the amended plan and conditions. The commission's action allows the applicant to submit final plans reflecting the buffer and other conditions for administrative approval.