Developers outline Dunkin' Donuts, retail and restaurant plan for 0 Plainfield Pike; planners flag driveway waivers

Attorney Joseph Brennan and the development team presented a pre‑application concept for a mixed retail and restaurant project at 0 Plainfield Pike that would place a Dunkin' Donuts with a drive‑through in one end of a single building, retail units in the center, and a restaurant at the west end.

"The application that you have before you is for a development. We're calling it the Dunkin development... The main item coming in is the Dunkin' Donuts," Brennan told the commission, noting the parcel is associated with a previously approved subdivision for 210 Plainfield Pike and is otherwise a vacant lot.

Brennan said the team plans to stay in the M‑2 zone but will seek conditional uses and two specific waivers: relief from the city's separation requirement between adjacent driveways (the proposed exit is close to a driveway serving a truck terminal) and an exception to the freestanding drive‑through rule because the Dunkin' unit would be attached to the building. He said the developer has had preliminary conversations with the Rhode Island Department of Transportation, and "their initial indications... would be that they would actually support this proposal."

Commissioners questioned parking calculations, driveway geometry and possible need for an easement to reach the proposed exit. Staff and the applicant said parking was calculated based on assumed uses (Dunkin', retail, restaurant) and that additional DOT review and permitting will be required. There was no public comment recorded for the pre‑application.

Brennan said the applicant will submit a zone‑change application with conditions and work with planning staff; the commission indicated it will make a formal recommendation when that application is complete.