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Planning board approves dimensional variance and two‑lot subdivision at 1 Pine Lane
Summary
The North Smithfield Planning Board granted a dimensional variance and preliminary subdivision approval for a two‑lot split at 1 Pine Lane, conditional on obtaining an approved on‑site wastewater treatment system and payment of any Farm and Forest open‑space penalty. The votes were unanimous.
The Town of North Smithfield Planning Board voted unanimously to grant a dimensional variance and preliminary approval of a two‑lot subdivision for property at 1 Pine Lane, owned by Joseph Bellaboe.
Planning staff said the unified review was necessary because the subject property sits on a private roadway and therefore cannot meet the ordinance requirement that frontage be on a public street. Planner remarks to the board noted the board was acting in two roles: first on the zoning variance, then on the minor subdivision.
Engineer Paul Carlson of Vint Cerf Engineering presented the proposal, saying the applicant proposes two lots that would meet RA zoning area requirements but require a frontage variance because the existing access is a private lane. "This property is located on a private, dirt road ... and as a result it requires a dimensional variance to have less than required frontage," Carlson told the board. He said one proposed lot would be about 69,580.5 square feet (roughly 1.6 acres) and the other would retain roughly 220 feet of frontage and about 1.8 acres.
Board members asked about wells and soil testing; Carlson said soils evaluations had been performed and approved by RIDEM/DEM OWTS staff and that the new lot’s well would be dug only after a building permit was issued.
Before voting on the variance the planner read three conditions into the record: the variance is conditional on approval of the proposed minor subdivision; the applicant must receive an approved OWTS prior to issuance of a building permit; and the applicant must pay any penalty associated with removal from the Farm and Forest open‑space program (the property had been enrolled seven of the program’s required ten years).
After a roll‑call vote the board approved the dimensional variance (Doctor Benoit: yes; Doctor Roberts: yes; Mister Porter: yes; Mister Menard: yes; Chair: yes). The board then granted preliminary subdivision approval with the same RIDEM OWTS condition included; the roll‑call on the subdivision was also unanimous.
Next steps: the applicant must secure required state permits and an approved on‑site wastewater treatment system before building permits are issued, and must satisfy the Farm and Forest penalty determination by the tax assessor before the subdivision can be recorded. The board’s approvals were preliminary; final plan review and any additional technical corrections will be handled in subsequent filings.
