The Glocester Town Council on Dec. 5 voted to grant an application by RLM 2 LLC d/b/a the Village on Choppness Hill to expand an existing mobile‑home community at 102 Victory Highway (Assessor’s Plat 14, Lot 90‑2) from 87 to 100 sites, contingent on a set of infrastructure and affordability conditions.

Attorney Timothy Kane, representing the applicant, told the council his client has invested in upgrades over the past two decades and provided a positive recommendation from the Glocester Planning Board. "My name is Timothy Kane... I do represent RLM 2 LLC with regard to the expansion before you tonight," Kane said, summarizing site improvements, well upgrades and grant‑funded work.

The council’s motion approved the expansion subject to the applicant supplying a new drainage plan, ensuring all new lots meet the town’s 10,000‑square‑foot lot size and setback rules, providing a roadway lighting plan, maintaining an up‑to‑date mobile‑home park license and deed‑restricting at least four of the new units as low‑ or moderate‑income. The motion also included implementation milestones: two generators must be installed within 12 months to sustain water pumps, and a new tank at Parkview Drive (between houses 37 and 39) must be installed within 12 months. The motion noted the fire chief’s recommendation that two 10,000‑gallon cisterns be installed for firefighting water; the chief’s memo specified timing for the cisterns (first tank by the time the third new lot/home is installed, second within two years).

Residents raised concerns about loss of open‑space and common areas. Susan McCarty, who lives on Diamond Hill Road in the park, said she was told the large front lot was a common area and that she felt she "bought my home in bad faith" when she later learned the applicant might site additional lots nearby. Rick Mefford of RLM 2 responded that he did not recall discussing the parcel in question with the resident and that there were no current plans to build on the common area described by McCarty.

Councilors pressed the applicant about emergency water and septic capacity. Park manager Kevin Kitson said generators have not yet been ordered and are awaiting state approvals; "once they are ordered, ... 6 weeks after that, they’ll be installed," he said, explaining the generators are sized to run variable‑speed pumps and service a new 10,000‑gallon holding tank. Kane and Kitson also read a letter from well contractor Eric Loughran Boyd describing well upgrades and improved yield; councilors were shown that the system now maintains about 60 psi and that newly drilled wells nearly doubled capacity.

On affordability, the Glocester Planning Board had recommended at least three deed‑restricted affordable units. Several councilors sought a larger contribution to the town’s affordable‑housing count (some called for five or six units). The applicant offered to add one additional deed‑restricted unit at the council’s encouragement and said it would continue to work with town staff and nonprofit partners to evaluate further affordability options. The applicant also reported the park’s septic is designed for up to 105 units and that upgrades would include a nitrate system the applicant estimated would cost about $600,000.

The council’s approval followed a public reading of the planning board’s September motion (moved by Mike Fortier, seconded by John Bart) and was carried by voice vote after a seconder stepped forward. The motion’s contingencies (drainage plan, lighting plan, licensing, four deed‑restricted units, generators, and the Parkview tank) are conditions of approval the council recorded in its motion.

What’s next: the applicant must submit the required plans and meet the specified milestones before full implementation; the council will expect progress reports and confirm permit compliance through town staff review. The planning board and fire chief’s conditions will guide inspections and timing for cistern and generator installation.