Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Conservation Subdivision topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Planning Board approves Block Island Land Trust minor subdivision, grants variance for Corn Neck Road parcel
Summary
The New Shoreham Planning Board conditionally approved a preliminary plan and granted a dimensional variance for a minor subdivision of a Corn Neck Road parcel that will create one residential lot and transfer about 20.676 acres to the Block Island Land Trust under a conservation easement.
The New Shoreham Planning Board on July 9 conditionally approved the preliminary plan for a minor subdivision of a Corn Neck Road parcel owned by Martha Ball and William O. Ball Jr. and granted a dimensional variance under section 306(c) of the town zoning ordinance.
The board’s approval made preliminary-plan approval contingent on a final plan that includes computation of maximum lot coverage and a draft of an easement granting perpetually the driveway from Corn Neck Road to the Ball residence to Martha Ball and William O. Ball Jr. and their successors in interest. The board also recorded findings of fact supporting the grant of a dimensional variance.
The board’s written findings state the Block Island Land Trust will receive conservation rights to approximately 20.676 acres, including roughly 11.5 acres already conserved. The proposed residential lot will be about 3.03 acres and is in Residential Zone A. The application included a request for a variance because the proposed resulting lot would have no frontage where 200 feet is required. The board found that the variance standards in section 306(c) were met because the relief was not caused by the surrounding area or by economic hardship; it would not impair the zoning ordinance’s intent; and denying the variance would impose more than a mere inconvenience that would impede use of conservation easements as a stewardship tool.
The planning board further found the minor subdivision meets the subdivision-regulation standards (cited as 307(a)(2)(a) and (b) in the record), concluding the subdivision is consistent with the New Shoreham comprehensive plan, results in no immediate plans for development, preserves existing scenic and natural features, and will not increase traffic congestion or cause surface- or ground-water pollution as conditioned. The board referenced Title 36, Chapter 39 of the Rhode Island General Laws in describing the public benefits of conservation easements.
The motion to grant preliminary-plan approval and the dimensional variance was seconded and carried unanimously.
The approval is preliminary; the conditions described above must appear on the final recorded plan before final approval. The planning staff and applicants did not report any planned development of the conserved land at the meeting.
