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Plan panel approves Ridgewood Road lot split after drainage‑easement condition; neighbors raise solar‑project concerns
Summary
The commission granted frontage relief and approved a one‑lot subdivision at Ridgewood Road subject to a recorded drainage easement after neighbors raised concerns about overlap with a portion of a nearby approved solar project and previous site work. DEM wetlands and septic permits had been secured for the new house site.
The plan commission approved a one‑lot subdivision for a 2.57‑acre parcel at the end of Ridgewood Road on March 3, granting zoning relief for 50 feet of existing frontage where 200 feet is required in the A80 zone.
Applicant attorney Robert Murray and engineer Jason Kluff presented a plan for a single family lot with on‑site well and septic; they said Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management (DEM) had already issued wetlands and on‑site wastewater approvals. Staff found the lot meets A80 area requirements despite the lack of standard frontage and recommended approval with one condition: the developer must record a drainage easement to preserve a city outfall and permit future maintenance of an existing drainage pipe that crosses private land.
A neighborhood representative, Drake Patton, opposed the subdivision and questioned whether the lot was being subdivided while a larger portion of the same parcel remains the approved project area for a commercial solar installation. He said neighbors worried the subdivision could alter the solar project's project‑area calculations and leases, and he recited a history of prior permitting and site activity that raised community distrust.
Attorney Murray and engineer Kluff said the site for the house is substantially separate from the solar array footprint and that the subdivision will not affect the previously approved NIT solar project. The commission voted to grant the required frontage variance and approved the subdivision with the drainage‑easement recording condition.
The applicant must record the easement satisfactory to the city before moving forward with building permits.
