Engineer and owner present pre-application for nine-townhouse project at Harris Road and Route 7

Sam Hemmeney, an engineer with Garrett Fowle and Associates, and property owner Dominic Greco presented a pre-application to the Smithfield Planning Board for a triangular, commercially zoned parcel at the northeast corner of Harris Road and Route 7. The team proposed nine units—primarily single-level duplexes and one triplex—intended to act as a transitional use between highway-front commercial parcels and adjacent multifamily residential lots.

Hemmeney said the lot’s orientation toward Harris Road, its triangular shape and a utility corridor that crosses the property constrain standard commercial development and prompted the applicant to explore a residential option that would require rezoning and dimensional relief. "We are here in pre application capacity...the property is currently zoned commercial butts RM 20 zones on the north and west," Hemmeney said during the presentation.

Greco, the owner, described alternatives considered and defended the residential concept as a lower‑traffic option than a 5,000-square-foot commercial building. "This is the least amount of traffic that this site will see compared to other uses," he said, adding the team would revisit layouts and landscaping to reduce impacts.

Board members and staff urged caution. Several members noted driver behavior at the nearby Coffee Connection drive-through and observed vehicles frequently not using the stop sign where the proposed development’s exit would channel traffic. One committee member who visited the site described tight on‑street parking near the coffee shop and children crossing from a nearby dance studio as potential safety hazards and suggested reorienting units or reducing unit count.

Staff reported the applicant had met with DPW, building, zoning and the Technical Review Committee and that departments were generally receptive, but that the proposal would require significant relief or a formal rezoning. Staff recommended exploring options to reduce the dimensional variances requested—examples included narrowing shared drive aisles or changing ground-floor layouts to allow a second level—before filing a formal application.

No formal action was taken; the board provided input and requested the applicant consider design changes, further traffic analysis, and ways to minimize the amount of dimensional relief needed before returning with a formal submission.