Council grants conditional license to HT Auto (d/b/a Leo's Auto), sets May 1 fence deadline

The North Smithfield Town Council voted to grant a conditional license to HT Auto LLC, d/b/a Leo’s Auto, with a requirement that the business complete fencing in accordance with the building official’s directions by May 1.

Council members said their decision was constrained by the solicitor’s instruction to base action only on the building inspector’s formal complaint, not on other neighbor testimony collected over prior meetings. The council’s motion — approved by roll call — said that if the fence is not completed to the satisfaction of the building official and the council by May 1, the building official will bring the owner before the council for a show‑cause hearing under the relevant licensing provisions.

Owner statements in the meeting indicated the fence work is incomplete; the owner reported roughly 30% of the work finished and said weather and required approvals from the state Department of Environmental Management (DEM) for wetlands areas have slowed progress. Council members and the building official discussed that not all acreage requires fencing (wetlands and woodlands may be excluded) and that DEM approval is needed for work near wetlands.

The council made and seconded the motion and approved it by roll call. Members voting yes included those recorded in the meeting roll calls; no dissenting votes were recorded in the meeting transcript for this item.

The council’s statement and the motion limited deliberations to the inspector’s complaint; councilors also invited the building official to pursue any separate complaints raised by neighbors outside the narrow licensing determination. The council did not take action on other citizen complaints at this meeting.

Next steps: the building official will verify fence completion; if the May 1 deadline is missed the council will schedule a show‑cause proceeding.