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Neighbors raise emergency-access concerns as Warwick ZBA reviews Lakeshore Road additions
Summary
Residents told the Zoning Board of Appeals that historic closures and narrow Lakeshore Road raise real emergency-access risks for homes near a proposed addition; board attorneys said deed references to a right-of-way are vague and a court, not the ZBA, would likely have to resolve title lines.
Neighbors pressing the Zoning Board of Appeals on Tuesday told the board that long-closed road segments and narrow roadway geometry make emergency access to several Lakeshore Road homes precarious.
"If God forbid an emergency happens that we can get an ambulance down there," a nearby resident said, describing tight corners, a telephone pole and stone walls that limit maneuvering and turnarounds. The speaker added neighbors had relied on an historic right-of-way and worried proposed site work could complicate access.
The concerns arose during public comment on a proposed addition, where neighbors asked whether advertised building heights — discussed by the applicant as "27 ft above the first floor" — would affect sight lines or drive access. The applicant told the board the 27-foot measure is taken from the first-floor level and that foundation work will be pinned into existing rock to minimize excavation and variability in finished heights.
Town and board officials repeatedly clarified that some questions raised by neighbors — temporary road closures for construction staging, traffic detours and septic-system approvals — are addressed at planning-board site-plan review rather than during variance consideration before the ZBA. "Those would be issues to be presented to the planning board," a zoning official said.
On legal access, the board's attorney reviewed a lengthy title abstract and told the meeting that many deeds contain only general references to a right-of-way "over the Goodwill property." He described the referenced easement as "undefined," lacking precise meets-and-bounds lines that would let the board locate it on the ground. "We are not a court," he said, urging neighbors that a judicial action would be the appropriate path if someone sought a definitive declaration on the easement's location or extent.
Neighbors said those legal limits do not change the practical reality: the narrow road and past closures have left some houses with only a constrained route for deliveries and emergency response. Board members and staff advised that the planning board will review construction staging and any temporary closures if the applicant proceeds, and that the applicant has offered to provide easement language and, where possible, avoid blocking historically used access.
The hearing on this application remains open; the applicant and neighbors agreed to return with clarified plans and any edited easement drafts to the next meeting.
