Planning Board approves East Coast Construction master, preliminary plan with conditions

The Tiverton Planning Board voted unanimously July 7 to grant master and preliminary plan approval for the East Coast Construction (ECC) tradesman center at 222 Ecoville Road, conditioning the approval on a set of engineering and planning requirements requested by town reviewers.

Town planner Chris Spencer told the board the applicant "has provided all the information that was requested" and that the project "meets the requirements for the zoning," recommending approval from the planning office. The applicant submitted an environmental screening from Hock Environmental; Weston & Sampson reviewed it for the town and supplied a July 1 memorandum with six action items the board asked be spelled out as conditions.

Board member Stew Hardy pressed for specific, enforceable requirements tied to earlier approvals, saying he found large on‑site stockpiles near Eagleville Road and asking for the dimensions, footprint and materials for 20 proposed material bins and the five fill areas. "When I was out there the other day, I noticed piles that were about 30 feet high that were very close to Eagleville Road," Hardy said, urging conditions so material storage cannot encroach on the road or nearby residences.

The board’s final conditions require: (1) compliance with Weston & Sampson's July 1 memorandum (the six listed recommendations); (2) acquisition of all applicable federal, state and local permits; (3) enforcement of the 2022 planting and landscaping requirement in the project's earlier decision; (4) compliance with Tiverton Code chapter 65 (soil erosion and sediment control) including a determination‑of‑applicability letter from the building official before final plan approval; (5) plans showing the sizes, locations and materials of material bins and fill piles; and (6) a general, enforceable list of the categories of materials proposed to be stored on site, with the requirement that storage remain consistent with industrial zoning allowances.

Applicant Billy Reed, the owner of East Coast Construction, told the board the visible piles are construction material (rock, gravel, mulch) and said he had no information indicating permanent manure storage at the site. Reed also explained the reported 500‑gallon fuel tank is temporary for construction equipment and not a permanent, in‑ground storage tank.

The board and staff clarified that certain building code and fire‑safety checks (including analysis of available water for suppression) are handled at the building‑permit stage; the board’s action is conditioned on those later agency reviews. Weston & Sampson will perform periodic site visits as part of implementation and the planning office will verify required documentation before final administrative sign‑off.

The vote to grant master and preliminary approval, subject to the conditions listed above, was unanimous.