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Planning board schedules site visit after applicants seek waivers for Skysail Lane subdivision
Summary
Applicants for a proposed four‑lot subdivision on Skysail Lane requested multiple waivers—from pavement width to sight‑distance standards—arguing an 18‑foot common driveway will substantially reduce tree removal and land disturbance; the board asked for additional technical details and scheduled a site visit for Aug. 10.
The Town of Warwick Planning Board on July 15 heard a sketch‑plan presentation for a proposed four‑lot subdivision on Skysail Lane and a request to waive multiple street‑standard requirements.
John Capella, representing the applicants, asked the board to permit pavement and graded subbase reductions (proposed pavement width 18 feet rather than the code standard) and other waivers for a common driveway serving three new lots and one existing home. "By decreasing from 30 feet to 18 foot paved width, the impervious surface of the common drive will be reduced by 0.25 acres," Capella said, and he said the overall land disturbance would fall from just over an acre to a bit over 0.5 acre.
Capella also presented a fire inspector site visit and a traffic‑engineer report (Philip Greeley, PhD, PE) that the applicants say support emergency access and roadway safety for limited use. He described station‑by‑station comparisons in the application appendices showing tree‑removal counts and the grading impacts for 18‑ versus 30‑foot sections.
Board members pressed for concrete numbers on construction impacts. A board member asked whether the applicants had calculated the difference in construction truck trips between building to 30 feet versus 18 feet; Capella said the application documents report land‑disturbance differences but did not include a truck‑trip calculation and offered to supply that information. The board noted such estimates would help nontechnical members understand on‑the‑ground impacts.
Members and staff cautioned that lower, heavily wooded sections of the drive will require careful review to avoid unintended damage to trees and utility lines. The board’s consulting staff reminded members that sections with grades above 10 percent require a special approval from the planning board rather than a simple waiver; the applicants requested that special approval for a section the design shows at 14 percent.
Tom Savilla (an owner and on‑site presenter) and engineering consultants walked the board through the photographic appendices and station grids, pointing out existing boulders and several dead ash trees and explaining where minimal grading is proposed under the 18‑foot layout.
The board did not take a final vote on the sketch plan. Members requested follow‑up materials (including the traffic‑trip estimate and final engineering responses) and asked professionals to draft a resolution addressing the sketch plan and the waiver requests for the next meeting. The board scheduled a site visit for August 10 at 5:30 p.m. and noted the Pine Island fire chief performed a site visit and will provide a letter for the record.
What happens next: applicants will provide additional technical data and the board’s professionals will prepare a resolution for consideration at a subsequent meeting. The board’s site visit on Aug. 10 is intended to give members first‑hand context before any final action.
