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Planning board OKs one-year extension for Sun Builders master plan, citing DOT timing
Summary
Represented by attorney Tim Cain, Sun Builders secured a one-year extension of its master plan vesting after the applicant said state DOT would not install a traffic signal until nearby projects advanced.
The Smithfield Planning Board approved a one-year extension of the master plan approval for Sun Builders on July 16, after the applicant’s attorney said Rhode Island Department of Transportation delays prevented required traffic-signal installation.
Tim Cain, an attorney for Sun Builders, told the board the developer received master plan approval in May 2023 to build a car wash and small-scale retail and later obtained zoning approvals. He said a condition from the zoning board required a traffic signal, but DOT declined to install one because the projected traffic did not meet warrant thresholds. Cain said a separate nearby project (referred to as Churchill and Banks) has changed scope and is now expected to justify a signal and that, when that project moves forward, it should enable traffic-signal work that would also allow a light for Sun Builders’ driveway. Cain asked the board for a one-year continuance of the master plan’s vesting period, noting state law provides a four-year vesting window.
A committee member moved to approve the one-year extension; the motion was seconded and approved by voice vote with no opposition recorded in the transcript.
The extension preserves Sun Builders’ master plan entitlement for another year while the applicant pursues DOT coordination and any subsequent preliminary engineering filings the board may require.
