Board sets September special meeting for Seasons Corner Market after lengthy appeals history

Rob Stolzmann, attorney for the Seasons Corner Market applicant, briefed the board on the project's procedural history and current preliminary-plan materials. He said the property — a former fuel-depot site — is proposed to host a 3,600-square-foot convenience store with a drive-through lane and a four-pump fueling canopy. Stolzmann recapped prior actions: master-plan applications beginning in 2021, a denial and appeal to the Zoning Board of Appeals, subsequent ZBA reversal, and special-use-permit hearings that culminated in approval by the zoning board in mid-2025.

Stolzmann told the board that state agencies have provided technical approvals relevant to preliminary plan submission: Stonebridge Fire District confirmed water availability, RIDOT issued a physical-alteration permit modification, and DEM issued a freshwater-wetlands permit confirming the project is outside regulated wetlands buffers. He said the applicant will present architectural, signage and sidewalk plans at the upcoming preliminary-review hearing and offered to supply paper binders of the materials for board members to review in advance.

A neighbor, Jennifer Andes, whose appeal is pending at the zoning level, said she would consider seeking a stay in the appeals process to pause the planning-board work; staff responded that in the absence of a court stay the applicant may continue with preliminary-plan review and that interested parties may apply for a stay through the court. The board set a special meeting for Sept. 15 so members — including those who missed earlier master-plan hearings — can digest the extensive submissions and to ensure adequate public access and time for comment.