By JOSEPH FITZGERALD

NORTH SMITHFIELD — The Branch Village Task Force is preparing to recommend a revised and reduced buildout scenario for the proposed Branch Village development project after determining that the initial buildout plan would exceed the capacity of the district to accommodate the nearly 1,000,000 square feet of proposed new commercial, industrial and retail space. 

As a result, the task force will meet next week and review two reduced buildout plans, one with an industrial focus and one with an office focus. The meeting is set for next Tuesday at 7 p.m. at the Kendall-Dean School, 83 School St.
The task force wants to come up with a recommended build out scenario by the June 18th public hearing.
Over the past few weeks, members of the Task Force have been meeting with the consultant hired by the town to help with the second phase of the Branch Village plan.
Lincoln-based Pare Corporation was awarded a $26,000 contract for the work, which will include developing alternative mixed use scenarios and analyzing impacts of the various development scenarios on public services, traffic and the municipal tax base. Hiring a consultant is seen as an important step toward advancing implementation of the Branch Village concept plan.The BVRTF unveiled its vision statement and plan to town officials and residents last November.
The document is the culmination of a 10-month effort by the task force, which has been working with Horsley Witten Group to examine development possibilities for the nearly 200-acre Branch Village District along Great Road. Both the Town Council and Planning Board have adopted the concept plan, which calls for a more traditional village center with street-level retail with offices or apartments above, and on-street parking and sidewalks with benches and shade trees.
The plan also suggests ways to encourage smart economic development within the 175-acre Branch River Industrial Park if it were allowed to accommodate a mix of uses not currently permitted in the manufacturing zone. Two weeks ago, U.S. Rep. Patrick Kennedy (D-RI) visited town for a briefing and tour of the Branch Village district.
Kennedy join town officials and members of the Task Force to discuss the town's request for a $5.78 million federal appropriation to match the town’s infrastructure investment of $6.1 million for the revitalization of Branch Village.
The town is applying for federal grants that would pay for Branch Village streetscape improvements.
 It's hoped that work would go forward simultaneous to the town-approved (and funded) sewer project scheduled for next year. The $6.1 million earmarked for Branch Village comes from a $21 million municipal sewer bond.
This second phase of the Branch Village plan is expected to be complete by June or July.Phase three of the plan — drafting a mixed-use zoning ordinance — has already been included as part of the scope of work for the rewrite of the town's zoning ordinance now underway in connection with the town's recently updated Comprehensive Plan.