BY VINAYA SAKSENA

CUMBERLAND — The town council is expected to hold a public hearing on a proposed  zoning change that would make way for a new CVS facility, and numerous jobs, according to Mayor Daniel McKee.

The council was originally expected to hold the hearing Wednesday night, at its regularly scheduled meeting in the council chambers at town hall. However, McKee said Wednesday afternoon that the hearing was expected to be tabled until the council’s next meeting in July, due to what he called “logistical issues.”
The previous day, McKee’s office had issued a statement announcing his intent to have the council take up the proposal, which calls for a zoning change to land in the Highland Corporate Park area. The mayor’s statement indicated that this change would “resolve long standing questions over the development of the property owned by Highland Hills LLC, which have resulted in a number of development applications and legal actions.” Among the alleged problems that have previously afflicted Highland Corporate Park is a “rotten egg-like smell,” allegedly caused by hydrogen sulfide emanating from the park’s sewer system.
The proposal to be discussed by the council next month would introduce an estimated 300,000 square feet of office space for CVS/ Caremark —
which was cited in the mayor’s statement as the possible job generator- as well as 100 “high quality condominium units” and roughly 50 acres of open space. The move was apparently facilitated in part by the Economic Development Foundation of Rhode Island, a non-profit foundation whose stated mission is to help expand the tax bases of Rhode Island communities through initiatives such as this.
In the statement sent by McKee’s office, foundation President Scott A. Gibbs was quoted as praising Highland Hills LLC “for their willingness to revise their development plans to accommodate CVS/ Caremark’s expansion plans. The company’s headquarters is located in the Woonsocket portion of Highland Park. Highland Hills LLC will provide the open space and a portion of the land for the CVS facility, while the Economic Development Foundation of Rhode Island will provide more land for the facility within the park.
The mayor’s statement indicated that town officials were behind the proposal. John Aubin, Director of Planning and Community Development, was quoted as saying that the proposed facility fit in the town’s existing plans nicely.
“The project represents the type of development called for in the Comprehensive Plan and is consistent with the on-going economic development efforts in Town (sic) by expanding the Town’s (sic) tax base and creating a significant number of high quality jobs and at the same time allowing business already in town to expand,” Aubin said.