Public comment likely to be continued at next meeting

By JOSEPH FITZGERALD

NORTH SMITHFIELD — The environmental engineering firm hired by the town to conduct a peer review of the proposed Dowling Village, said while the mixed commercial, office and residential development as proposed by project developer, Bucci Development, complies in general with the state's stormwater regulations, it does not appear to be protective of nearby wetland resources, potential additional impairment of the Blackstone River Watershed and the diversity of dragonflies and other species of Odonata at Booth Pond.

Rich Claytor of the Horsley Witten Group, an environmental science and engineering firm, presented the firm's peer review findings during a two-hour presentation before the Planning Board Thursday night.
The session, which drew a crowd of about 100 people, was also the first opportunity for members of the public to comment on the Dowling Village proposal in the public hearing process, although that didn't start until nearly 9 p.m. The public comment portion of the hearing is likely to carry over to additional meetings, according to Planning Board Chairman Joseph Cardello.
Valley Alliance for Smart Growth, an organization opposing the Dowling Village project, has at least nine expert witnesses and will be given at least one whole meeting so those witnesses can give testimony, Cardello said.
The Planning Board has about three meetings left before a May 29 deadline to vote on the preliminary plan for the remaining three phases of the project.
Bucci Development concluded its testimony on the potential impacts of the project and it was Horsley Witten Group's turn last night to present its peer review findings.
First proposed four years ago, Dowling Village is a 133-acre, $85 million mixed-use development proposed for Route 146A on the Woonsocket city line. A master plan for phases 2 and 3 of the project has been submitted to the planners for approval and consists of seven retail buildings totaling 555,504-square-feet; three restaurants totaling 16,442-square feet; and a three-story 75,000-square-foot office building and parking for a total of 2,689 vehicles.
The planning board is reviewing project impacts from all four phases, including phase 1, which is partially constructed and includes a 17,762-square-foot CVS pharmacy — which opened last year — and a 5,000-square-foot restaurant, and phase 4, which consists of 76 residential condominiums.
The project as proposed has two entrances, one at the Dowling Village Highway/Route 146A and the other just north of the National Grid power line between 408 and 322 Eddie Dowling Highway.
Opponents of the project have criticized it as an ecological threat that will create storm runoff problems and disturb several habitats of rare plants, insects and animals. Some of those concerns were echoed in the peer review report by Horsley Witten Group, which determined that the project could impact dragonflies at Booth Pond, which has the highest diversity of Odonata species in the state.
"The less intensive the development is within 100 meters of the edge of the pond the better off they will be," Claytor told planners.
Claytor said he is also concerned about the project's ability to not further impact the Blackstone River watershed, which is already an impaired river.
Claytor told planners that he will submit the firm's recommendations and observations to the developer, who will work on revised plans and then submit those revisions to Horsley Witten Group. The form would then provide more feedback to planners within the next few weeks.
Last June, Bucci Development announced it would move forward and secure final local approval for the project after the Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management (DEM) approved a permit for the last three phases of the project.
That month, the DEM approved a permit for phases two, three and four of the project, which was the last state regulatory approval needed in order for Bucci Development to move forward to secure final local approval from the North Smithfield Planning Board.
Phase one of Dowling Village, off Route 146A and abutting Woonsocket, is nearing completion with the opening of an 18,000-square-foot CVS pharmacy last July. The later phases will bring the construction of more than 600,000 square feet of commercial space as well as additional construction in office space, restaurants, and residential uses.