Minutes 2026-01-08

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TOWN OF PORTSMOUTH
PLANNING BOARD
2200 East Main Road
Portsmouth, RI 02871
401-683-3717

PORTSMOUTH PLANNING BOARD MEETING MINUTES

January 8, 2026

I. CALL TO ORDER AND ROLL CALL

The Planning Board meeting was called to order in the Town Council Chambers by
Chairman Lopes at 7:00 p.m.

Members Present: Chairman Edward Lopes, Vicechair Luke Harding, David
Garceau, Ryan Tibbetts, Chris O’Connell, Kathleen Wilson, and Don Clukies

Members Absent: None

Others Present: Giovanni Cicione, Attorney; Lea Hitchen, Town Planner; Kristen
Black, Planning Technician; and Heather Raposa, Planning Board Secretary

II. Approval of Minutes
MOTION: Ms. Wilson made a motion to approve December 11, 2025, minutes as
written; seconded by Mr. Garceau.
VOTE: 6 – 0 (Chairman Lopes, Mr. Garceau, Mr. Tibbetts, Mr. O’Connell, Ms. Wilson,
and Mr. Clukies) Vice Chairman Harding recused himself as he was not at the
December 11, 2025, Planning Board meeting.
III. Elm Street/Portsmouth Heights Subdivision Progress Report – At the December
11 Planning Board Meeting, Harkins Development Company was granted an
extension to January 8, 2026, to remedy outstanding work wo be completed, being:
1. Installation of Concrete Bounds, 2. Completion of As-Built Plans, 3. Installation
of loam and see after the final paving to complete the roadway, 4. Homeowners
Association has been established.

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The Applicant’s attorney, Attorney Hook reached out to Ms. Hitchen stating that
progress had been made on the Homeowners Association, but additional time was
needed to complete all the outstanding work. Ms. Hitchen had no objection to
continuing this application.

MOTION: Vice Chairman Harding made a motion to continue this application to the
February 12, 2026, Planning Board Meeting; seconded by Mr. Garceau.

VOTE: 7 – 0 (Chairman Lopes, Vice Chairman Harding, Mr. Garceau, Mr. Tibbetts,
Mr. O’Connell, Ms. Wilson, and Mr. Clukies).
IV. Public Hearing – Preliminary Plan Review – PV Assessment Management
(Applicant) for Regal LLC (Owner) for property located at 0 and 1526 West Main
Road; being Tax Assessor’s Plat 51 Lot 34 & 34C (Zoned Commercial, C). The
applicant is requesting Preliminary Plan approval of a 25,575 square foot
building, architecturally designed to fit into Portsmouth for retail storage
containing 400-500 individual units.
Attorney Cort Chappell, 171 Chase Road, presented the application. The lot is
commercial. Under unified development review, this application comes before the
Planning Board under the preliminary major land development rules and regulations,
and they will also look at any variances being requested. In a commercial zone, the
setbacks are 30 feet front, 20 feet rear, and 15-foot side. The building meets all of those
setbacks and the height requirements, with the average grade. Under unified
development plan review the side yard setback changes from 15 to 25 feet. They are 49
feet, but the driveway is within the 25-foot setback.
Discussion on if a variance is needed, since the driveway is within the 25-foot setback.
The Applicant went to the Technical Review Committee, and the fire department
wanted the road to go 360 degrees around the building. Mr. Tibbetts asked, if the fire
department did not require the 360-degree access, would the applicant have been able
to meet the setbacks without seeking relief? Attorney Chappell replied that they would
have stopped the driveway at the loading zone and not have needed the variance.
There are two lots here (Map 51 Lots 34 & 34C), and approval is conditional to
approval of the merger of the two lots. When the lots are merged, there will be around
103,344 total square footage. The building is 25,724 square feet, and lot coverage for
the building is 25%. Lot coverage for the building, structures (including overhands and
eaves), and permeable pavement is 41%.
Gregg Cerino, 20 Skywood Court, Parkville, Maryland, developer, VP of Development
for EV Asset Management, was the first witness brought up. He was sworn in by
Chairman Lopes. He has been in the development business for retail storage for five
plus years, and he has worked on 18 retail storage projects. Mr. Cerino stated that

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Portsmouth has a lack of climate-controlled self-storage in the area. There is one
storage facility in Portsmouth, Prime Storage in the industrial park. It has 7 buildings,
and only one offers interior climate-controlled units. Climate-controlled storage is the
new generation of storage. It is safe, modern, you can store legal documents there. 80%
of people who lease the units through EV Asset Management are women, because they
want a safe, clean environment, where they know, things are not going to get moldy, or
wet.
Mr. Cerino stated that the building is big because of all the hallways. They generally
do not make small units, because they are trying to meet the needs of households. They
design larger units, with hallways throughout.
Mr. Cerino stated that this will be a low-impact commercial project. There will be
minimal noise, this is not a bar or restaurant. The office is maintained with personnel
from 9 am to 6 pm, Monday through Saturday, and Sunday 9 am to 2 or 3 pm.
Customers can access their units once they are a tenant, 24 hours a day, via a code on
a pin pad to get through the gate. There will also be minimal impact from lighting.
There will be low lighting outside, and it will be controlled on timers.
There are 15 parking spaces proposed for this project, which follows the town
ordinances. Mr. Cerino thinks this is high for this project since they have larger facilities
in denser areas with less parking spaces.
EV Asset Management tasked an architecture firm to design the building to fit in with
the surrounding architecture. Mr. Cerino stated one of their key priorities was to match
the aesthetics of the community and to make it not stick out as a bland box in the area.
The design presented is about the fourth design proposed. After going to Design
Review Board, they included gable roofs, higher pitch, dormers with the windows, and
the color scheme, which is more traditional in the area. Mr. Tibbetts made a comment
that the design had come a long way from what was presented in October.
Mr. Garceau asked if there were windows on the back of the storage building as well.
Mr. Cerino replied it was just siding on the back.
Mike Burton, Urban Design Group, Baltimore, Maryland, Architect, was sworn in by
Chairman Lopes. Urban Design Group looked at the vernacular of the area and tried to
emulate it. The building has metal clapboard siding, architectural shingles and accented
metal roofing.
The developer hired a light consultant to work with Mr. Burton to conduct photometric
studies and make sure the lighting complies with the town’s ordinances. The lights aim
down and are soft. They are the minimum amount necessary to keep safe during and
after business hours.

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The HVAC, heating, and AC units have been designed to be out of sight and hidden by
the gables. They are centrally located on the roof, not visible from any angle.
Chairman Lopes asked if the design being shown in the meeting was the design shown
to the Design Review Board. Attorney Chappell responded that they were shown the
same view, but at that point, the gables did not have the pitch they do in the design
shown.
The peak of the gable is where Mr. Burton is determining the maximum height of the
building. They took the average of the four corners of the building to determine the
average height. The building has been designed to be at a height of 35 feet of average
grade.
Chairman Lopes asked if there were elevators inside. Mr. Burton replied there are two
elevators and two fire stairs in the building.
Karen Beck, Principe Engineering, Tiverton, RI, was sworn in.
MOTION: Vice Chairman Harding made a motion to recognize Ms. Beck as an expert
in engineering; seconded by Ms. Wilson.
VOTE: 7 – 0 (Chairman Lopes, Vice Chairman Harding, Mr. Garceau, Mr. Tibbetts,
Mr. O’Connell, Ms. Wilson, and Mr. Clukies).
The two lots together are 2.37 acres. Attorney Chappell explained that Principe
Engineering tried to calculate what could fit on this lot without a variance. This resulted
in a 25,000 square foot building, and the building lot coverage is less than 25%.
This lot includes a driveway between two houses to the north. That tiny sliver of land
was included in the land square footage calculations. If that piece of land was not
counted, the applicant would be .29% over lot coverage allowed.
Ms. Beck talked about the ledge on the site. Ledge is scattered throughout the property,
and that is why the topography is as challenging as it is. A number of test holes were
conducted throughout the site, not only because of the OWTS septic system but also
because they knew there would be issues with the ledge. They need to keep a separation
distance from the ledge and the bottom of a stormwater treatment system. The drainage
system was a part of a RIPDES submission to RIDEM, and it has been approved.
OWTS engineering plans have been submitted to DEM, and they are waiting for a
response. The OWTS system is a traditional system, below ground. There is going to
be very low use for the septic system.
Additionally, they submitted plans to RIDOT since West Main Road is a state highway,
and they are waiting for a response from them as well. RIDOT will review the traffic

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impacts and the stormwater impacts. Because of the topography of the site, they were
concerned with site distance. They had to make sure they could locate a singular
entrance to the development at a location that could get the required site distance in
both directions, which they have in the plans. They tried to minimize the slope coming
up that driveway. They did not want to go over 5% slope because of New England
weather with snow, ice, and slippery rain. Additionally, the fire department did not want
more than a 5% slope for the driveway.
Retaining walls have been designed for this lot. They are designed as poured-in-place
concrete walls per the RIDOT standards. A 6-foot stockade fence will be on top of the
retaining walls.
To the south of the lot is Portsmouth, RI Historic Cemetery 45. The cemetery is not on
the lot, but there is a requirement that they cannot excavate within 25 feet of a historic
cemetery. They designed a retaining wall at the 25-foot setback so that they will not be
grading within those 25 feet. That retaining wall is maintaining the grades for the fire
access road without grading into that 25-foot historic cemetery setback.
There is also a requirement for arborvitaes or cypress’s to be planted near the property
line. There are plans to place them behind the fences/retaining walls.
Ms. Beck went through the landscape plan. Towards West Main Road is where the
bioretention basin is located. It has a specialized soil system in it, and it is going to be
seeded with a native wildflower seed mixture pollinator. They have placed some
viburnums along West Main Road in the area where the overflow is, and where they
had room to put shrubs. On the Northern side, the existing vegetation between the
resident and the retaining wall will be maintained. There is also a narrow area of lawn,
where the septic system is located. The water line is also going to run through that area
and tie into Mill Street for both the standard water use as well as for fire purposes.
There is some existing vegetation between the resident and the lot on the northeast. It
is as narrow as 5 feet on the northern end and gets wider as you go south. At the last
meeting with the abutters, that abutter wanted to make sure the applicant retained as
much existing vegetation as they could and the applicant added in arborvitaes for
screening. Along the edge of the building, tulip trees will be planted, they are a very
large native tree that will add screening to the building itself. Tulip trees are also
scattered across the site, where they felt they had room and they provide shade, reduce
heat island effect. They also plan to plant some river birch. In the southeast corner is a
basin for stormwater purposes, and there is another one directly to the south of the
building.
Ms. Wilson asked where the historic cemetery was located. Ms. Beck replied it is to the
south of the property, it is not on this property, but it does go right to the edge of the
property. Attorney Chappell added that when Dunkin Donuts was put in, there was no
access provided to the cemetery. They will add a foot pedestrian access on the fire lane,
so that people can access Cemetery 45.

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Chairman Lopes wanted to clarify some things from a letter that was sent in from Shelly
Nicholas. There is an easement, it is the applicant’s property, and it benefits the parcel.
There is an affidavit on file for this easement. The applicant needs that piece of property
included in their square footage. The second question was about box trucks, moving
vans, and trailers clearing radiuses. Ms. Beck responded that since the fire trucks can
clear them so can those other vehicles. The next question was on dark sky compliant
lighting. The lights are dark sky compliant and are white and soft yellow lights. Next
question was on comprehensive plan consistency. Attorney Chappell replied that this
project is consistent with the plan under economic development.
Todd Brayton, Bryant Associates, Lincoln, RI, was sworn in by Chairman Lopes.
MOTION: Ms. Wilson made a motion to qualify Todd Brayton, PE, as a registered
professional engineer; seconded by Vice Chairman Harding.
VOTE: 7 – 0 (Chairman Lopes, Vice Chairman Harding, Mr. Garceau, Mr. Tibbetts,
Mr. O’Connell, Ms. Wilson, and Mr. Clukies).

Mr. Brayton was tasked with completing a traffic study for this parcel. The site distance
at the driveway was looked at for both directions based on Astro requirements, which
are the guidelines that dictate site distance on roadways. They completed a speed study
on West Main Road to determine how fast cars are actually driving, and it is 41 miles
per hour northbound, 39 miles an hour southbound, and the speed limit is 45 for that
area. 45 mph speed requires 360 feet of sight distance, and that is met. There is a traffic
signal to the south, and one to the north but it is further away. The signal to the south
would have impacts, in terms of gaps on the roadway. They used the ITE Trip
Generation Manual to determine the trips for this area. In the AM peak hours there
would only be 4 vehicles entering and 3 exiting, and for the PM peak hours there would
be 5 entering and 5 exiting. For the entire day, there would be 54 vehicles entering and
54 exiting, totaling 108 total trips for the day. In Mr. Brayton’s opinion, this project
will not cause a level of public health or safety concern.

Mr. O’Connell asked if the traffic study looked at Mill Lane. Mr. Brayton replied that
they did not look at the specific volumes on Mill Lane, but with familiarity with the
area, Mill Lane would have a lot more traffic on it than the driveway for this project
would.

Chairman Lopes asked if there would be any consideration for a right-hand exit only
coming out of the proposed storage building. Discussion on this. Mr. Tibbetts asked
Ms. Hitchen if they could condition that this be discussed during the final plan approval
for the Technical Review Committee.

Chairman Lopes opened public comment.

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Jeffrey Cornell, 51 Flint Corn Road, abutter, is opposed to the project. Believes it will
cause more traffic in the neighborhood. Has not seen a lot of information on the lighting
for this project, and vegetation near his lot. Attorney Chappell replied that there are no
windows on Mr. Cornell’s side of the building that could shine light. Chairman Lopes
added that the Design Review Board reviewed all the exterior lighting to make sure it
is all dark sky compliant and no lighting will leave the site. Mr. Cornell missed the last
abutters meeting, and Chairman Lopes replied they want to make sure he has a chance
to meet and talk with them.

Greg Elshant, 63 Flint Corn Road, abutter, is opposed to the project. He does not think
a 25,000 square foot building belongs in the area they are trying to build it in. He stated
that there are plenty of storage units in Middletown. He has not heard of anyone in
Portsmouth wanting a storage unit in town.

Lark Roderigues, 73 West Passage Drive, had some confusion she wanted cleared up.
She opposes the project because of the size of the building and does not think it fits in
with the Town. She is also concerned about the traffic on Mill Lane and West Main
Road.

Shelly Nicholas, 59 Marial Rose Drive, thanked the Board for reading her letter and
addressing her comments earlier in the meeting. She commented that the architectural
styling had been presented as compatible with the nearby buildings. She feels that the
design treatment alone does not really address the issue of the scale and the massing of
the project. Her main concern is with access and traffic safety. She asked if any different
accesses had been explored and had some concerns with the lighting for the primary
façade.

Adeline Pfaff, 274 Mill Lane, abutter, has been in contact with the developer but has
some concerns. She is very appreciative of working with the developer. Something she
has overlooked in the plans is there is a dumpster shown on the edge of her property,
which she is not keen on. Lighting is also a concern for her. Attorney Chappell
responded that when walking the property that day, where the dumpster is proposed,
there were some trees that should be saved, so they will relocate that dumpster.

Discussion on the dumpster. Mr. Cerino added that customers will not be allowed to
empty their storage units into the dumpster. It will be locked and enclosed by a chain-
link fence. Chairman Lopes asked that when the dumpster is relocated that it should be
property screened in addition to the chain-link fence.

Mr. Garceau asked if the fire lane would be used by patrons as well or would be closed
off for just emergency. Attorney Chappell replied that at the very least they will have
signage that they do not want everyone driving around the building. Mr. Cerino stated
that in other projects, they have had lock boxes and the fire departments have had access
to them with the codes.

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Attorney Chappell gave a summary of what had been talked about during the meeting.

MOTION: Mr. Tibbetts made a motion to grant zoning relief that the setback is not
being measured from the edge of the driveway, it is being measured from the edge of
the building, and the width of the driveway is subtracted; seconded by Ms. Wilson.

VOTE: 7 – 0 (Chairman Lopes, Vice Chairman Harding, Mr. Garceau, Mr. Tibbetts,
Mr. O’Connell, Ms. Wilson, and Mr. Clukies).

MOTION: Mr. Tibbetts made a motion to grant preliminary plan approval for a 77,000
square foot building with a 25,575 square foot footprint, for up to 500 storage units,
including the requested special use permit for a self-storage unit. With consideration
for:
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The walking easement, providing for general public foot traffic access to the
Place Boyd Cemetery, RI Historic Cemetery P045;
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Incorporating comments from the upcoming Final Design Review Committee
meeting;
-
The 6-foot fence screening atop the retaining wall to the north side;
-
For further discussion/consideration with each affected abutter about cleaning
up native vegetation, screening trees, and/or saving trees;
-
The relocation screening of the site dumpster;
-
Exploring the gate with the lock box for the fire lane;
-
Incorporating downlighting with no light dispersion or foot candles on abutting
properties, full cut-off lighting;
-
Final Plan approval is delegated to Technical Review Committee, and then
Administrative Officer;
-
Evaluating, by that final plan review, constrains such as exiting right turn only,
even if it is only during peak hours;
-
The filing of the administrative final will also act as a merger of the two lots;
-
And approval of OWTS and RIDOT permits.
Incorporating the standard five findings of fact, being:
1. It is consistent with the Comprehensive Community Plan and with the General
Laws of Rhode Island Section 45-23-30;
2. Is in compliance with the standards and provisions of the Portsmouth Zoning
Ordinance in accordance with the General Laws of Rhode Island Section 45-
24;
3. Will cause no significant negative environmental impacts;
4. Will not create individual lots with any physical constraints to developments
such that building on those lots according to pertinent regulations and building
standards would be impracticable; and
5. Has adequate and permanent physical access to a public street for the
development.

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Seconded by Vice Chairman Harding.
VOTE: 7 – 0 (Chairman Lopes, Vice Chairman Harding, Mr. Garceau, Mr. Tibbetts,
Mr. O’Connell, Ms. Wilson, and Mr. Clukies).

V. Chapter 337 – Post Construction Stormwater Control – Discuss and provide an
advisory recommendation to the Town Council on proposed text amendments
regarding the working draft for Post Construction Stormwater Control
Ordinance, Chapter 337.
Ms. Hitchen presented for this. As of now, Chapter 320 of the Town’s Ordinances is
Soil Erosion Control, and Chapter 336 is Stormwater Management. They have been
tinkering around with the idea of having a Post Construction Stormwater Control
ordinance. This has been identified in the Comprehensive Plan as something to add to
the Town’s Ordinances and it was identified in the annual MS4 report as something to
add. The Town has been working with Weston and Sampson to come up with this draft.
The Post Construction Stormwater Control ordinance deals with runoff volumes,
pollution, how a homeowner, HOA, or the Municipality takes care of stormwater
control.
Chairman Lopes commented that it gives the Board an additional enforcement arm for
at least two petitions that have been before the Board in the last year, where they have
had construction issues after the subdivision had already been subdivided.
MOTION: Ms. Wilson made a motion to continue the Post Construction Stormwater
Control advisory recommendation to the February 12, 2026, Planning Board Meeting;
seconded by Vice Chairman Harding.
VOTE: 7 – 0 (Chairman Lopes, Vice Chairman Harding, Mr. Garceau, Mr. Tibbetts,
Mr. O’Connell, Ms. Wilson, and Mr. Clukies).
VI. Discuss of hiring a consultant to complete a full build out traffic study report.
Ms. Hitchen stated that one of the Town Council members recently asked to put on
Monday night’s Town Council docket a housing moratorium. Ms. Wilson had asked to
put a full built-out traffic study report on that night’s docket. Ms. Hitchen stated that
these two topics go hand in hand.
Ms. Wilson stated that over the last 3 years, there have been several big developments
approved, and almost all of them have people concerned with traffic in town. For the
full build-out, a consultant could look at Turnpike and Bristol Ferry Road for the
developments that have been approved but not built and analyze the sum of all these
developments. That way, when talking with the public, the Board would have a study
done on all these developments and their impacts.

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Mr. Tibbetts commented that this study is consistent with what he has been saying in
many different meetings. Those developers come up and say there would be pretty
marginal impact with their projects but if we looked at the full build out, you may get
a different answer.
Ms. Hitchen stated that it was budget season. One way to go about this is to place this
into the Planning Department budget for the upcoming year for a build-out analysis.
Another would be the Municipality Technical Assistance Program (MTAP), where we
could try and get funds for the same thing.
MOTION: Ms. Wilson made a motion to continue discussion of hiring a consultant for
a full traffic build out to the February 12, 2026, Planning Board meeting; seconded by
Vice Chairman Harding.
VOTE: 7 – 0 (Chairman Lopes, Vice Chairman Harding, Mr. Garceau, Mr. Tibbetts,
Mr. O’Connell, Ms. Wilson, and Mr. Clukies).
VII. Administrative Officer/Town Planner Report
Administrative Merger of property located at 0 Alice Avenue; being Map 77 Lots 108H
and 108G, property owned by Lourdes Tallet and F. Campanile. The intent of the plan
is to merge lots 108G and 108H together for all future zoning and permitting
purposes. The Administrative Merger deeds were recorded on December 19, 2025.
Motion to adjourn by Vice Chairman Harding; seconded by Ms. Wilson.

MEETING ADJOURNED AT 9:32 p.m.

Respectfully submitted:
Heather Raposa
Planning Board Recording Secretary