Minutes 2026-04-07

Town of Portsmouth
Technical Review Committee
2200 East Main Road, Portsmouth, Rhode Island 02871
www.portsmouthri.gov
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TECHNICAL REVIEW COMMITTEE, APRIL 7, 2026
TOWN EMPLOYEES PRESENT: Lea Hitchen, Town Planner; Aaron Lindo, Assistant Town
Planner; Kristen Black, Planning Technician; Matthew Kent, Building Official; Paul
Ford, Portsmouth Fire Chief; Mark Reimels, Battalion Chief; John Cahoon, Portsmouth
Police; Paul Rodrigues, DPW Director; and Gavin Lopes, DPW Deputy Director.

OTHERS PRESENT: Gregg Cerino, Developer, Poverni Sheikh Group; Marc Taylor, Poverni
Sheikh Group; and Seth Lemoine, Principe Engineering.

The meeting began at 10:14 a.m. in the Portsmouth Room.

I. NEW BUSINESS

a. FINAL PLAN REVIEW OF 1526 WEST MAIN STORAGE – PV Asset
Management Brahim (Applicant) and Regal LLC (Owner) for property
located at 1526 & 0 West Main Road; Being Tax Assessor’s Map 51 Lots 34
& 34C (Zoned Commercial, C-1). The Applicant is requesting a unified
development review of a major land development for a 77,000 square foot
self-storage facility.
Ms. Hitchen began the meeting. 1526 West Main Road has received Preliminary approval
from the Planning Board and was recently at the Design Review Board, where they
provided an advisory opinion. Their comments were light, and the developer has already
incorporated many of them into the final plan.

Mr. Cerino stated that plans had changed quite a bit since they were last in front of the
Technical Review Committee in September 2025, but the footprint has not changed very
much. Began going through the signage plan. Previously, the signage for Cubesmart was
in red, but they were asked to mute that down by the Design Review Board. All the
signage now: is black, back lit, not interior lighting, more muted than the previous
proposal. There is one monument sign, with all natural finishes, neutral colors, and
ground lit. One big thing that was asked of them by the Design Review Board was to
eliminate the 1, 2, and 3 signs from the building, which they have done for their final
submission.
They have submitted their RIDEM OWTS, RIDEM RIPES, and RIDOT Physical
alteration permits. The OWTS and RIPES permits have been approved. The RIDOT
Physical Alteration permit will be issued once RIDOT has received a few more
documents from the Applicant.

Town of Portsmouth
Technical Review Committee
2200 East Main Road, Portsmouth, Rhode Island 02871
www.portsmouthri.gov
2

Mr. Cerino went through the Civil Plans next. There will be a knox box and gate for the
fire lane. The fire lane is a one-way drive aisle around the building. Chief Reimels asked
how the plows would get through the fire lane with the gate. Mr. Cerino replied they will
have a code as well for them to get through to plow that section. Chief Reimels then
asked about the 14’ width of some of the fire road and if that had always been 14’ or if it
recently had been changed to 14’. Mr. Taylor replied that they had changed all the
corners to widen them so that fire apparatus could get around, and that they had made the
14’ road smaller since the past two iterations of the plans. This was made smaller because
of the setbacks, property lines, and vegetation buffer for the abutters. Chief Reimels
would be surprised if the 14’ width is okay with the Fire Chief. Mr. Taylor replied that
they expanded some areas of the road and made some smaller to accommodate the 10’
from the building ordinance. Mr. Lemoine asked what they like to see, and Chief Reimels
replied, 10’ from the building and 20’ wide.

Added to the civil plans is the 4’ wide walking easement from the property to the historic
cemetery. This was asked of the applicant, as there is currently no public walking area to
the cemetery from another property.

Mr. Cerino talked about screening next. There are 6’ tall fences at the top of the retaining
walls and vegetation to screen the abutters. The dumpster is screened, fenced in, and
there is a gate to lock it. The dumpster is for the office only, not for the owners of the
units. The HVAC units are fully screened in by the roof.

The Photometric Plan was next. Abutter concerns were considered, and the building and
site is dark sky compliant, with low and LED lighting.

The Landscape Plan shows red X’s where trees are to be removed, and the green line
represents the areas where trees and vegetation will be saved and protected during
construction. Additionally, there will be plantings of additional tress and plantings around
the project. Nearly 100 trees and plants will be planted for this project.

The small piece of land owned by the Applicant between Map 51 Lot 34A and Map 51
Lot 34B will be abandoned. The neighbor at Map 51 Lot 34A has been using that piece of
property as a driveway.

The fire road was brought up again when Chief Ford joined the meeting. Chief Ford
stated the 14’ wide road was too small for the fire apparatus. Mr. Taylor replied that they
would contact Ms. Beck, who had previously worked on the civil engineering for the fire
road, to discuss the 14’ width. Mr. Cerino said he would dig though his emails as well
looking for more information on the 14’ width. Chief Ford added that under the Town
Ordinances, 20’ is the required width for fire lanes. If they need a variance, the applicant
will need to discuss this more with Chief Ford.

Town of Portsmouth
Technical Review Committee
2200 East Main Road, Portsmouth, Rhode Island 02871
www.portsmouthri.gov
3

Preliminary approval was for up to 500 units with the traffic study accounting for up to
600 units. The Final Plan submitted has a unit count of 563 and two additional parking
spaces to accommodate these extra units. The extra units do not change the square
footage of the building. These extra units are the result of Cubesmart auditing the project
and feeling more units could be implemented in the space. Ms. Hitchen stated that during
the preliminary hearing, the Planning Board asked the applicant to investigate if a right
turn-only exit could be possible. Mr. Cerino replied that they had investigated this with
their traffic engineers and decided that it would not be a good idea because then people
would just turn onto Mill Lane, creating traffic on that road.

Chief Reimels asked if there would be solar panels on the building. Mr. Cerino replied
that they did not think it made sense with this building to include them. Mr. Kent added
that the new Energy Codes require commercial buildings to have renewable energy and
asked how they would be implementing that. Mr. Cerino replied that he would flag this to
their architect to discuss what to do.

Department of Public Works had no additional comments or issues with the project.

Police had no additional comments on the project. Ms. Hitchen asked if police would
have access to the building. Mr. Cerino replied they will have access to the building and
can access the security cameras at any time.

Ms. Hitchen stated that the preliminary decision needed to be recorded. She did not see
an issue with the additional units since the traffic study was for up to 600 units and the
building’s square footage did not change. To move forward, the width of the drive aisle
for emergency access needed to be ironed out, the energy code compliance will need to
be figured out for construction plans, soil erosion controls permit needed, a 128 letter will
be needed, the two lots need to be merged, lot consolidation needs to occur, and they
need a zoning certificate.

Meeting adjourned at 11:25 a.m.

Respectfully submitted by:
Kristen Black, Planning Technician