I think it’s one of the best outcomes for that property. It’s definitely going to look a lot better than it does now.”

Eric Raposa, Portsmouth Zoning Board of Review

PORTSMOUTH — Where Target failed to locate a superstore years ago, Patriot Petroleum succeeded.

The Zoning Board of Review Thursday night unanimously approved a special use permit for Benzine Development to locate a gas station, car wash and coffee shop — possibly a Dunkin’ Donuts — on vacant commercially zoned property at the corner of West Main Road and Union Street. 

The proposal came from the Giacobbi family, which owns and operates the Patriot Petroleum on East Main Road in the north end of town. 

This second Patriot Petroleum will feature a 5,000-square-foot building containing a convenience store and coffee shop with a drive-up window and five-pump fueling area in front, plus a 1,363-square-foot detached car wash building on the north side of the property.

It’s the same spot where Target wanted to build a 147,000-square-foot superstore but was squashed after a community outcry.

There will be entrances to the complex off both West Main Road and Union Street. The business will be located on just over 16 acres on the north side of Union Street and set back 170 feet from West Main Road and 100 feet from Union. 

Abutters raised concerns over traffic, water runoff and other issues over three nights of hearings that began Oct. 20, but the zoning board ultimately decided that the petitioner satisfied all criteria for the special use permit. 

“I think it’s one of the best outcomes for that property,” said board member Eric Raposa. “It’s definitely going to look a lot better than it does now.”

Letter from Newport

Thursday’s meeting began with some rancor over an Oct. 13 letter from Julia A. Forgue, director of utilities for the City of Newport. Ms. Forgue didn’t object to the proposal but said her department’s Water Division was concerned about how the business’ wastewater will be treated, as well as the direction of groundwater runoff. A portion of the land on which the buildings will sit is located in a protected watershed district, although not the structures themselves.

Jamie Edwards, zoning board chairman, said he had “overlooked” the letter, which didn’t come to his attention until Nov. 4, the day after the board’s second night of hearings. The zoning board had been prepared to close the hearing, but decided to re-open testimony Thursday in light of Ms. Forgue’s letter.

That clearly angered the attorney for the petitioners, Cort Chappell, who said the same letter was in the possession of the Planning Board and Design Review Committee, both of which recommended the application’s approval.

“Where I come from, if you want to come to a public meeting, show up,” Mr. Chappell said, adding that the Newport water department had every chance to attend the hearings and never came. 

Zoning board member Jimmy Hall agreed. “They had plenty of chances to state their case,” he said.

Board member John Borden, however, said it was important that the panel hear all relevant testimony, including letters. “We should get it right,” he said. “The letter was in the original petition … and we overlooked it.”

Mr. Chappell then called on Lyn Small, senior civil engineer for Northeast Engineers & Consultants, Inc. of Middletown, to address Ms. Forgue’s letter. Ms. Small said underground direction of the water goes away from the nearby reservoir and follows the general topography of the property.

In addition, Ms. Small is proposing a stone trench septic system she said will be more durable compared to that of other businesses with coffee shops, which produce high-strength wastewater that can lead to biochemical oxygen demand (BOD)-caused failures. A nearby Dunkin’ Donuts has seen its wastewater system fail five times already, she said. 

“It’s the coffee,” said Ms. Small, adding that she believes her wastewater system satisfies Newport’s concerns.

Traffic concerns

Traffic was another concern raised by abutters and zoning board members, who pointed to the busy four-way intersection where the business would be located.

In an Oct. 29 letter to the board, Richard Munch of 775 Union St. said he was particularly concerned about the safety of children who ride buses to and from the middle school. Mr. Edwards said the state Department of Transportation (RIDOT) plans on making traffic improvements to the area, in the form of left-hand turns and new sidewalks on West Main Road, but those won’t come until 2019-2020.

Mr. Borden said the traffic at the site “is not a perfect situation,” but things would be much worse had the Target superstore gone in. “The traffic that would have gone to that site would have been incredible,” he said. “(This) is certainly a much more passive use than what could be there.”

“This parcel is commercial … it’s always been commercial. We are using it very conservatively,” added Mr. Chappell, who characterized the proposal as “one of the easiest petitions” to come before the board. “We’re putting this in such a way that we’re eliminating any (negative) impact.”

He also noted that Portsmouth has lost three gas stations in recent years. “West Main Road has one gas station from the bridge to the Middletown line,” Mr. Chappell said.

Conditions imposed

The zoning board imposed several conditions in approving the project:

• The septic system will be high-strength wastewater design that avoids BOD-caused failures.

• Parking will be reduced by 16 spaces (50 to 34).

• The hours of operation will be from 5 a.m. to 11 p.m., with deliveries restricted to that timeframe.

• The business will comply with the town’s commercial noise ordinance without seeking a variance (75 decibels, but 65 at abutting residential properties).

• Improvements will be made to the sidewalk along Union Street so that middle school students and other pedestrians have a safe buffer from traffic.

• The petition’s revised site plan must meet all conditions set forth by the Planning Board and Design Review Committee.

• The board will request that the town write to RIDOT to express the zoning board’s concerns about traffic safety in the area, with the hopes that improvements will be made sooner rather than later.