PORTSMOUTH — Opponents of a proposal to locate an O’Reilly Auto Parts next to the Dollar General at the corner of East Main Road and Sprague Street will have to wait another month to have their say.

Portsmouth RI Commercial, LLC requested that the application be delayed. Members of the Zoning Board of Review learned about the request for a continuance before Thursday’s meeting. No representatives of O’Reilly’s showed up at the meeting.

“They’ve asked for a continuance because their real estate expert is not available,” said Chairman James Edwards.

The board voted to continue the petition until its next regular meeting on Thursday, July 20. 

Developer and owner Gary Eucalitto also asked for a delay at the board’s last meeting on May 18, after facing questions about storage of onsite hazardous materials and landscaping to prevent lighting from reaching into neighbors’ yard.

Mr. Eucalitto wants to build a 7,250-square-foot store just north of Sprague Street. To do so, it needs an amendment to a 2015 special-use permit the zoning board granted to build a Dollar General Store along with a 6,000-square-foot building that was originally intended for a bank and restaurant on 2.9 acres of land.

Mr. Eucalitto now wants to add 1,250 square feet to the second building but use it for one purpose only — an O’Reilly Auto Parts store. 

The Missouri-based chain, founded in 1957, has nearly 5,000 locations nationwide. It’s nearest shops are in Fall River, Warwick, Coventry and Providence. 

On April 12, the Planning Board voted 5-1 to issue a favorable advisory opinion to the zoning board after reviewing the developer’s plan. 

At that meeting, however, abutters raised concerns about the building’s aesthetics, light pollution, stormwater runoff and other issues. Some of those abutters said nationally known chain stores such as Dollar General and O’Reilly Auto Parts don’t belong in Portsmouth.