After cautioning that crowd control, public safety, and the potential for overflow parking continue to be major concerns, the Tiverton Town Council voted Monday to allow the Longplex Family & Sports Center to hold a home and garden show and children’s consignment sale at the facility on two separate weekends later this month.

Longplex owner Jim Long and his attorney Daniel Riley have appeared before the council three times in the past four weeks in connection with applications for special event licenses. The council approved one event, a comic book show held April 1, but delayed taking action on the home and garden show and children’s consignment sale until this week, due in part to a zoning dispute now being heard by Newport County Superior Court.

Approval of the two-day home and garden show came with a number of contingencies, including requirements for hiring of police and fire details and two crowd managers. Parking is restricted to designated paved areas and no other major events or activities can take place at the same time. Additionally, guidelines set for Longplex events at a recent RI Fire Safety Code Board of Appeal and Review hearing must also be followed, councilors said.

The three-day children’s consignment sale, a smaller event in terms of number of attendees, was approved with similar parking restrictions and the need for final approval of the floorplan from the fire marshal. This is the seventh time the event will be held at the facility.

Both events, at the recommendation of Town Solicitor Mike Marcello, came with a condition that approval does not mean the town is waiving any interests or defenses in connection with the zoning violation now pending in Superior Court. 

Councilors acknowledged the friction that has surfaced in prior meetings with Long and said they would like more collaboration.

“I don’t think anybody sitting here would say no to this event with certain qualifications,” said Council Vice President Mike Burk, during a discussion of approval of the license for the home and garden show.

“I am willing to work with you to the extent that we can, but I need something in return from you – not the roadblock that appears almost every time you come before us.”

Reilly, speaking afterwards on behalf of Long, indicated that more work needs to be done.

“We are pleased that the council granted the event licenses. The process has shown that the town ordinance need to be significantly updated to allow a business like Longplex – which has the support of so many town residents – to succeed.”