While developers at D & M Boca Development, a developer based out of North Dartmouth, presented their pre-application for a Comfort Inn Hotel to the Bristol Planning Board on Thursday, March 13, residents of Bristol showed up to voice their displeasure with the proposed project.

The project, which had its pre-application submitted to the Bristol on Feb. 12, would see a Comfort Inn hotel come to the south side of Gooding Avenue. The hotel would have 80 rooms and also have a 14 by 60 loading space area. Concerns have been raised about possible issues regarding nearby wetlands. Attorney Michael Resnick, representing the developer, said that 85 percent of the property would be undeveloped and that the hotel itself would mostly stay clear of the wetlands. It would be built in conjunction with DiPrete Engineering out of Cranston.

Despite that clarification, residents still came out in spades to speak of their opposition to the proposed hotel, with concerns ranging from safety to aesthetic appeal.

Vanessa Desjardins spoke about her concern with the hotel’s proximity to Mt. Hope High School, believing it could be a safety risk for students. “The location is the perfect location for drug dealers, sex trafficking, God knows what,” she said. “I’ve heard a lot of talk lately in town regarding public safety, and this is a safety risk for Bristol and Warren children that attend Mt. Hope High School.”

In addition, she voiced opposition to the location, saying that building near the wetlands, it poses a threat of flooding to both the current and upcoming high school that is about to be built.

Others, such as John Halaburda, expressed concerns about the water and sewage systems in the area.

“How many rooms is [the hotel] going to have, how much water? It may not affect me, but it might affect another person,” Halaburda said.

Among other concerns was the building just being unappealing to look at, according to multiple residents who believe that the hotel should be redesigned to better fit the aesthetics of the town.

Planning board members also expressed concern regarding the project, with comments about failed hotels in both Bristol and Portsmouth as evidence that the community just might not be able to support a hotel.

“We had a hotel in Bristol and it failed. There was a hotel just over the bridge in Portsmouth that failed,” board member Richard Ruggiero said.