The East Providence Planning Board decided unanimously on Monday night that the proposed development at the former Metacomet Golf Course adhered to the requirements within city’s Comprehensive Plan, checking off another box towards a conclusive approval of the project as a whole.

The Planning Board’s recommendation is the second necessary regulatory approval received by Marshall Properties, Inc. in the past month, after receiving affirmation from the Design Review Committee of the East Providence Waterfront Commission on Nov. 14.

Marshall representatives gave a similar presentation to the planning board that they gave at the Design Review Committee meeting last month, going over the various changes they had made to satisfy the concerns of city officials and members of the public regarding noise, traffic, buffering, and ongoing oversight that would occur throughout the three-phase development.

Ashley Sweet, team leader for Weston & Sampson, a consultancy firm who prepared a report for Marshall, outlined how the project ticked each box within the Comprehensive Plan, concluding that the project would preserve open space for public use, result in traffic and infrastructure improvements, enhance recreational opportunities by providing pathways through the development and a connection to the East Bay Bike Path, provide a variety of uses within it, contribute $5.3M in annual tax revenue and establish 3,640 construction jobs and over 600 permanent jobs when completed, and provide needed market-rate and affordable housing units (890 units in total, 89 of which would be deed-restricted) for the area.

Pleas to preserve Parkway
Members of Keep Metacomet Green, the advocacy group that has battled the development since it was first proposed in June of 2020, once more let their concerns regarding the project be known.

“Overall, quality of life, which is a very important consideration in the Comprehensive Plan, will be diminished by this development,” said Candy Seel, a leader within Keep Metacomet Green. “Going from a peaceful open space — even though it wasn’t accessible, it was there — the only sounds were the sounds of wildlife, the only noise was the stars above. Now, there will be 60-plus acres of development.”

Seel asserted that Marshall’s plans to incorporate a roundabout and widen Veterans Memorial Parkway at its northwest intersection with Lyon Avenue constituted a direct contradiction to the Comprehensive Plan.

“A critical component of preserving and enhancing the scenic quality of the parkway is to retain its existing right of way, width, in its entirety, as undeveloped and green open space,” she said, reading directly from the East Providence Waterfront Special Development District Plan. “There shall be no subdivision or development of the right of way and the existing unpaved portion of the right of way of the parkway shall remain green and open space. Redevelopment along the Parkway should be proportional to the existing roadway function and capacity.”

Additionally, Seel took issue with Marshall’s request for a variance that prohibits monument signage, which they plan to incorporate at the entrance to the development along Veterans Memorial Parkway.

“This would be the first and only standalone sign on the parkway for these retail tenants,” Seel said. “Permitting the developer to erect a sign of this type would set a precedent for future developers to demand a similar variance.”

Dan Baudouin, also representing Keep Metacomet Green, said that the developer had done what was asked regarding conducting studies for a variety of concerns, but he thought that the proposed changes to the parkway needed more scrutiny.

“This whole project was approved with the understanding that it was not going to dramatically change Vets,” he said. “If it’s going to dramatically change the Vets then there is some issues with the way this whole thing has been talked about.”

Unanimous approval
Responding directly to Baudouin, planning board member K. Eric Crook pinpointed an issue with his critique regarding the changes to Veterans Memorial Parkway.

“I think the operative word is ‘dramatic’. What might be dramatic to you, might not be dramatic to him,” he said. “That’s not an objective point of view. That’s conjecture, it’s opinion. So that’s what we have to live with.”

Chairman Michael Robinson said that he remained in favor of the project after the lengthy proceedings to get to this point.

“I’ve been on this board a long time. I was certainly here in 2020 and I’ve been here throughout the life cycle of this development. I just fundamentally disagree with the representation that was raised tonight that this development will diminish the quality of life for those that live in East Providence. I just don’t believe that to be true. I never have,” he said. “From the beginning I thought it was a good development. I thought it was a good use of otherwise private, underutilized land. I continue to believe that. These guys have done everything we’ve asked them to do through every step of the proceedings. This has been and continues to be, in my mind, a responsible development. And I’m supporting it.”

Crook said his initial opposition to the plan when it came before them in April of this year was because he felt the city could “strike a better deal than they accepted.”

“But I think one of the rules in life is you play with the team you’ve got, not the team you want,” he said. “So I am going to vote for this to go forward.”

Planning board member Greg Miller conceded that he wasn’t a fan of the proposed design for the roundabout, but that the project satisfied the requirements of the Comprehensive Plan.

“It’s my personal opinion that the incorporation of widening Vets Parkway is ugly. And the addition of a rotary I do not find to be appealing,” he said. “But what we’re being asked tonight is if this project as presented to us is compliant with the city’s 2010-2015 Comprehensive Plan. And I believe it is.”

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