Shoreline Plaza Redevelopment On Planning Commission Agenda

When: Wednesday, October 27 at 7 p.m.
Where: Charlestown Town Hall
What: Pre-Application Meeting for the redevelopment of the Shoreline Plaza with addition of three new commercial 8,000 square foot buildings.
Video Stream: You can view  a live stream of the meeting via Webex on October 27 at 7 p.m when this application will be reviewed, but to participate with questions or comments you must be at Town Hall.

You can review all the materials submitted by the applicant and the agenda for the entire October 27 meeting at the Charlestown website. The meeting packet is only 39 pages long. The other applications listed on the agenda have all asked to continue their applications to the November meeting, so the Shoreline Plaza redevelopment will be the first and only application discussed.

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“Shoreline Plaza“: Last parcel on Old Post Road next to South Kingstown line (9.12 acres)

The first image below is a site drawing of the property as it is developed today (all development is in the southwest corner and the rest of the site is forested).

The  image below is an aerial photo of the site as it exists today.

The next image is the proposed site plan with existing building on the left and the rest is all new.

The circle in the upper right of drawing is the well head protection area for the public well for the development. That area would likely remain forested except for a small area cleared to maintain the well.

According to the meeting packet:

• Parcel identification is Map 13, Lot 30.
• Currently the parcel has one building with the rest mostly treed.
• The parcel is in Charlestown’s Historic District and Ground Water Protection District.
• The Parcel is in the CRMC area designated “Land Developed Beyond Carrying Capacity”.
• The parcel is located in the Traditional Village District (TVD) where a mix of commercial and residential is allowed.
• The application proposes commercial uses only.
• The original building would be upgraded and three new 8,000 sq. ft. buildings proposed.
• Buildings over 4000 sq. ft. in the TVD require a special use permit from the Zoning Board.
• The developer assumes one of the new buildings will be a pharmacy.
• A pharmacy can have a drive-through window, but it is not clear if one is proposed.
• The parcel sits on Old Post Road, Rt. 1A, and backs up to Post Road, Rt. 1. It extends to the South Kingstown line where Rt. 1A joins Rt. 1.
• Architectural and Landscaping designs have not yet been proposed.

At this pre-application meeting, the applicant will be seeking direction from the commission about issues such as building design, landscaping, lighting and the conceptual site layout that the applicant has provided.

All meetings of the Planning Commission are public and the public is encouraged to attend and participate.

Links to learn more or to attend the meeting are at the top of this post.

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Virginia Lee, the author of this post, was President of the Charlestown Town Council for the recent two terms that she served on the Council (2014 to 2020). She was the Town Council liaison to the Agricultural Commission, the Waste Water Management Commission, Coastal Pond Management Commission, Zoning Board of Review, Charlestown Potable Water Working Group, the Historical Society and the committee updating the Harbor Management Plan. She is a former member of South Kingstown’s Town Council, Zoning Board, and Conservation Commission. She is a former member of the Board of Trustees of the South Kingstown Land Trust and a former member of the Board of Directors of Save the Bay. She retired from the URI Coastal Resources Center in 2012. Virginia plans to write occasionally about the work of the Charlestown Planning Commission over the next year or so.