Seasons wants to make Tiverton's Zoning Board believe the fairy tale that they are a "mom and pop" business perfect for Tiverton.  Their paid traffic engineer and real estate experts will continue to spin the tale that the Seasons 8-pump gas station with a convenience store and drive-thru window, proposed at the corner of Souza and Main Roads, will be a true benefit to Tiverton.  Of course, since this is a rosy fairy tale, those experts will obfuscate all the negative impacts of decreased property values, light pollution, litter, unsafe traffic, and noise which will badly affect Tiverton's citizens and change Tiverton's character for the worse.

If Seasons is successful in Tiverton, it will mean that their already large balance sheet will increase by the value of another station. The Town of Tiverton, however, will lose much, much more. The impact will be felt the most by nearby homeowners whose quality of life will decline significantly, along with their property values, but all town residents will suffer from the traffic gridlock at that intersection whenever they travel north or south.  A Seasons gas station/convenience store chain project will also encourage other similar projects in the area, leaving those residents who live north of Route 24 to suffer from the worst type of development. Those residents are entitled to the protections contained in our Comprehensive Community Plan against these types of development.

Come to the next Zoning Board hearing on Monday, April 29, 2024 at 6:00 pm at Tiverton Town Hall. Watch as Seasons lawyers, their traffic engineer, and real estate experts try to convince the Zoning Board that they will be Tiverton’s fairy godmother. We need to stand together to remind the Zoning Board that if the project gets built, there will be no living happily ever after for Tiverton residents.

Barbara Martin

Tiverton