The planning board, at its November meeting, approved at the preliminary stage a proposal by a local development company to construct two new buildings on the parcel at 317 Market St. and adjacent to Schoolhouse Road.

It is familiar to many as the former location of the East Bay Educational Collaborative and now houses the East Bay Pickleball facility.

The board was hearing the application under the state unified development proposal initiative, which at this moment in the process gives planning the power of the zoning board as well.

Market Street Industrial LLC, previously approached the board at the master plan stage to build a 7,500-square foot retail space and a 39,600 sf manufacturing/warehouse space at the site, which is located in the town's Rural Business Zoning District.

The retail space would be built in front of the pickleball facility fronting Market Street. The manufacturing/warehouse space is eyed for the west side of parcel in front of the vehicular bays.

Zach Rivers, of Market Street Industrial, and his associates returned before the board last month to make their preliminary design presentation, the second of two stages before the project can be completed. The planning board must eventually support a final design application.

Once that happens, the planning director takes on oversight of the project moving forward. Any future permitting, including potential special uses, would be handled by the zoning board.

In addition to the preliminary plan approval, Market Street Industrial LLC was also seeking the board's support for a somewhat open-ended decision on prospective usages. The board balked at that, declining to give the developer sort of a "blank check" in the words of chairman Fred Massie.

"We couldn't in good conscience do that," Massie said after the meeting, adding the crux of what the planning board is attempting to do in this instance is to "put as much control as possible for the town to ensure the traffic impact is minimized."

Back to the November proceedings, the applicants said the manufacturing space could be used by just one or two operations or it could be split into multiple sections to be occupied by various businesses/trades. No specific use for the retail space was discussed in any detail.

In his remarks, Rivers said it was difficult to state firmly what types of operations would be housed in the new buildings. He said he already had one potential tenant make an inquiry about the manufacturing/warehouse space, but needed it within six months. Rivers said it will take upwards of a year or more to complete the project.

Under current zoning regulations for the area, the retail component can only offer "homemade goods," such as bakery or crafts.

The list for allowable businesses in the rural district is much more substantial.

According to the town's zoning ordinances per section 32-166, those are: veterinary hospital, trade school, office building, specialty service businesses, appliance repair, commercial recreation structure, landscaping services, automotive repair, boat repair and service, wholesale business, wholesale storage, communication studio, light assembly, manufacturing uses, plumbing, welding, carpentry, commercial agriculture, greenhouse/nursery, retail sales of goods produced onsite, tele exchange/call center, catering service, funeral home/mortuary, restaurant (full-service only, drive-thru prohibited), bank, farm, personal service businesses, telecommunication antenna attached to existing structures and modifications thereto.

The updated plan, Rivers said, addressed many of the concerns/suggestions expressed by the board at the earlier phase. A continuous pedestrian sidewalk has been added along Market Street. Landscaping improvements include extensive greenery, street trees and layered plantings throughout the site, especially in the rear to create an additional buffer. And centrally located bicycle rack to support alternate modes of transportation is now included.

Rivers continued, a comprehensive storm water system has been fully designed and submitted to Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management. A photometric plan has been designed for lighting mitigation. Parking, with additional islands, is claimed to meet the zoning requirements.

Other architectural enhancements include incorporating what he deemed "appropriate" materials and windows to complement the rural business character.

Per public safety interests, an emergency access and circulation plan is included allowing for the largest of the Warren Fire Department apparatus to enter and exit the location.

"In summary on these items, the teams worked diligently to deliver a final plan that not only meets the requirements of the rural business district, but also enhances Market Street and contributes positively to the 'Gateway to Warren,'" Rivers added.

Opening the discussion, board member Blake Costa credited the responsiveness the applicants, especially taking into consideration concerns about potential traffic snarls at the already busy Market-Schoolhouse intersection.

"I really appreciate you guys listening to us at the last meeting and coming back with our input and making those changes. This feels like a collaborative effort," Costa said.

Costa said what is being proposed meets the aims for the location according to the town's still relatively new comprehensive plan.

"When we did the comprehensive plan area, we saw as an opportunity for development in Warren as a gateway when you come into Warren. This is a first area you see," Costa explained. "This is a prime example of, I believe in my personal opinion, appropriate development."

And while he did acknowledge there would be some increase in the volume of traffic, Costa said he did not see it as an impediment to the project.

Abutting resident Sandy Simbab disagreed somewhat with Costa's assertion, comparing attempts to traverse the location at certain times being akin to driving at "Seekonk Speedway."

"The traffic is already unbelievable. It takes me 10 minutes to get out of my street some days between 3 p.m. and 6 p.m.," Simbab said. "And especially with the school busses, so they started at 2. So my big concern is the traffic from my street to Schoolhouse at that time. It's just terrible."

Simbab also expressed worry about the potential light pollution and wondered if any hazardous materials would be used by a manufacturer or tradespeople.

Massie said any use of the latter "would be strictly regulated by the Rhode Island Department of Health and the Department of Environmental Management," adding, "And also what's allowed in that area, I can tell you that the regulations have become so much more strict than they were in the past."

As for the potential ramifications of even more congestion in the area, Massie said during the meeting as well, "We're taking traffic very seriously here, because we know that it's an issue. One of the things that we will ask for is a traffic study specific to Schoolhouse Road in terms of peak times."

Among the suggestions of the board pertaining to traffic was to add a point of ingress and egress directly on Schoolhouse Road, something that does not exist in the current layout of the property.

Of the proposal in general, Massie added, "As Blake pointed out, this a good place for a good development, and this is a well-thought out development and very conscientiously approached. And this is the kind of business that we want to deal with. But at the same time we want to be sensitive to the fact that it is a small town and our streets are problematic to say the least."