Zoning board grants one-year extension for Sun Builders special-use permit

The Smithfield Zoning Board of Review on Aug. 6 granted Sun Builders, Inc. a one-year extension of a previously approved special-use permit for a mixed-use development that includes a proposed car wash.

The extension was granted after the applicant’s attorney, Timothy Kane, told the board the developer had spent tens of thousands of dollars on engineering and legal fees and had been pursuing a traffic signal at Route 44 with state and local authorities. Kane said the town and the state Department of Transportation (DOT) have so far declined a signal because the traffic warrants have not been met, and the applicant is seeking time to coordinate with a nearby development that may change traffic counts.

Board members discussed the standard for an additional extension and noted the statutory limit on extensions, then voted to grant a second one-year extension to the previously granted permit. The motion to grant the extension was made and seconded and carried on a voice vote.

Kane described the applicant’s efforts as due diligence and substantial financial commitment, and said: “We would ask you for one more year, and hopefully, we can bring the whole thing together.” A board member noted the board’s longstanding concern about the traffic-signal condition and that relief from that condition had not been granted previously.

The board did not remove the requirement that a traffic signal be installed if warranted; the extension permits the applicant additional time to pursue state and local approvals and coordinate with adjacent projects. There was no roll-call tally recorded in the hearing transcript; the board approved the extension by voice vote.

The Sun Builders matter (case 23-012) had been previously approved by the board on June 7, 2023, with a condition requiring a traffic signal at the Route 44 access; the applicant requested the extension citing ongoing coordination with DOT and a neighboring development. The minutes and earlier board records contain related references to prior continuances and vote descriptions that the board discussed earlier in the meeting.

The board did not set additional conditions beyond those already on the permit and the continued monitoring of the traffic-signal requirement; no enforcement date or further deadlines were recorded in the motion as presented.

The board moved on to the next case after the extension vote.