Tiverton's Technical Review Committee spent its July 14 session going over two large development proposals before they head to the planning board for public hearings, according to the committee's published meeting recording. The committee, chaired by town planner and administrative officer Chris Spencer, does not take public comment at this stage; residents who want to weigh in are directed to email or write to the planning board or planning department once the projects reach a formal public hearing.
Manufactured home community off Stafford Road
Attorney Matthew Landry, representing the applicant, presented a revised concept for a roughly 60-acre site off Stafford Road that had previously been proposed as a denser apartment complex. The new plan calls for 97 new units — two duplexes and a series of age-restricted manufactured homes for residents 55 and older — plus two existing units, for a total of 99. The project would be built in two phases connected across a wetland crossing, with a private road off Glendale, private wastewater treatment systems, and town water. Twenty-five of the units would be deed-restricted as affordable housing under the state's comprehensive permit process, with a state-registered monitoring agent overseeing eligibility.
Committee members raised a range of concerns. Zoning officer John Frank pushed for clear boundary markers between manufactured home lots. DPW director David Sylvia questioned who would maintain a wetland crossing structure and whether the state might eventually classify it as a bridge, and pressed the applicant on emergency-vehicle access given the single point of entry off Stafford Road; the applicant's team said a traffic consultant is being brought in to study the issue. Chief fire marshal Dan Murphy said the plan appeared to lack sufficient off-street parking beyond individual driveways, warned that on-street parking already causes access problems in other 55-and-over developments in town, and asked the applicant to study the impact of an age-restricted community on fire and emergency medical services, which he said places a heavier burden on the department than an all-ages development. He also flagged missing or improperly spaced fire hydrants and asked for confirmation that a stream crossing can support the fire department's heaviest truck. Planning board member Rosemary Eva said she was concerned that building on a private, non-town-accepted road sets a poor precedent and said she wants the roadway built to town standards in case the town ever has to take over maintenance if a homeowners association fails.
Project engineer Lynn Small said the development is still working through state wetlands, water-quality and septic permitting, and that septic system sizing is preliminary pending further test holes. Committee members asked the applicant's team to simplify its presentation graphics before the planning board hearing so members of the public can follow along.
Convenience store and gas station at Souza and Main roads
A separate applicant presented an updated site plan for a roughly 3,600-square-foot Seasons Corner Market with four gas pumps and a drive-through, planned for the corner of Souza Road and Main Road. Attorney Rob Stallsman said the project has been in the approval process since February 2021, moving between the planning board, the zoning board and state agencies, with zoning special-use permits for signage, the drive-through and fuel pumps granted in August 2025.
Project engineer Cheryl Gumo walked the committee through changes made since the project's master plan approval, including shifting the building and canopy, adding a mountable traffic island on Souza Road at the fire department's request, moving the loading and dumpster area to the rear of the site, and softening the building's design with clapboard siding, a shingled fuel canopy roof and a smaller monument sign in place of a taller pylon sign. The store would operate from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m., with all lighting other than safety lighting shut off after closing, per the zoning board's conditions.
Chief fire marshal Dan Murphy thanked the applicant for adding the mountable island, which allows fire apparatus to pass through the Souza Road entrance, and asked for a standard radio-signal test inside the building once construction is complete. Committee members asked the applicant to consider disguising the trash enclosure to match the building's architecture rather than screening it with plantings alone, and to explore dimmer nighttime lighting settings. One member also raised concern about site distances and lane stacking on Souza Road if that intersection is ever signalized, and another said the site's traffic-sign layout for internal circulation needs a closer look, calling for stop signs to control internal traffic flow.
What's next
Both projects are expected to return to the Tiverton Planning Board for formal public hearings, where residents will have the opportunity to comment. No hearing date was announced during the technical review session.