Dowling critics say hold off on approval

Residents express concerns over the size of the development in Woonsocket and its effect on North Smithfield.

Wednesday, February 23, 2005

By JOHN HILL
Journal Staff Writer

NORTH SMITHFIELD -- Critics of the mammoth Dowling Village shopping complex warned the Town Council last night that uncertainty over the size of the Woonsocket section of the proposed development commanded the town hold off of its own final approval.

Most of the 120-acre development, a planned mix of large-scale retail stores, restaurants and office space, as well as some condominiums, will be in North Smithfield. But about 19 acres will be in Woonsocket.

A Woonsocket officials have boasted that their share of the complex will be part of a municipal economic development zone that city officials say could generate $30 million in tax revenue over a 10-year period.

It is those kind of projections that drew out North Smithfield residents already concerned about the effect the North Smithfield part of the complex will have on local roads and businesses.

"To get to work you almost have to pack a lunch," Summit Avenue resident Claire O'Hara told the council. "... When Woonsocket's plans are ready, it will be at our expense and I don't want to take that chance."

Caroly Shumway, a Great Road resident and chairwoman of the Valley Alliance for Smart Growth, said the town should hold off on any final approvals until it has commissioned independent examinations of what the complex will do to local traffic patterns, what effects its big-box retail stores will have on smaller local businesses as well as the environment and watershed in the immediate area.

"We can do better than this," she said.

She was not alone. More than a hundred people attended the meeting, filling the audience chairs and lining the walls and walkway leading into the meeting room. Outside, the parking lot behind the annex was full and cars lined the side streets leading to it.

The crowd applauded enthusiastically whenever someone criticized the planned shopping center.

Town Planner Michael Phillips told the council that the Planning Board had approved Dowling Village's master plan, but that was conditional on seeing what will be built on the Woonsocket side of the development.

That is a concern, Phillips said, because while the Woonsocket-based businesses will be located in another municipality, the main entrance to the complex will be on Route 146a in North Smithfield. He said the Planning Board wanted to be able to review its decision when more specific information about the Woonsocket part of the project was available.

According to plans submitted by developer Bucci Development, of Warwick, Dowling Village would be built on the eastern side of Route 146a, running roughly
from Landmark Medical Center's rehabilitation hospital (the old Fogarty hospital) south to the area behind the Jehovah's Witnesses Hall near the Route 146A Route 146 split.

The complex is expected to include 7 to 10 national-chain retail stores ranging in size from 10,000 square feet to 100,000 square feet, restaurants and office buildings.

When it is finished, Bucci officials have estimated that the project could generate between $1 million and $2 million in tax revenue annually for the town. This year's town budget is about $26 million.