Exit may get impact study, but is it too late?
01:00 AM EDT on Thursday, April 22, 2004
By Randal Edgar
Journal Staff Writer

HOPKINTON -- The frustrated residents who wanted answers to questions about development at Exit 1 might finally get their wish.

Only problem is, it might be too little, too late.

Three weeks after opening the door to big-box store development at the exit, town officials are moving forward with plans to study development options for the highway area and how they would impact the town.

Town Manager Eric A. Strahl's four-page proposal calls for a "market analysis" of the area, to determine what types of businesses could survive at the exit and how they would affect local character, finances and traffic.

While precise numbers on tax revenue, traffic and costs won't be available without a specific development proposal, Strahl said the study should at least "provide some ballpark figures." He estimated the study's cost at $25,000 to $35,000. "I think you'll get a good number of answers there," he said.

Town officials pursued an earlier study of the Exit 1 area but never followed through with a market analysis, citing cost concerns.

The new plan appears to have the backing it needs, however. Town Council President Linda DiOrio said yesterday that she believes the money will be found. She said there is about $12,000 left in a council contingency account, and the balance might be included in next year's budget.

The plan for further study at Exit 1, perhaps the state's most-watched piece of real estate, drew a cool reaction from Sally Johnson, one of the many residents who opposes big-box stores at Exit 1.

Johnson and hundreds of other residents wanted further study, but they wanted it before the council opened the door to big-box development at the exit, viewed by many Rhode Islanders as the state's southern gateway.

For 13 months, the council had a building moratorium in place for the Exit 1 area. Then, last month, it ignored the earlier study's recommendation for mixed-use, village style development and let the moratorium end, without changing the area's 1970s-era zoning.

The move opened the door to big-box stores on 56 acres owned by two families that have signed right-to-purchase agreements with a big-box developer. "The Town Council had a year to do the studies," Johnson said. "We would all have been in a much better position if they had done what they needed to do when they needed to do it."

The new study could affect what happens with other land at the exit, most of which is zoned for manufacturing. Many in town are open to development at the exit, but there is strong opposition to big-box stores, which are seen as clashing with the town's rural character.

Strahl said he will seek proposals from companies that specialize in market studies and report back to the council. His proposal also outlines what he calls a "quick and dirty" study option that would cost $13,000 to $17,000, but he said it probably would not answer many key questions.