Decision on Appeal of Barrington Condos Put Off Until March

A decision on the appeal by North End Holdings of the Barrington Planning Board’s rejection of its condominium complex at Nockum Hill has been put off until March 4. 

The case on The Residences at the Preserve was to have been decided at SHAB’s January meeting last week. But the attorney for the developer was tied up in a trial, said Christine DaRocha of RI Housing, the administrative officer for SHAB. 

The next available meeting date for all the board members was March 4, said DaRocha. The hearing will start at 9 am.

A location for the meeting has not been determined, she said. It will either be in the Department of Administration building on Capitol Hill or at the Warwick Town Hall. 

The board has heard all the legal arguments and has received all the attorneys’ legal briefs, DaRocha said. They were to review all of the briefs to determine which argument “is best supported by the record,” DaRocha said.

William Landry, the attorney for North End Holdings, argued at the December hearing that the developer incorporated all suggested changes from Barrington officials, including reducing its size from 27 to 24 units. But the planning board still denied the application, according to the minutes for the December meeting. 

Landry also said that the project complied with Barrington’s affordable housing plan at the time the application was filed. He said the housing plan was amended in 2012 specifically to target this development to justify its denial. 

Nancy Letendre, the attorney for the planning board, argued that Landry misrepresented the town’s affordable housing plan. She argued that the amended plan is actually more generous than its predecessor.

Letendre also said that the board’s rejection was appropriate because the condo development “is inconsistent with local needs and poses health, safety and environmental concerns.” 

Letendre said the board also had a problem with the development’s proposed density. She said the application sought a density increase of more than 500 percent when a 20 percent density bonus is called for in Barrington’s housing regulations.