Although Delayed - Cumberland Farms Project Still On

Although the EP Cumberland Farms proposal has been decided in Court a while ago, not a shovel of dirt has been lifted and the congested parking lot remains as it always has. The project though is still a go according to City officials. Dylan Conley was one of the Cumberland Farms attorneys during the company's court hearings. Conley is now an assistant city solicitor here and can't comment directly on the case. Efforts to reach other officials at Cumberland Farms have been unsuccessful. Other city officials have said that the project will begin shortly.

"There are no glitches, just a lot of details to work out with the neighboring businesses," said a high ranking city administrator. In particular, the project has to make sure it melds itself to the neighboring plaza which houses a Coastway bank and Sav-a-Lot food store.

When the East Providence Zoning Board rejected a proposal from Cumberland Farms in 2015 to renovate and expand their operation on the corner of Wampanoag Trail and Pawtucket Avenue, many residents, especially in the Kent Heights neighborhood were unhappy. "A slap in the face! That’s what the Kent Heights Neighborhood was dealt by two members of the zoning board as it voted down the new Cumberland Farms proposal...the small mindedness of two zoning members killed the project which would have brought millions of dollars of private investment to a section of our neighborhood that is beginning to look like a third world country," was a statement from the Kent Heights Neighborhood Association at the time.

Although the Zoning Board did not approve the business expansion as requested, the East Providence City Council was in favor of the project. However the council could not overturn the zoning vote legally and it had to be resolved by the Superior Court.

"We believe that such a development would greatly improve the neighborhood and serve to further bootstrap, high quality developments in the immediate area. At best we will be left with a cigarette and Keno stand and at worst it will be another derelict lot to add to the collection our neighborhood has been piling up," said Joe Botelho. At the time Botelho was starting his campaign for the Ward Three city council seat, which he eventually won.

The case went to court. In a ruling filed on March 24, 2016, the Rhode Island Superior Court ruled that "Upon review of the record before it, this Court finds that the Zoning Board's decision must be reversed, as it is in error of law and clearly erroneous. The Zoning Board's Decision was in violation of its statutory and ordinance provisions, pursuant to § 45-24-69( d)(l). Therefore, consistent with this opinion, this matter is reversed and Cumberland Farms' requests for dimensional relief are granted."

The Court further stated that "As a result, upon review of the record, the Court finds that the Zoning Board's Decision is clearly erroneous as the record demonstrates that Cumberland Farms sustained its burden of proving that a hardship exists which justifies granting its requested relief. As the nay votes were neither legal nor factually supported, a remand would only result in further delay and unnecessarily extend the harm. Accordingly, this Court must reverse the Zoning Board's Decision."

The neighborhood anxiously awaits.