Limited Time Offer. Become a Founder Member Now!

Planning board continues Windsor Apartments master plan after traffic, peer-review questions

October 17, 2025 | Smithfield, Providence County, Rhode Island


This article was created by AI summarizing key points discussed. AI makes mistakes, so for full details and context, please refer to the video of the full meeting. Please report any errors so we can fix them. Report an error »

Planning board continues Windsor Apartments master plan after traffic, peer-review questions
The Smithfield Planning Board continued a master plan application for Windsor Apartments (referred to in filings as Gemini housing) to the special meeting on Oct. 23 after board members said they had not received a peer review letter and raised unresolved traffic and pedestrian-safety concerns.

Kelly Morris Salvatore, representing the applicant, told the board the team had addressed most neighborhood concerns, adding that her traffic consultant and the town peer reviewer had exchanged letters. “The beta's [peer-review] letter essentially says that no further responses are necessary except for 2 items,” Salvatore told the board, identifying two remaining traffic comments she said depend on Rhode Island Department of Transportation (RIDOT) review.

Board members said the peer-review letter arrived late and was not distributed to members. “That is the fault of planning staff. We did receive that letter and did not send it to you,” a staff member said at the meeting; the letter arrived about 4:30 p.m. the day before the meeting, staff said.

Concerns from board members and neighbors focused on the development’s location within the town’s high-injury network and pedestrian conditions near Greenville Center. A board member said the project area is “ground 0” in the town’s high-injury network and expressed concern residents of a 55-and-up community could be isolated by lacking safe crossings or continuous sidewalks.

When asked whether the peer-review comments about intersection markings and right-turn treatments would be resolved locally, applicant counsel and the traffic consultant said those items are typically handled through a RIDOT Physical Alteration Permit process. “With that physical alteration permit, the town has to send a letter to DOT saying that they are aware of the application,” Salvatore said. Paul Bannon, the traffic engineer, said the project’s microsimulation (SIM) analysis is in the appendices and confirmed it shows queuing that could block certain movements; he recommended RIDOT consider “do not block the intersection” pavement markings as part of the PAP process.

The applicant requested the board continue the hearing to allow staff and the board time to review the peer-review correspondence; the applicant also asked for a decision on a timetable because the developer faces tax-credit application deadlines. The board voted to continue the Windsor/Gemini housing matter to the special meeting on Oct. 23; the applicant indicated a preference for that meeting date to preserve funding timelines.

At the Oct. 16 hearing, public comment included questions about enforcement and the durability of the 55-and-up age restriction over time, and a resident with local traffic-enforcement experience warned that signage-only remedies historically have been ineffective in the area.

The board closed the public hearing at 6:28 p.m. and continued the matter to Oct. 23 for a decision on master plan.

View full meeting

This article is based on a recent meeting—watch the full video and explore the complete transcript for deeper insights into the discussion.

View full meeting