Acres of trees come down to make way for Rankin Estates in North Smithfield

NORTH SMITHFIELD – A developer who has worked for years to get town clearance for a housing project on Douglas Pike has begun clear-cutting trees on the property, taking down 17 acres to make way for roadways and future homes.

Narraganset Improvement Co.’s Rankin Estates project still needs preliminary approval from the town Planning Board, and was approved for a two year extension last January. The 126-unit development has been the focus of both controversy and legal wrangling since it was first proposed more than two decades ago.

An application to build housing units on the 270-acre lot was first submitted to the town in 2001, but was rejected by the Planning Board, leading the company to file the first in what would become a series of lawsuits.

In 2005, the developer put in a second application for an even larger development, which was also rejected, in part due to testimony by archaeologist Frederick Meli, who said he found compelling evidence that a series of stone mounds on the land was a Native American cemetery. But Meli was later found to have presented false credentials, and the developer hired attorney Michael Kelly, filing a $6 million lawsuit in 2008 related to the denial.

An attempt to settle the suits in 2011 resulted in more controversy when it was revealed that the town had developed an ordinance rolling back the rules for gravel extraction with help from an attorney representing the developer. A neighborhood coalition formed with the purpose of blocking a potential settlement.

The suits were finally resolved in 2014 with concessions from both the town and the applicant, and a new application received master plan approval from the Planning Board in 2019. It stipulated several conditions, including requirement of a full archeological study of the area, and the adoption and implementation of action programs to protect natural resources and conservation areas.

In the time since, the Rhode Island Historical Preservation and Heritage Commission has signed off on a study that found no evidence that the stone mounds on the property were human grave markers, or evidence of important cultural features or materials.

The mounds, however, remain at the heart of a larger dispute between some experts and Native American tribes, who note the Nipsachuck area where the proposed development lies was a space for ancient tribal gathering and ceremonies. The raised mounds – or cairns – are located throughout New England, and in large quantity throughout the Nipsachuck area, one factor that has led the North Smithfield Heritage Association to work to protect and preserve various lots surrounding Rankin Estates.

On nearby Nipsachuck Hill and swamp, two battles were fought during the 17th century King Philip’s War, a bloody conflict between New England’s colonists, and the Wampanoag tribe and its allies.

But many argue that the stone mounds were actually left by in piles by early European settlers attempting to clear the land for farming or logging, including many archeologists, who have not deemed the rock piles worthy of protection.

At Rankin, it seems, the issue has been settled, with development moving forward.

Narragansett Improvement submitted a Notice of Intent to Cut the trees to the Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management last year with plans to saw down 17 acres, including cords of mixed oaks and white pine.

The town’s code of ordinances, meanwhile, offers no restrictions on clear-cutting, an issue Councilor Douglas Osier tried unsuccessfully to address in a proposal in 2020.

“When you start to remove large landscapes of trees, you’re really permanently changing the character of the area,” Osier told NRI NOW this week.

At the time, however, Osier’s ordinance did not distinguish between acres of clear-cutting and the occasional tree chopped down at a family home, calling for a one-to-one replacement – and it was ultimately voted down.

“The conversation kind of got away from intent,” Osier said, noting he hopes to revisit the issue with a modified version of the ordinance.

“I have been looking into it. I’m hoping to present it before this term ends,” he said. “You can have successful economic development, but you still need to find that balance. We have to be open to that conversation.”

“I think there’s a balance, and hopefully we can find it,” Osier added.

Town Planner Mark Carrulo noted that much of the recent cutting was done for investigation of the site, including checking for ledge and perk tests.

“They did a rough cut, generally, of where the roads would be placed,” he added.

Carrulo noted that Rankin Estates will be a, “conservation development,” where the layout favors homes clustered more closely together, to leave the perimeter of the land untouched and preserve the look of the area.

“These lots are smaller than they would be,” otherwise, Carrulo noted.

With the latest extension on the application set to expire in March of 2025, a preliminary application – the last step before final approval – is likely to come before the Planning Board soon.

“I expect there’ll be something this winter,” Carrulo said.

“I know this was a very controversial development,” he added. “Planners will make final decision.”