CRANSTON – The City Council’s Ordinance Committee on Thursday denied a request by Coastal Partners LLC to restart the zoning process at Mulligan’s Island Golf & Entertainment to build a Costco at the site.
The developer had submitted a scaled-down proposal that would have eliminated proposed restaurant locations, modified proposed traffic patterns and eliminated proposed land gifts to the city. Instead, the land that would have been a gift would have been maintained as a par 3 golf course.
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The modifications were said to be designed to reduce the expected traffic impact on the area.
The committee determined that the latest plans were not a substantial change from the initial proposal to be reconsidered.
“I agree with last night’s decision of the Ordinance Committee members that the latest plans were not a substantial change from the proposal withdrawn by the developer in December,” Cranston Mayor Kenneth J. Hopkins said in a statement. “The latest plans kept those major elements with minor alterations that were not really material changes.”
The proposed development project has received significant pushback from neighbors of the site.
Despite supporting the council’s rejection of the application, Hopkins said he still would like to see Costco come to the city, just not at the proposed location.
“While I always maintained that the Mulligan’s Island site was not the appropriate location for Costco, I would welcome the opportunity to work with Costco officials to identify a better, more suitable location in our city,” said Hopkins.
“We have other possible sites in Cranston that Costco should consider and I have directed my administration to reach out to company officials,” Hopkins added.
Coastal Partners LLC did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Rhode Island may be a small state, but does it have to accompany that feature with equally small thinking. OK, be against the project, but offer up some welcoming and positive thinking by showing these developers a more suitable site, but not one commercially unfeasible, out in the woods somewhere. Cranston already has a reputation for poor taste and mediocrity as clearly seen in many ugly, undistinguished public facilities you see all over town – Cranston West High School is one perfect example. RI has become the State of NO!