BURRILLVILLE – A subdivision on East Wallum Lake Road will soon hold three new houses creating a five-lot rural residential compound known as Clear River Farms, following unanimous approval of an application this week before the Burrillville Planning Board.
The three single-family homes will be added to an 85-acre lot currently owned by Wayne and Sherri Faring, which now holds just two houses. The land will be divided into five 4.5 to 6 acre lots surrounding a cul-de-sac, and owners will have private access to an additional lot with 60 acres of open space.
“This proposal really takes a beautiful piece of property and develops it in a very conservative manner,” said David D’Agostino, the attorney who presented the plan on Monday night at a public hearing. “We’re trying to make sure that most of that open space remains undeveloped.”
Three four-bedroom homes will be added to the subdivision of individually-owned houses under the umbrella of the Clear River Farms Homeowners’ Association. They will be accessed by a 500-foot-long private roadway off of East Wallum Lake Road known as Clear River Farm Road, according to plans approved on Monday, Dec. 3.
Town property records show that when the Farings acquired the large lot in 1989, it held two residences, with the couple living in one structure; a 3,369-square-foot 1.5 story house with five bedrooms, three and a half baths, and two fireplaces, first built in 1977.
In 2009, they demolished the second building on the lot and built a new two story, 2,590-square-foot home with four bedrooms, and two and a half baths. At a Zoning Board meeting in 2008, the couple said the new house would be occupied by their daughter and her family.
The complete two-house property was appraised at $896,400 in 2018.
Now, three new lots will be built on what is currently an open field and 860-900 East Wallum Lake Road will be known as Clear River Farms.
At the hearing Monday, Town Planner Raymond Goff noted that no additional homes can be built on the property due to deed restrictions.
“Once this is approved, there will be no more development here,” said Goff. “I like the design overall.”
Planner Bruce Ferriera requested that the subdivision include a wider driveway than initially planned, pointing to the chimney fire on Eagle Peak Road on Thanksgiving Day.
“The fire trucks couldn’t get up the skinny, long driveway,” Ferreira said.
D’Agostino said that the subdivision will be governed by an association with its own set of more than two dozen covenants.
“Owning a lot in Clear River Farms obligates you to follow the rules,” he said.
The motion to allow the subdivision was approved unanimously.
