Seekonk Planning Board approves site plan updates for five auto dealers in one night

SEEKONK — December 10, 2019 — Seekonk Planning Board approves updated site plans for five auto dealers, defers sixth to January. The board voted unanimously on five automotive site plan applications Tuesday — Land Point LLC (First Acura) at 16 Highland Ave, capped at 150 vehicles; AutoMart at 1012 Fall River Ave, capped at 20 vehicles; Ally Motor Group at 984 Fall River Ave; Pride Hyundai at 1113 Taunton Ave, capped at 397 vehicles across two lots; and All Mobile Towing at 102B Pond Street for 66 vehicle spaces, which passed with one abstention. The reviews are tied to a Board of Selectmen automotive licensing renewal process set to conclude at the Selectmen's December 18 meeting. A work session debate over a fall Town Meeting procedural dispute — in which the board convened mid-meeting under an open-meeting exemption to provide a positive recommendation on a Marijuana Overlay District expansion, which subsequently failed anyway — drew sharp criticism from one member: "I don't want this board to look like a puppet of another board, and that's what we looked like."