Seekonk Planning Board approves Pride Hyundai dealership at former cinema site

SEEKONK — May 12, 2026 — Seekonk Planning Board approves Pride Hyundai dealership at former cinema site and confronts stormwater enforcement gap. The board voted 4-0-1 at its May 12 meeting to approve the site plan for Pride Hyundai at 800 Fall River Avenue — the former Showcase Cinema — clearing the way for a dealership with 279 display spaces and 72 customer and employee spaces in the 50,000-square-foot renovated building, with finalization of drainage and sewer easements required as a condition. In a nearly 90-minute work session, KP Law Town Counsel Amy Quessel told the board that existing subdivision decisions give the town almost no tools to compel homeowner associations to meet annual stormwater inspection requirements, saying "your best bet is to go through the stormwater bylaw and issue permits separate" going forward. The board also endorsed two approval-not-required lot divisions — one on a 4-1 vote, with Chair D. Sullivan dissenting over aquifer protection concerns — and released final surety for the accepted Jacob Hill Estates subdivision. Town Planner John Aubin reported the proposed Billboard Overlay District bylaw was indefinitely postponed at Town Meeting the prior evening after language he added was ruled outside the scope of the submitted bylaw.