The Town of Hopkinton has been trying to develop an 18-acre parcel off Exit 1 but has recently rejected plans for a truck stop.

The Providence Journal / Frieda Squires

HOPKINTON — Town planners have denied an application to build a Love’s Travel Stop and Country Store in a rural area off Route 95 at Exit 1.

The Oklahoma-based company proposed building a 24-hour truck stop on an 18-acre parcel bisected by Route 3. The proposal called for roughly 145 parking spaces, a drive-through restaurant and a convenience store.

Earlier this month, Planning Board members unanimously rejected the company’s application, mainly because it did not meet the requirements in the town’s Comprehensive Plan for future land use, which identifies the parcel as mixed-use, Town Planner Jim Lamphere said.

The meeting, continued from June 3, had been moved from Town Hall to the Ashaway School to accommodate the large turnout. It drew about 200 residents opposed to a truck stop in an area dotted with sprawling farms, trees and wildlife.

Local historians had also said a portion of the land, believed to be a section of the Hopkinton Town Farm, may have been used as a burial ground. But the town favors development there, just not necessarily a truck stop, Lamphere said.

“I’d say 99 percent of the town … [doesn’t] want a truck stop. That’s the sentiment. I think the fact that we had an excess of 200 people in attendance gives you some sort of indication,” Lamphere said. “The Planning Board was more than willing to undertake the normal appropriate review of the project, but the applicant did not agree to an extension.”

Rick Shuffield, the company’s director of real estate, could not be reached for comment Tuesday.

Planners also rejected the proposal because time had run out. State law gives planning boards 120 days to make a decision on an applicant’s master or concept plan, unless an extension is granted. The company presented the proposal during April and May, but there were a number of environmental questions, Lamphere said. The Planning Board didn’t have enough time to review them, or have public comment, he said. Given the applicant’s unwillingness to ask for an extension, the proposal was ultimately denied.

Directly across the street from the proposed site are businesses, classified as light manufacturing, that are thriving. Lamphere characterized the area as somewhat of an anomaly, considering that the state has lost thousands of manufacturing jobs.

Lamphere said the companies include: American Kuhne, which makes machinery that produces plastic extrusion products; ProSystems, which makes electrical components, and Renova Lighting Systems. Also in the area is Hopkinton Park, a three-story industrial and business building, with several tenants.

lsparks@projo.com