BRISTOL — Rogers Williams University doused a neighborhood firestorm over its plans for a water tower yesterday when it proposed an alternative location farther from the homes.

A week after residents packed a Planning Board meeting and spent hours decrying plans for a 155-foot tower at the northwestern end of the campus, residents and board members quickly embraced the new site to the south, near the traffic at the foot of the Mount Hope Bridge.

“It’s a win-win-win situation,” said Chairman Jerome A. Squatrito, in describing how the proposal meets the university’s water needs, helps solve the town’s water-pressure problems in the southern end of town and addresses neighbors fears of an eyesore blotting their views.

In less than an hour, the board voted 5 to 0 for a preliminary master plan amendment to allow for a 93-foot tower on Old Ferry Road. One of the advantages of the location, university officials said, is that the tower need not be as tall because the site sits higher above sea level. Still, the proposal must go before the Zoning Board on Oct. 6 for a variance since the tower exceeds a height restriction of 52.5 feet.

Not only will the tower be shorter, it won’t be visible from the neighborhood upset by the original proposal and two nearby alternative sites. The conical tank will be painted light blue and be supported by eight legs. It will be buffered by a stand of trees on land owned by the Rhode Island Bridge and Turnpike Authority which is unlikely to be developed.

“It certainly makes a lot of sense to me,” said Raymond DeLeo, of Captain Street. “It is more palatable than any of the other sites.”

No other residents even got up to speak, a sign that the university’s new proposal had won over neighbors.

“What it looks like to me is that the [new site] doesn’t impede any neighbors at all,” said board member Kenneth Marshall.

Much of the discussion focused on the need for improved water pressure and firefighting capability in the southern end of town, an issue Chief Robert Martin raised at the previous meeting. In fact, it was the fire chief who suggested that the university consider erecting a tower instead of building cisterns to support the construction of an academic building and a dormitory, said Vice President Joseph Panghorn. A tower, the chief told the university, might cost no more but be particularly beneficial to the town.

Due to water pressure, its height must match the water tower on Bay View Avenue.

Credit for the new site went to Noreen Lapointe, of Captain Street, who suggested it as an alternative during last week’s meeting.

The board’s approval was conditional upon the university entering into a formal agreement with the Bristol County Water Authority, which university lawyer Christopher Neronha said he was “optimistic” to have completed soon. The university is expected to pay for the tower’s installation and associated improvements and then transfer ownership and operation of the tower to the authority.

The tower would be served by a 16-inch line that would be extended from Ferry Road, another improvement over the original proposal, which involved hooking up to a 12-inch line off Metacom Avenue.

rsalit@projo.com