JOHNSTON — The Planning Board has already issued building permits for FM Global’s $60-million headquarters project, but a Superior Court judge may force the board to hold a hearing on traffic and drainage issues at the site.

Judge Michael A. Silverstein has asked lawyers to craft an order that would oblige the board to take input from CapLease — the owner of FM Global’s existing home. Previously, CapLease had asked Judge Michael A. Silverstein to freeze all construction work, alleging that town officials trampled on its right to obtain public records and pass along meaningful input in advance of any permit decisions.

If the order meets Silverstein’s satisfaction, he could sign it as early as today, according to CapLease’s lawyers and an assistant town solicitor, William Conley.

The requested order would force the Planning Board to hold a hearing and let CapLease present its concerns about potential drainage and traffic problems associated with the new building, the lawyers said.

“I think he’s agreed with us that we should be heard, before the Planning Board, on these issues,” said CapLease’s lawyer, William Dolan.

Conley said the town would move to hold the hearing as soon as possible if Silverstein issues the order.

“Our hope is that this will bring everything to resolution,” Conley said.

Silverstein’s instructions followed a conference with the lawyers yesterday.

The requested order represents the court’s latest response to a case that has brought scrutiny to the permitting of the FM Global project.

In various complaints, CapLease has accused Johnston town officials of violating local zoning and planning regulations in a biased attempt to put the project on a fast track.

CapLease’s lawyers argue that the town delayed release of certain records. By the time the information was released, they say, there was insufficient time to review it prior to the Planning Board’s permit decisions.

Silverstein has declined to halt construction at the site during his review of the case.

Citing an engineer’s report, CapLease’s lawyers have argued that Atwood Avenue must be widened between Wilder Road and Central Avenue to accommodate the additional traffic volume the area will see.

“It is clear that an almost tripling of the traffic in the area will occur without a single condition to mitigate against this significant environmental impact,” says one of CapLease’s recent court filings.

“CapLease’s traffic concerns are not mere window dressing,” the complaint says. “To the contrary, CapLease must re-lease its current building.”

Citing another engineering study, CapLease also says a proposed retention pond at the new FM Global headquarters needs to be larger to address storm-water and runoff issues. The expanded pond could encroach on the foundation of the new headquarters building.

CapLease says it could have offered such input during the permitting process if officials had given “timely access to public records.”

Elisabeth N. Galligan, a spokeswoman for FM Global, says the landlord’s storm-water concerns “lack credibility” because the new headquarters project is downhill from CapLease’s property.

In earlier court proceedings, CapLease failed to introduce evidence from its engineers.

Both Conley and Galligan say that CapLease did not make use of its opportunity to inform the Planning Board initially.

Nonetheless, Conley is hopeful that an end to the dispute is near.

Another CapLease lawyer, Edward D. Pare, is hopeful, too.

“If they provide a fair hearing,” Pare said, “we think they will impose conditions to address our concerns, to the extent they can. Otherwise, we’ll be back in the same position we were in.”

mreynold@projo.com

CORRECTION: An earlier version of this report incorrectly described the location of the new headquarters project in relationship to the CapLease property. It is sited downhill from CapLease.