Update On Zoning Ordinance Changes For Subdivision of Land, Self Storage, And Cannabis
Subdivision of Land
The current Town Council continues to propose changes to the Zoning Ordinance applying to the subdivision of residential land that would reduce developers’ costs, increase the number of allowed lots, increase negative impacts to neighboring residential uses, increase storm-water impacts, increase negative environmental impacts to groundwater, increase negative environmental impacts to wetlands, and increase negative environmental impacts to wildlife. These changes would also result in some lots that are highly constrained. Such high-impact subdivision has not been allowed in Charlestown since at least 1988. No public hearing date is set yet, and so far the Town Council has declined to have a workshop with the Planning Commission on these changes.
Self Storage
On May 22 the Town Council held a public hearing on the Planning Commission’s request for a moratorium that would apply to new Public Storage Facility applications. The moratorium requested would have been in place to give the town time to develop new design guidelines that would apply to this use and make it visually compatible with Scenic Rt. 1. The Planning Commission requested a two-year moratorium to allow time to get new Design Standards created and fully approved through a Public Hearing process. The Planning Commission is waiting for Town Council approval to hire a consultant team who have estimated it will take 14 months to finish guidelines for all new commercial development; it is hoped these will be followed by the formal adoption of standards for the use. Two years might not be needed, but one year will not be enough. Only Town Councilor Susan Cooper supported two years, and Councilor “Rippy” Serra was opposed to any moratorium that required developers of new self-storage units to wait until design standards are created. Eventually, the Council approved a one-year moratorium in a 4 to 1 vote with Mr. Serra voting against the motion. Charlestown currently has over 500 approved self-storage units that will not be covered by this moratorium and can be built.
Cannabis
On June 12 the Town Council passed an ordinance to allow cannabis retail sales by right in the C3 zone and with a Special Use Permit only in the C2 zone. The C3 zone (Highway Commercial) includes most of Rt. 1. Lots zoned as C2 (General Commercial) are located throughout residential areas of town, including along Post Road (Rt. 1), Old Post Road (Rt. 1A), South County Trail (Rt. 2), Carolina Back Road (Rt. 112), Ross Hill Road (Rt. 216), Klondike Road, Matunuck School House Road, Charlestown Beach Road, and a few other sites around town. Because of state law, a retail store selling cannabis would be required to be a regional store that would serve a geographic area that is much larger than Charlestown and would affect traffic volumes and traffic patterns in town. In their advisory, the Planning Commission explained that the C-3 zone is best suited to this use because the district is intended for businesses that serve “regional, community, and local needs” and that Post Road (Rt. 1) can best handle the increased traffic when compared to other Charlestown roads. The Planning Commission felt that many C2 lots in town are in areas not suitable for a high-traffic use. The Planning Commission suggested that if certain C2 lots were deemed appropriate, they could be included in an overlay district, as South Kingstown has proposed, rather than allowing the use in a district that includes all C2 lots. The Planning Commission had also advised that any application should be required to get a Special Use Permit and that during the Special Use Permit process, the Zoning Board should be able to increase the buffer to residential properties up to a set maximum amount on a case by case basis to reduce impacts to neighboring properties. The Town Council voted 4 to 1 (with Susan Cooper dissenting) not to require increased residential buffers, and to allow cannabis retail sales on any lot zoned C3 or C2. Councilor Cooper voted no because she would have preferred an overlay district that included only suitable C2 and C3 lots, rather than the entire districts. The ordinance as passed is available at https://ecode360.com/CH1115/laws/LF1800018.pdf.
June 28, 2023 @ 3:11 pm
The town has spent more than $75K on a survey of the residents and this TC has ignored the findings. A waste of tax-payer dollars. Also a waste is the money spent on a frivolous audit of the town’s finances for which the contract over-expenses have not been explained.
The charter revision ad hoc committee, the ordinance ad hoc committee, and the comp plan review committee are all attempts to change the basic or core values of Charlestown. This is what the voters have opted for and this is what we got.
We lost a very capable Administrator because his professional ethics would not support this Council’s plans. He was a victim of the town council’s ignorance.
June 25, 2023 @ 3:40 pm
It is crystal clear to me the current Town Council majority could care less about residents and piece by piece is dismantling solid land use policy. Also chipping away at protecting residential areas from regional cannabis stores. Also making it more difficult for residents to speak at Council meetings. Wake up Charlestown the town we all love is being harmed.
June 25, 2023 @ 9:37 am
I like the results of the cannabis discussion It is a practical plan.