Attend Meeting To Explain That Number Of Dwelling Units Can Impact Groundwater

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When: Saturday, December 9, from 1:30 pm to 3:00 pm
Where: Cross Mills Library (4417 Old Post Rd, Charlestown)
What: A town hall meeting sponsored by Charlestown’s Senator Victoria Gu to discuss amendments to legislation regulating ADUs (Accessory Dwelling Units).

Please attend to explain the importance of local groundwater issues to the sponsors of these bills and that these units need to be placed on lots and in areas that can handle increased septage and to urge that their use as vacation rentals be discouraged.

Charlestown has allowed Family Accessory Dwelling Units for decades. However, new legislation passed in the RI Legislature in 2022 made issuing permits for these family ADUs illegal in Charlestown. Instead, Charlestown would need to accept changes that are not appropriate for our town because these changes threaten our groundwater and give the town no control over where these ADUs can and cannot be built.

Most rural towns, including Charlestown, did not “opt-in” to the 2022 legislation. The state Legislature attempted to pass legislation in 2023 to clarify the regulations but also to require towns to opt-in. This legislation did not pass, mainly for procedural reasons.

In the 2024 legislative session, amendments will be introduced again, and opting in will be mandatory.

Charlestown needs more local control and more groundwater protection. Things we would like to see for any new ADUs built under this law:

  • ADUs should not be permitted by right on environmentally constrained or sensitive land. The state legislation as written would allow ADUs almost everywhere, including in areas that have been identified by state regulators as developed beyond their carrying capacity and in other areas where development should be limited to protect critical resources, such as areas subject to inland or coastal flood hazards or where environmental, public health or safety concerns indicate that density should be limited.
  • ADUs must be intended for year-round occupancy. ADUs should not be used for tourist or short-term rentals. There is an acute shortage of year-round affordable rental units in the state. But statewide, and especially in Charlestown, short-term rentals do not help to solve the problem of the housing shortage; rather, they make the problem worse because they drive up both the sale prices and the rental costs of homes.
  • ADUs should be established on owner-occupied properties where the property owner can choose to reside in either the primary dwelling or the accessory unit. Owner-occupied units rarely become a problem for the neighborhood or municipality. In contrast, if ADUs are not owner-occupied, they can become a problem with absentee landlords. Ensuring year-round occupancy also becomes more challenging.
  • Environmental control beyond the issuance of a septic permit by the RI Department of Environmental Management (DEM) is necessary. The only environmental control in the state legislation is the requirement of a septic permit from DEM. However, DEM only has jurisdiction over the distance between a well and septic system; DEM cannot protect the quality of the groundwater that reaches our coastal and inland ponds or our river.

These are complex issues, but the state legislation removes all local control and treats every community the same as if we all have access to sewage treatment plants.

Please attend and explain that Charlestown really is different from Cranston and almost all other RI towns. That may seem obvious, but we have had a very hard time for two years trying to make that point clear to the legislature.

The banner image is an aerial photo of the West Beach area, where dense development already negatively impacts the coastal ponds and where ADUs are likely to be constructed as vacation rentals unless the law requires year-round occupancy.