158 Dwelling Units Proposed In Ross Hill Road Development
When: Wednesday, May 28 at 7 p.m.
Where: Charlestown Town Hall, 4540 South County Trail, Charlestown
What: Pre-application meeting with the Charlestown Planning Commission for this development proposal
The Ross Hill Road Proposal
Other Site and Proposal Details
- Plat 16, Lot 212; 79.99 acres; R3A Zone that allows about 20 houses.
- 158 dwelling units with 40 of the dwelling units deed restricted as “affordable.”
- 25% Low/Moderate Income, 75% Market Rate.
- Age-55+ community.
- Three public wells with two of the wellhead protection areas partly on other properties
- Access from Ross Hill Road.
- Materials submitted for this application are available in the meeting packet at the town’s website.
This will be the third pre-application conference with Brighter Visions, LLC, the developer/owner of this property. The first was for a cluster subdivision of about 21 lots, and the second was for a Comprehensive Permit for 416 dwelling units that included some affordable housing. At these pre-application meetings, the Planning Commission usually asks questions and listens to the developer and any public present, but no votes are taken.
A portion of this parcel is currently a sand-and-gravel operation with the rest forest and wetlands. The developer has said the sand-and-gravel operation will be abandoned as part of the proposal. Except for the wetlands and public well areas, most of the proposed layout is taken up with house sites, septic systems, roads, and drainage structures.
If the developer were to decide to go forward with a formal application, they would come back at the Preliminary Plan stage of review. The state’s Low and Moderate Income Housing Act has expedited review and does not require a Master Plan stage. The Preliminary Plan review is the last step before construction begins.
The meeting packet for May 28 does not contain a memo from the Zoning Department with a determination of compliance with the Zoning Ordinance. None is required at this point, but there may be waivers from the Zoning Ordinance and also from the Subdivision Regulations that the developer will need to request at the next stage of review.
The developer makes the claim in the materials it has submitted that the proposed density follows Charlestown’s Zoning. They are able to make that claim because the new state legislation requires that the “density bonus for a project which provides at least twenty-five percent (25%) low- and moderate-income housing shall be at least three (3) units per acre.”
The state law ignores State Guide Plans and nearly every other guide for protecting Rhode Island’s environment and adaptation to climate change; it also ignores Charlestown’s Comprehensive Plan enacted in 2021.
Charlestown’s previous Town Planner, members of the Planning Commission, and others have explained to state planners, state legislators, and the Town Council the harmful impacts that will eventually occur as a result of these densities. These include loss of forested lands necessary to meet the state’s climate goals and the deterioration in the quality of the town’s drinking water and the health of its saltwater ponds and other water bodies on which the town’s health, safety, and well being and the town’s and state’s economies depend.
Nevertheless, the legislation that now allows density in an R3A zones to increase from 1 to up to 10 dwelling units per 3-acre lot was first submitted in the RI House of Representatives as H6081, and the legislation was enacted into law. The bill was supported by Charlestown’s State Representative Tina Spears, and State Senator Victoria Gu. South Kingstown’s State Representative Teresa Tanzi was the sponsor.
Regarding the Charlestown Town Council, although they recently held a special meeting to communicate their opposition to a bill in the state legislature that would regulate assault weapons, they have remained largely silent on the many bills that remove local control for housing and development introduced in this legislative session and in the previous two sessions. Councilor Stokes has been the lone Town Council member to express opposition to any housing legislation, but there has not been any meaningful action yet.
Bonnie Van Slyke, the author of this post, was a member of the Charlestown Town Council from 2014 to 2022. She was the Town Council Liaison to the Planning Commission, Parks and Recreation Commission, and Senior Citizens Commission. She is a former officer and member of the Board of Directors of the Frosty Drew Observatory & Science Center, a former Chair of the Zoning Board of Appeals in Harvard, MA and a former member of the Board of Trustees of the Harvard Conservation Trust. Bonnie is a freelance copy editor, technical writer, and publications specialist. You can learn more about Bonnie on her profile page.