Video Of March 30 Meeting About Loss Of Local Control

Did you miss the March 30 meeting about loss of local control over zoning and land use? We’ve included a video of the meeting below in case you would like to see the discussion.

On March 30, the Charlestown Town Council held a workshop, proposed by Councilor Bonnie Van Slyke, to begin an in-depth conversation about issues surrounding the housing crisis in Rhode Island, the state mandate for Charlestown to provide 10% of its year-round housing as dedicated affordable housing, and the impact of the ability of developers to use comprehensive permits to overide Charlestown’s power to say where and how this housing will be provided. Also discussed were the annual housing production goals for the next five years recently established for Charlestown by the RI Department of Housing and tools that Charlestown may want to consider in order to meet these goals.

In proposing the workshop, Councilor Van Slyke noted that Charlestown is committed to providing diversified housing, including dedicated affordable housing, in our long-range Comprehensive Plan approved by the state in 2021. She pointed out that legislation enacted in the years since, however, has taken away Charlestown’s authority over land use and housing, mandating instead that the town provide extreme density bonuses for proposals that provide some affordable housing.

Invited to the workshop on March 30 were Charlestown’s representatives in the General Assembly; our Town Planner; a representative from the Portsmouth Town Council, which has been leading the opposition to the erosion of local control over zoning and land use; and former Westerly Town Council member and current member of the Westerly Planning Board, Jean Gagnier.

On April 13, the Town Council will continue to discuss these issues and may vote to join with Portsmouth and other towns in opposition to state control over local land use.