What: Budget Public Hearing on the 2026–2027 Charlestown Municipal Budget
When: Monday, May 4 at 7 p.m
Where: Charlestown Town Hall
The purpose of the public hearing is to present the Town Council’s proposed municipal budget to the voters and to hear their questions and comments.
When: Wednesday, April 1 at 6:30 pm
Where: Charlestown Town Hall on Route 2 (4540 South County Trail)
What: Special Town Council Meeting to review, and possibly change the 2026-2027 town budget
On April 1, the Town Council will have its first look at the municipal budget recommended by the Budget Commission for the coming year that begins July 1. At the meeting, the Council will review the budget, and may make revisions.
Property at 565 Alton Carolina Road (Rt. 91) in Charlestown is the site of a sand and gravel quarry. The property contains three lots which abut the National Wild and Scenic Pawcatuck River, the Nature Conservancy’s 1,100-acre Francis Carter Preserve, the Town of Charlestown’s Tucker Woods Preserve, and private residences.
You can return your ballot by mail, but make sure there is time for it to be received by December 2. If you are in Charlestown, you can place your mail ballot in the special ballot box outside Town Hall anytime between now and December 2, 2025.
In the last year, a few developers have proposed packing into their developments many more houses per acre than are allowed under zoning. For instance, on an environmentally sensitive parcel zoned for about 20 houses, over 400 dwelling units were proposed. Recent changes to Rhode Island law make over-development in vulnerable areas in Charlestown almost inevitable.
Keeping the water that flows beneath the ground (groundwater) clean is one of the most important issues facing Charlestown—not only because it is the source of our drinking water, but also because its deterioration will affect the health of our saltwater ponds and inland lakes.
It happens every campaign, and it has happened again. Campaign signs mysteriously walk away, never to be seen again. Campaign signs create visual clutter and contribute to plastic pollution. They are also expensive and require monitoring to check if they are still in place. Perhaps in future elections, local candidates could all agree on one thing, and that would be to skip the campaign signs.
Our town deserves a government that will safeguard our excellent quality of life, our low tax rate, and our beautiful environment, priorities supported overwhelmingly by our taxpayers in the 2021 Town-wide Survey. To accomplish this, I offer the commitments listed in this post if elected to the Town Council:
I’ve watched our town change over the years, sometimes for the better, sometimes in ways that make me pause. I want to make sure Charlestown stays the kind of place that drew us all here in the first place: beautiful, rural, with dark skies and a local government that’s grounded in common sense.
The deadline to apply for a mail ballot for the special election is November 12.
If you think an out of town trip, bad weather, or any other reason may stop you from voting in the December 2, 2025, special Charlestown Town Council election, consider ordering a mail ballot. Or if you simply enjoy the convenience of voting by mail, the reason, “I choose to vote by mail” is now an allowed reason to request a mail ballot.
When: Tuesday, October 14, at 7 p.m.
Where: Charlestown Town Hall
What: Bonding of already-paid-for land purchases is back on the Town Council agenda
A majority of the Charlestown Town Council is considering using money designated by voters in 2015 for one thing—preservation of open space—for something else. And it makes no sense that it would be OK for the Town Council to issue a bond in order to be able to spend the money again—effectively spending the money authorized twice.
When: Wednesday, September 24 at 7 p.m.
Where: Charlestown Town Hall
What: Two public hearings before the Planning Commission
The first is a continuation of the public hearing for a Master Plan for a major 24-lot residential subdivision on 29 acres in Carolina Village and a public hearing on Final Plan, Phase 1, for a major residential subdivision called Summer Winds which is located very close to Ninigret Park.
UPDATE: The applicant asked to have this presentation postponed until October 22
When: Wednesday, August 27 at 7 p.m.
Where: Charlestown Town Hall
What: Pre-Application Conference for proposal to construct 9 new buildings that will hold 11 residential units on 1.397 acres in the Traditional Village District
The owner of two lots on the south side of Rt. 1A at its intersection with Ridgewood Road (Plat 13, Lots 31 & 32, 3740 Old Post Road) proposes to combine the two lots to create a 1.397-acre lot.
UPDATE: This application was continued to September 24 at 7 pm
When: Wednesday, August 27 at 7 p.m.
Where: Charlestown Town Hall
What: A public Master Plan hearing on a major residential development (Plat 28, Lot 82-1; 28.7 acres; Carolina Village) before the Charlestown Planning Commission
As Acting Administrator of the General Services Administration, Goulding had the task of disposing of 604 acres on the shore of Ninigret Pond that, from 1942 until the early 1970s, had been the Charlestown Naval Auxiliary Landing Field. “Such use is not to be inconsistent with the use of the other 367 acres transferred to the Department of the Interior and the Environmental Protection Agency.”
On Wednesday, May 28, at a well-attended meeting, the Planning Commission reviewed a major land development proposed on Ross Hill Road under the state’s Low and Moderate Income Housing Act. The meeting was a Pre-Application Conference, which is held before a formal application is submitted. Details from the meeting and a video are in this post.
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
A portion of this parcel is currently a sand-and-gravel operation with the rest forest and wetlands.
“Given all of what has been able to be ascertained about the Property, the Town’s ability to exercise any rights with respect to the Property are limited by the rights of others. In practical terms, this means that the Town cannot use the Property for public access to the beach, cannot put signage or fencing on the Property, nor occupy it in such a manner as to impede the rights of the other co-owners in the Property.”
The Town Charter allows the Town Council to make appointments to the Planning Commission when there is a vacancy, but the Town Council ignored over 30 years of precedent in how to fill a vacancy in making the January 13 appointment. They also ignored other sections of the Charter that make clear the intent for these appointments.
Shortly after the New Year representatives from the US Army Corps held a meeting at the Kettle Pond Visitor Center to provide an overview of its investigation and cleanup efforts and to gather feedback on how it can better inform the community about the current cleanup projects in Ninigret Park and Ninigret National Wildlife Refuge.
This development is being proposed under new state legislation that 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”. Three dwelling units per acre is considered a high risk for potable water, but the legislation is not based in science.
This level of growth in such a short time is unprecedented for our town. These new 499 units do not include the additional units in other new subdivisions that have been approved and do not include any ADUs that will be approved. This growth is the result of state legislation, but the current Town Council didn’t join with other rural towns to oppose the legislation or seek any solutions. Adopting a “more housing at any cost” strategy really does eventually have a cost.
Charlestown was the first municipality in the state to adopt a written fund balance policy. This wise planning has already proved critical. Because the town built up and maintained adequate fund balances and because of the skill of town staff in planning for climate resiliency, Charlestown had the funds available for a temporary fix to the damage caused to the Charlestown Breachway
Before sending the ordinance to a public hearing, the Town Council stripped the regulations of the Special Use Permit requirement. This makes it a “by right” use on any commercial lot along the Scenic Highway. They also removed several other recommendations from the Planning Commission’s version of the ordinance that protect the rights of abuters, neighborhoods, and natural resources.
The excellent candidates for Town Council and Planning Commission who are endorsed by CCA in the upcoming election will listen. They have heard your concerns, and they will work to return Charlestown to the path to long-term sustainability by protecting our natural resources on which our economy and our future depend.
For some reason, a Charlestown Democratic Town Committee member appears to believe that taking personal potshots at a former town employee who was honest and worked hard, one who did an excellent job for 10 years, is OK. It’s not. Unproven, and untrue, assertions that live online can be damaging to a person’s career and should be out of bounds.
On July 8, the current Charlestown Town Council majority got rid of a highly qualified and experienced member of the Budget Commission, Dick Sartor. Mr. Sartor had applied to be reappointed, and he was not. This sacking of Mr. Sartor was carried out by a Town Council majority that says institutional knowledge, and qualifications, are of utmost importance in government. One can only wonder why the Town Council majority would remove Mr. Sartor’s practiced eye from oversight of the town’s budget.
There is now additional evidence that the current Town Council majority favors development and an increase in the density of that development. What will remain at risk is the degradation of our groundwater (the sole source of our drinking water), unhealthy freshwater and saltwater ponds, and ultimately an increase in our tax rate when these negative environmental effects need to be mitigated.
Charlestown once rejected partisan divisions and, in turn, enjoyed a decade of smooth, open, good, and responsive government that provided low taxes and good schools while maintaining a high quality of life. Now, the current Town Council characterizes information as lies and is ignoring the preferences of residents expressed in the 2021 Community Survey.
Charlestown was managed very well for a decade, but the current Town Council majority still continues to falsely accuse town staff of misdeeds. Implying, without any evidence, that town staff has violated an ordinance is unconscionable.
