CCA Blog and Mail Box

“Undeveloped lands are more than open spaces begging for development; they are working landscapes that with proper measures can mitigate human impacts by providing the ecosystem services we depend upon: maintaining water quality, soaking up carbon, preserving a sense of place, and sustaining habitats and communities.”

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When: Tuesday, August 29 at 6 p.m.
Where: Charlestown Town Hall
What: Town Council meeting to discuss changes to the existing subdivision ordinance that will allow developers to encroach on wetland systems and other sensitive areas. Impacted adversely by these changes would be what are called perimeter wetlands, areas that protect wetlands, and forested areas that together cleanse groundwater (the source of our drinking water), control flooding, reduce surface runoff into water bodies, and provide habitat for wildlife. These changes would place the burden of fixing the adverse impacts of irresponsible development on the taxpayers of Charlestown.

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Having failed to thwart the will of the voters and remove current elected Commissioners from office doesn’t mean that those who want to appoint Planning Commission members who are more to developers’ liking have given up. Now they are challenging the qualifications of all those who have been elected to the Commission.

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Rather than have an authentic conversation over the issue of the balance of experience on the Zoning Board of Review, Mr. Cahir chose to deflect using a groundless personal attack on a town volunteer and his family. He is certainly free to express those opinions. However, misrepresentation and making stuff up are not OK and are not only dishonest but toxic. Mr. Cahir needs to disagree better.

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“It is clear and unambiguous that the General Assembly’s passage of the ratification act and its signature by the Governor made this law a specific statute exempting Charlestown from the general scheme for the composition of a local planning board or commission.” For over 40 years an elected Planning Commission has given a greater, more effective voice to the citizenry.

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… tonight’s agenda item strikes us as a divisive and unnecessary undercutting of the Town Charter’s explicit and more democratically oriented decision to allow voters, not a public body, to determine the makeup of the town’s Planning Commission … there does not appear to be any reason for the Town Council to gratuitously interject itself into this matter and seek to undermine voters’ rights

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The goal is to change the outcome of 21 elections and remove current elected officials from office, thwarting the will of the voters, so that they can appoint Planning Commission members more to their liking. There is no basis for their removal other than this false claim that they were illegally elected. Who sits on the Planning Commission makes a difference, and that decision ought to belong to the voters.

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The Supreme Court determined that the General Assembly expressly ratified the entire Charter. The Supreme Court concluded that the Charter was more specific than the Chariho Act. Accordingly, Johnson’s petition was denied and Purcell’s petition was granted. The Court held that Purcell is legally entitled to the office of Chariho Regional School Committee member. Link to full Supreme Court decision in the post.

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As conservation-minded Zoning Board members’ terms expire they are being replaced with new members with ties to the building and development industries. Town Councils have the power to make appointments and move regulations in whatever direction they choose, but residents should be aware of the direction this Town Council is taking which is one that reduces environmental protections and encourages faster growth.

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Owners of beachfront property in Rhode Island went to court Friday to fight a new state law that moved the border between their private land and the public beach to 10 feet inland from the “seaweed line.” Story includes a link to the lawsuit.

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When: Wednesday, July 26 from 6:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m.
Where: Cross’ Mills Public Library, 4417 Old Post Road, Charlestown (map in post)
Registration: Please register by calling the Cross Mills Public Library at (401) 364-6211.
Cost: Free

Safe Well Water? Test to be sure.

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As the Town Council works to weaken Charlestown’s development regulations and remove local environmental protections, the legislature enacted many new land use laws that will also weaken environmental protections. This article from ecoRI News discusses some of those state legislative changes. “By erasing the part about protecting the environment in a significant manner, the General Assembly misses a key point about public health and neighborhood well-being: If we don’t protect the environment, we can’t protect ourselves.”

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When: Fridays, July 7, 14, 21 and 28 from 10:00 a.m. to 12 p.m.
Where: Kettle Pond Visitor Center Archery Range, 50 Bend Rd., Charlestown
What: The U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service with support from the RI DEM Division of Fish and Wildlife and Narragansett Bow Hunters is now offering FREE archery days this summer.
USFWS will supply all of the equipment (please do not bring your own).

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How will real discussions and debates occur when members of the public are not able to participate fully? Allowing citizens to ask questions, provide input, and offer comments is essential to an open and transparent government. Not gathering the information available and then weighing all the evidence in order to make considered decisions is not transparent, is not in the best interests of the citizens of the town, and also makes no sense.

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On May 22 the Town Council held a public hearing on the Planning Commission’s request to not accept new Public Storage Facility applications until the town has new design guidelines. On June 12 the Town Council voted 4 to 1 not to require increased residential buffers, and to allow cannabis retail sales on any lot zoned C3 or C2. The Town Council continues to propose changes to the Zoning Ordinance for the subdivision of residential land that would reduce developers’ costs, increase the number of allowed lots… Details on all of these in the post.

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Rhode Islanders’ rights to the shore are clear, but what has been less clear is where exactly you get to enjoy those rights. Legislation passed on June 15 that provides a measurable line of where public access may be exercised: “where shore exists, on wet or dry sand or rocky beach up to ten feet landward of the high tide line but not where no passable shore exists.”

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Our Mountain Laurel is particularly beautiful at the moment. It is an absolutely gorgeous experience right here just off Route 1. Laurel has an artistic architectural quality while being human scale bringing the blossoms up close. Truly breathtaking at every turn of the trail. It is at its peak this week, so don’t wait. Make sure to bring the kids, the precious fairy garden feel is bound to inspire their imaginations.

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When: Garden Tours – Saturday and Sunday, June 24 and June 25 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
When: Presentation and Book Signing – June 24, from 11 a.m. to 12 p.m. and from 1 p.m. to 2 p.m.
When: “On the Wing” Exhibit – Now until August 25 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Where: Kettle Pond Visitor Center, Bend Road in Charlestown (map in post)
Learn about planting a native garden or meadow and why our corner of the world is important to migratory birds.

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How to Spend a Beautiful Summer Weekend in Charlestown, Rhode Island. Beaches and hiking trails await, not to mention a unique shopping destination, award-winning Indigenous cuisine, and an all-you-can-eat seafood buffet—just a short road trip from Boston. Read the full story in Boston Magazine …

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The new ordinance eliminates the requirement that open space contain any upland (developable areas), in spite of the fact that developers of major subdivisions have been required to set aside upland areas while clustering their lots since 1988. The number of lots that a developer has available to develop has not been reduced by this requirement, but the negative environmental impact of new residential development has been reduced. There is wide agreement that this method has worked.

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UPDATE: This week the Rhode Island Legislature did pass this bill that eliminates a public process for many land development projects. We’ll have more about this in the future.
Excluding neighbors and the general public from participation and even knowledge of developments that can change the landscape and character of our community may save developers a little meeting time, but it is not good government or good environmental policy. It is certainly not democratic.

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The new Town Council majority has, suddenly, proposed drastically changing this long-standing, well-tested ordinance that protects the environment in order to provide “choice” for developers. In addition, the choice that will be provided to developers by the proposed changes will also greatly reduce developers’ costs by allowing them to design their subdivisions essentially as they please.

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Join the Charlestown Land Trust for their annual “Trust Me, You’ll Love It” 10K Trail Run
Where: Amos Green Farm, #223A Route 112 in Charlestown. Run continues on The Nature Conservancy’s Carter Preserve.
When: Saturday, June 10. Registration/check-in is 9:00 – 9:50 a.m. Runners start at 10:00 a.m. sharp, walkers at 10:15 a.m.
Registration link and details in post.

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The settlement will require Kenyon to expeditiously implement plant improvements until it achieves 12 consecutive months of compliance with its permit limits for copper and whole effluent toxicity. Failure to achieve compliance will trigger automatic monetary penalties. As an additional condition of the settlement, the company is required to pay a $10,000 civil penalty for their past violations and also pay $40,000 to the Wood-Pawcatuck Wild and Scenic Rivers Stewardship Council who will direct the money to projects promoting the restoration, preservation, and protection of the Pawcatuck River, with a particular focus on the area downstream from the Kenyon mill.

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In the rain on May 20, the Nature Conservancy named a 3-mile loop trail for Tarzan Brown in the 1,100-acre Carter Preserve in Charlestown. This story in the Boston Globe includes a description of the day’s ceremony to dedicate the trail and a very large, immovable, stone monument. There are videos of RI TNC director John Torgan’s speech, Thawn Harris’s speech, singing, drumming and more. This is just one more reason to continue to protect the Carter Preserve from being bisected by new train tracks.

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The legislation allows the expansion of net metering as part of a deal to allegedly remove the solar incentives from core forests, but this is a bad deal for RI. The legislation defines “Core forest” as unfragmented forest blocks totaling at least 250 acres or greater, unbroken by development, and at least 75 feet from any mapped roads. Although Charlestown has many areas of unfragmented forest, much of it would not meet this definition, leaving the town open to wide-scale forest clearing.

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When: Saturday, May 20 from 1 p.m. to 3:30 p.m.
Where: Kettle Pond Visitors Center, Bend Road, Charlestown
What: An opening reception for the exhibit by the New England Chapter of the Guild of Natural Science Illustrators. This exhibit explores migratory birds and butterflies and their habitat.

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When: Wednesday, May 17th at 4 p.m.
Where: Room 35 – State House
Why: Send an e-mail to the legislature (directions on how to send the e-mail in the post)
The farmland preservation program will not be funded without a strong outpouring of public support. This spring, Rhode Island’s state funding for farmland conservation is rapidly approaching zero for the first time since 1981. There is a backlog of over 40 farms that have been approved for permanent protection, but not enough funding to protect them. Leaving the farmland protection program unfunded will halt the program altogether and leave at least $5 Million in federal funding on the table.

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When: Saturday, May 20 at 10:00 a.m.
Where: Meet at the Kings Factory Road entrance to the Francis Carter Preserve.
Who: Everyone is invited, but dogs must be leashed.
The trail, which will now be known as the Tarzan Brown Trail, will be dedicated on Saturday with the installation of a plaque created by Ted Brown. Ted Brown is a nationally recognized mason and is the grandson of Tarzan Brown.

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Vic was elected to the Planning Commission in 2008 along with others in our first slate of candidates. Over the intervening years he donated his photography skills to make campaign photos of many of our candidates and in 2020 made candidate videos as well. He gave his time to those candidate photo shoots with amazing kindness and patience.

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The Charlestown Town Council is conducting important business in special meetings that are scheduled randomly at the call of the Council. As a result, being an informed citizen in Charlestown in 2023 has suddenly become a formidable task, and instead of fostering more transparency and more citizen participation, using special meetings for important business has resulted in less, much less, of both.

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When: Monday, May 1st at 7 p.m.
Where: Charlestown Town Hall
Why: Public Hearing on the Tentative 2023-2024 Municipal Budget of $15,825,425.00
The municipal budget represents an increase in spending of $764,492.00, which is a 5% increase over the previous year.

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Celebrate Trails Day is a nation-wide annual spring celebration held on the fourth Saturday of April since 2013. The celebration encourages people to get outside and enjoy our nation’s exceptional trails and trail systems. In Charlestown, getting outside and connecting with nature is easy with over twenty public open spaces located throughout our town.

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