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| PLANNING DEPARTMENT TOWN OF MIDDLETOWN 350 East Main Road, Middletown, RI 02842 (401) 849-4027 | MiddletownRI.com |
PLANNING BOARD MINUTES
Special Meeting
August 29, 2023, 6pm
Town Council Chambers – Town Hall
350 East Main Road
Middletown, RI 02842
Board members present:
Paul Croce, Chair
Michael Fenton, Secretary
B.J. Owen
Art Weber
John Ciummo
Leon Amarant
Also present:
Ron Wolanski, Town Planner
Michael Monti, Assistant Town Solicitor
Anita Guo, Principal Planner
Member absent:
Bill Nash, Vice Chair
Mr. Croce called the meeting to order at 6:00pm
1. Discussion and recommendation to the Town Council on proposed amendments to the Middletown Zoning Ordinance, Town Code Chapter 152, to revise criteria for granting special use permits.
a. Mr. Wolanski shared that as part of the 2023 RI General Assembly legislation changes, the Town must develop specific objective criteria for uses that require special use permits. He stated that the Town Ordinance must make those changes by January 1st, 2024; otherwise, the uses that require special use permits will be permitted by right.
b. There was discussion about the reasoning behind the legislation and the ways to approach this task such as developing a comprehensive list of objective criteria and appropriately applying them to each use category. Mr. Monti shared that if the Board chooses to review the uses and remove some that require special use permits, then the Board’s work might be reduced. He also shared that if the Board is unable to identify specific criteria to apply to a particular use, then that use should probably either be allowed by-right or prohibited. By consensus, the Board directed staff to proceed with collecting Board members’ thoughts on each use that require special use permits.
Motion by Mr. Ciummo, seconded by Mr. Weber to adjourn. Vote: 6-0-0
Meeting adjourned at approximately 6:50pm.
Respectfully submitted,
Mike Fenton, Secretary