Planning Board – Meeting Minutes
Tuesday, June 23, 2020 - 6:00 p.m.

 

*Pursuant to Governor Gina M. Raimondo’s Executive Order 20-25, dated April 15, 2020, this meeting was held in person and electronically via Zoom and was publicly advertised.

Council Chambers, Westerly Town Hall
45 Broad Street, Westerly, RI 02891

 

A. CALL TO ORDER

 

Mr. Hall called the meeting to order at 6:00 p.m.

 

B. ROLL CALL AND ATTENDANCE

 

Members present:           Chair James A. Hall, IV, Vice Chair Richard W. Constantine, Secretary Christopher K. Lawlor, Alternate Secretary Justin M. Hopkins, and Member Joseph M. Montesano

 

Members absent:             Members Dylan Kosten and Jason A. Parker

 

Staff present:                   Assistant Solicitor for Planning & Zoning Atty. Scott Levesque, Town Planner Nancy Letendre, Director of Development Services Lisa Pellegrini, Principal Planner Benjamin Delaney, Director of Information Technology Marc Tate, and Minute Taker Stephanie J. LaSota

 

C. APPROVAL OF MINUTES

 

1.      June 9, 2020 Special Meeting – Mr. Hopkins made a motion to approve the June 9, 2020 minutes as submitted. Mr. Lawlor seconded the motion. The motion CARRIED by unanimous vote with no abstentions.  

 

D. OLD BUSINESS

 

1.      2020-AMND-ZN (Amendments to Chapter 260 – Zoning Ordinance) Continuation of review and discussion on the proposed amendments to the Zoning Ordinance and recommendation on the ordinance amendments to the Town Council for adoption.

 

Ms. Letendre introduced the Amendments to Chapter 260 – Zoning Ordinance to the Planning Board and explained why certain amendments were created. She said that Exhibit A contains additions to the Zoning Use Table. She explained those changes. Ms. Letendre said they were trying to take regulatory information out of the definitions and use that in the text to give a better indication of what is needed. She said the main change in the definition section is to the accessory apartment section. There was further discussion on accessory family dwelling units. Zoning Official Nathan Reichert discussed the content of the changes starting on page five of the Zoning amendments package. Mr. Reichert said one Zoning change proposed will align the Town with State definitions of how to measure height in a flood zone and allow for five feet of freeboard. He said they are also proposing that new housing heights be determined by the elevation measurement taken from the four corners of the house. Mr. Constantine said he had a concern on page 6 where it mentions building height in item A and permitted finished grade in paragraph 3 as A.3 should address the building height measurement. Ms. Letendre said maybe there should be a limitation placed on paragraph 3. Atty. Levesque said the amount of fill you put in would be deducted form your height. Mr. Montesano asked if a house could have a walk out basement. Mr. Reichert said it makes it clear that it is permissible. Mr. Montesano suggested changing the word “raise” to “adjusted” in line 280-7. Atty.  Levesque suggested for Mr. Constantine that A.3 language be “the permitted finished grade of building height measurement shall be from existing grade and any amount of fill from four feet allowed is deducted from the overall building height.” Mr. Constantine said he would consider the change after reviewing the language.. Mr. Hall asked Atty. Levesque to circulate it to everyone on the Board. Mr. Montesano asked if the word family can be removed from family accessory dwelling unit. Atty. Levesque said it is there because of a change in the State law’s definition. Mr. Montesano commented they don’t define what a family is. Atty. Levesque said State law defines family and rental accessory dwelling unit.

There was discussion on the proposed changes to the Zoning Official’s duties to administratively approve certain items. Mr. Reichert said procedural requirements were added to the Ordinance itself, as well as for Zone changes because application forms were removed from Town Code. There was discussion on those changes as well as transitioning to a digital permitting and application process. Mr. Hopkins asked whether the Zoning Official could waive the number of copies requirement. Mr. Reichert advised that he cannot change this requirement as Zoning code changes require 20 copies because they are submitted to Town Council for approval and to the Town Clerk’s office. The Board and staff discussed how paper costs effect Town and applicant budgets.  

Staff discussed the proposed changes to Zoning nonconformance. Ms. Letendre said changes are a matter of clarification and makes distinction between dimensional nonconformance and use nonconformance and how they are handled. Mr. Reichert described the biggest change under item C.4. Ms. Letendre said the Development Plan Review (DPR) changes were reviewed by the new Principal Planner Alyse Oziolor. Board and staff discussed the change made. There was further discussion on item G of page 31; expiration of approval. Mr. Montesano suggested a year with the possibility of extension. Ms. Letendre said that would be appropriate. Mr. Montesano said his concern is that DPR applicants spend a lot of money in the application process. Mr. Hall asked what other communities are doing. Atty. Levesque said they have extensions and State legislature didn’t set extension period within DPR. Mr. Reichert said from staff perspective they are generous in allowing people to extend if possible.

There was discussion on the Aquifer Overlay District. Mr. Reichert said the goal is to rewrite it and have it done in a few weeks. Ms. Letendre requested removing the requirement for a Planning Board advisory opinion for an Aquifer Overlay District Permit. Atty. Levesque said only if relief is required from both Boards does the applicant need the advisory, but if they only require Zoning Board relief, the advisory isn’t needed. The Board consensus that the change is fine.

Mr. Reichert explained the rationale of changes to residential development standards. He said the biggest issue is interconnectedness of households, for example whether a garage is attached to a house and whether you can have traditional primary use of space above the garage. He said the Zoning Office feels substantial interconnection between two buildings needs to include roof, walls, and foundation that all function together and this is referenced under A. The Board and staff discussed remaining changes to swimming pool lighting, and sheds.  

Ms. Letendre reviewed the proposed changes to golf courses. Attorney Thomas Ligouri spoke regarding this amendment. There was confirmation that anything in the Ordinance amendments would pertain to all golf courses in Westerly.

Mr. Montesano read into the record from Section 260-75 item D on Marinas. He said he feels the language is too broad and the Town should not exclude residential uses and exclude short term or temporary uses and allow for primary and secondary homes. Mr. Hall said it’s also important to distinguish between residential on-shore and residential vessels. Ms. Letendre said that limitation on docked boats is being removed as it is recognized in the Harbor Management Plan as an allowable use. Mr. Hall said they may want input from marina owners, too. Mr. Constantine asked if there was a reason to prohibit marinas from developing residentially. Mr. Reichert said it is usually a more industrial site by nature and mixing residential with industrial use was not something considered in 1998. In a poll of the Board, members agreed to not exclude residential use from marinas and to broaden the language. Mr. Hopkins said the golf course section has four subsections that define residences and the same could be done for marinas to address the questions. Ms. Letendre said they would edit the language on that.

The Board and staff discussed proposed changes to parking regulations. Mr. Montesano made a recommendation that retail service business parking requirements be reduced.  Mr. Reichert said the biggest issue is that parking requirements are the same for businesses whether they are on highway commercial Zones or Downtown. Mr. Montesano also suggested minimizing asphalt wherever possible by minimizing driveway width requirements. The Board and staff further discussed drive through lane size requirements.

Mr. Reichert described changes to the Sign Ordinance. Mr. Montesano said he thinks it is well thought out and covers all the issues discussed in the past. There was further discussion on the details of the changes.  

Ms. Letendre said the Planning Board has a process through DPR for any retaining wall over six feet and suggested it no longer require Board review. She said engineer drawings are required by the Building Official when the wall reaches 6 feet. The Board agreed the changes were appropriate.

The Board discussed proposed changes to the Solar Ordinance. A topic of concern was preventing clear cutting of forested land. The Board recommended the Ordinance go to Town Council with the modifications as discussed tonight.

Attorney Steven Surdut addressed the Board regarding a Zoning change designation for a client on Dunns Corners Road. Atty. Levesque said that can be addressed during the upcoming Comprehensive Plan discussion. Ms. Letendre said she is willing to ensure that the Zoning change is not made and will need information from Atty. Surdut.

Mr. Lawlor introduced discussion on parking spaces. Mr. Reichert said the focus of the proposed changes are for Downtown, but they are also applicable to Misquamicut. He said implementing Neighborhood Plans as part of the Comprehensive Plan could help address parking in the Misquamicut area.

Mr. Montesano made a motion that the Westerly Planning Board render a favorable recommendation to the Town Council on the merits of the proposed Zoning Ordinance Update - as specified in the document titled “Proposed Amendments to Town Code | Chapter 260: Zoning Ordinance dates 06-11-2020 and as amended during the course of Board and staff discussion at the June 23, 2020 Planning Board meeting. Mr. Hopkins seconded the motion. The motion CARRIED by unanimous vote with no abstentions.

 

2.      Comprehensive Community Plan: 2020-2040 Continuation of a Public Hearing to review and discuss the proposed 2020-2040 Comprehensive Plan for the Town of Westerly during which the Board will accept and address public comments.  The Planning Board may conclude the public hearing and provide a recommendation on the form and content of the Comprehensive Plan to the Town Council for adoption or continue the public hearing to another date.

 

Mr. Hopkins made a motion to reopen the Comprehensive Community Plan: 2020-2040 public hearing at 8:20 p.m. Mr. Constantine seconded the motion. The motion CARRIED by unanimous vote with no abstentions.

Ms. Letendre introduced three documents into the record; Exhibit I: The Watch Hill Conservancy (WHC) letter, dated June 9, 2020, with the Administrative Officer’s Response, Exhibit J: Westerly Housing Facts Sheet | page 71, of the 2019 Housing Fact Book, HousingWorks RI @ RWU, and Exhibit K: Revised Chapter 4 “Housing Opportunities” – dated June 23, 2020.

Ms. Letendre reviewed generally Exhibit I. Jocelyn Lahey, Executive Director of WHC, was present via Zoom for discussion. Ms. Lahey thanked the Town Planner and Board for their consideration and responses.

Ms. Letendre explained Exhibit J. She said Mr. Montesano will review Chapter 4: Housing Opportunities. She said he has been working with Town staff as a resource for the housing section of the plan. He said they focused on updating the data to the most recent available in 2017. Mr. Montesano said they also worked on addressing the State’s concerns about the housing chapter. He reviewed the changes made in the chapter. There was discussion on table 4.12 Median Home Values - Single-Family Homes. Mr. Montesano said at the end of the plan the Town would be 877 units short of the State’s 10% low and moderate income (LMI) housing mandate. He said technically theTown meets the mandate, but not all the units are deed restricted, which is required. There was further discussion on LMI State requirements. Mr. Montesano described possible future housing strategies. Mr. Hopkins thanked Mr. Montesano for his work on the housing chapter. The Board and staff discussed the need to create alternative housing choices, as well as the aging population of Westerly and the trend of younger people moving away from the area. Atty. Ligouri made additional comments regarding LMI housing and the amendments created to the golf course ordinance.

Mr. Constantine made a motion to close the public hearing at 9:20 p.m. Mr. Montesano seconded the motion. The motion CARRIED by unanimous vote with no abstentions.

Mr. Montesano made a motion that staff incorporate into the Comprehensive Plan all comments and changes discussed at the June 23, 2020 Planning Board public hearing and present it to Town Council at the July 21, 2020 meeting. Mr. Constantine seconded the motion. The motion CARRIED by unanimous vote with no abstentions.

 

E. NEW BUSINESS

 

There was no new business to discuss.

 

F. ADJOURNMENT

 

Mr. Montesano made a motion to adjourn the meeting at 9:21 p.m. Mr. Lawlor seconded the motion. The motion CARRIED by unanimous vote with no abstentions. 

 

Respectfully submitted,

 

Stephanie J. LaSota

Minute Taker