Planning Board – Meeting Minutes

Tuesday, June 1, 2021 - 6:00 p.m.

 

Council Chambers, Westerly Town Hall

45 Broad Street, Westerly, RI 02891

 

(Pursuant to Governor Gina M. Raimondo’s June 12, 2020 Executive Order, as extended, and Governor

Daniel J. McKee’s Executive Order 21-34, dated April 9, 2021, this meeting was held via Zoom.)

 

 

 

A. CALL TO ORDER –

Mr. Hopkins called the Planning Board meeting to order at 6:01 p.m.

 

B. ROLL CALL AND ATTENDANCE

 

Members present:           Chair Justin M. Hopkins, IV, Vice Chair Richard W. Constantine, Secretary Christopher K. Lawlor, and Members Joseph M. Montesano, Andrew Delisio, Kevin Lowther, and Auxiliary Member Tabitha Harkin

 

Members absent:            None.

 

Staff present:                   Assistant Solicitor for Planning & Zoning Atty. Scott Levesque, Town Planner Nancy Letendre, Information Technology Technician Lanny Fuller, and Minute Taker Stephanie J. LaSota

 

Town Council Liaison Phillip M. Overton was absent from the meeting.

 

D. CHANGES TO THE AGENDA –

Review, discussion, and possible action by the Planning Board on changes to the agenda, including known continuances and the order in which items will be heard.

 

Economic Development Commission (EDC) Chairman James Torres called the meeting to order at 6:02 p.m. Also present at the meeting were EDC Vice Chair Doug Brockway, and Members Ralph M. Abruzzese, Daniel Lathrop, and Joseph Montesano, who is also a Planning Board member. Mr. Torres thanked the Planning Board for their time and introduced the two topics for discussion.

 

E. OLD BUSINESS

 

1. None.

 

F. NEW BUSINESS

 

1. Economic Strategy and Initiatives for Downtown and Route 1 Commercial Corridors – Economic Development Commission (EDC) Presentation and discussion led by the Westerly Economic Development Commission on the Downtown and Route 1 Corridor vision and economic strategy.

 

Mr. Torres invited the Planning Board to join the EDC in developing the plan referenced on agenda item F1 and to take the lead on any respective parts of the plan that require Planning Board decisions. The presentation, shared by Mr. Brockway, provided an update of EDC activities and results to date, as well as details on an economic vision and strategy for Westerly’s Downtown and Route 1 corridor. Town Council liaison for the EDC, Brian McCuin, joined the meeting at about 6:06 p.m. Gina Fuller joined the meeting at about 6:09 p.m.

Mr. Brockway closed his presentation on the PowerPoint slide listing the EDC’s guiding principles for evaluating next steps. Planning Board members commented on his presentation. Mr. Constantine said it is an excellent effort that shows clear thinking and an understanding of the community. He appreciated the concept of mixing residential uses into commercial buildings, referencing as an example a former Planning application from a north end Westerly pizza shop that added second floor apartment rentals. He said the project was attractive and helped the neighborhood. Mr. Constantine agreed with the EDC presentation to involve local university students and seeking grant opportunities. Ms. Harkin said she loved the idea of mixed-use, streetscape, and partnering with local schools. She asked who was surveyed for the presentation content and how that survey was conducted. Mr. Brockway explained that they did one on one interviews with contacts they knew, who connected them with more people to speak with. He said they asked them three questions; how well is Westerly doing? what is a good five-year goal for Westerly? and how do we get there? Mr. Torres agreed that a more extensive survey or market study should be completed. There was further discussion on the finances available via grants and Federal funding. Ms. Harkin asked about developers’ views on the permitting process and how it is done now. Ms. Letendre said there is no specific guide to development proposals in the community. She said Planning staff has streamlined some of the processes as well as created new application forms. She said changes in the Zoning Ordinance and subdivision regulations have also been made to facilitate processes. Mr. Torres said talking to potential developers is important and the EDC wants to foster those relationships so that they can move projects along and make the Town better to do business with. Mr. Lowther praised EDC efforts and said he is curious how Westerly citizens would view the presentation, as the Planning Department and EDC both see the benefits of mixed-use development, which may increase density in some commercial areas. Mr. Lowther said he is especially curious about the opinions of older residents and asked when the public could comment on the plan. He said the idea of bringing a hotel to the aera is a good one as the demand is there.

Mr. Lawlor commented that the plan was well thought out and put together. He said citizens must feel plans are beneficial to their needs and desires as well as to tourism. Mr. Lawlor said vacancies in area strip malls are a problem and he does not know if that is because rents are too high, Westerly is unattractive for businesses, or that there is not enough customer base. He said he would like to see existing spaces repurposed or redeveloped rather than new construction keeping as much green space as possible. He referenced a past Parking Commission finding that people do not like to walk long distances to downtown businesses. He said Westerly should broaden its economic base and offer a mix of businesses rather than similar venues. Mr. Montesano commended the EDC team. He said all the Planning Board members had valid comments. Mr. Montesano said every exciting and successful urban core has a balancing act associated with residential and commercial uses and they feed one another - a vibrant downtown always has a great residential core. He asked if there was a future possibility to use a combination of college design teams and a professional planner to help establish initiatives. Ms. Letendre said that has been part of the plan since they finished the Comprehensive Plan. She said in this coming fiscal year there is $10,000 budgeted for the Downtown redevelopment corridor study and $8,000 budgeted for EDC for consulting services. She said the money is set aside in restricted funds and must be spent wisely to get things started.

 

Mr. Delisio said getting development opportunities starts with the permit process. He said developers should be incentivized to create some of these concepts in Westerly, and providing monetary incentives is not in their jurisdiction. He added that a beach shuttle from the train station is not a good idea. Mr. Brockway said we can make a case to the people that do have that jurisdiction over developer incentives. Mr. Delisio said he would support that.

Mr. Hopkins said the presentation was excellent and that there are some natural synergies between the EDC and the Planning Board. He said his challenge is what is the tipping point of our mercantile, retail, and restaurant businesses. He assumes that there is a reason why there are vacancies on the Route 1 corridor and sometimes downtown. He said professional offices, as well as residential and retail, are good tenants for mixed-use spaces. Mr. Hopkins asked if there is interest in aligning some of the tabulations of the DC-2 Zone to the DC-1 Zone, especially if the Town is pursuing riverfront development. He said Ordinance work needs to happen to create preferred outcomes. Ms. Letendre said staff has already discussed this and there is an existing spreadsheet. Mr. Hopkins said as a graduate of Roger Williams University he has several friends that teach and may love to help. Mr. Constantine said this is tough work for Planning and Zoning to undertake and it would be good to have a guide for the development process. He said it is a laborious process and it prevents other issues from happening. He said some developers do what they want despite what approved plans require. Mr. Constantine said the existing process is in the best interest of the developer, Town, and residents, but he supports making it clearer. Mr. Torres said he would like to create a smaller taskforce of made of members from both the Planning Board and EDC.

 

2. Stormwater Management and Leveraging Funding Sources – Southern Rhode Island Conservation District (SRICD) Presentation by Gina Fuller, Executive Director of the Southern Rhode Island Conservation District (SRICD), a Town of Westerly partner, on stormwater management and leveraging funding sources to support projects in the Downtown Corridor.

 

Gina Fuller greeted the Planning Board and EDC. She said she served as on the original Comprehensive Plan Citizen’s Advisory Committee on plan that was just passed, so it is exciting to see Town groups working on the action items for the vision of the community. She said an important question to ask is; for whom are we planning? She said Westerly residents are growing older and more thought should go into serving younger families. She said the Town will continue to see retail vacancies and many younger people look for experiences or “things to do.” She said office space is a need in Westerly. She said the Town Council must also be willing to follow through on the community vision or it will fail. Ms. Harkin agreed with Ms. Fuller’s comments, adding information from a housing data study regarding Millennials and Gen Z needs. She said mixed-use development was an important part of that study.

Ms. Fuller shared her screen to her presentation titled “Stormwater Management and Leveraging Funding Sources.” She said their goals coincided with EDC and Planning Board goals or beautifying the area, increasing walkability, and being person-centered. She said vegetative shorelines are an important part of their work as they filter stormwater before it goes into water sources. She said the Pawcatuck River technically does not meet criteria of the Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management’s (RIDEM) recreational activities like swimming and fishing. She said many of the stormwater projects line up with the EDC and Planning Board goals and the Comprehensive Plan, as they seek to take concrete or paved areas and transform them into something more friendly and green to capture stormwater. She shared the Westerly Land Trust’s (WLT) Main Street community garden project as an example.

 

Ms. Fuller further discussed the watershed maintenance and operations program - “PL-566.” She said SRICD applied to put the entire Pawcatuck watershed into this. She said it has been accepted into the program and planning will start later in 2021 and she expects Westerly Boards to be united on the action. It is a program to manage stormwater on a watershed level and investigates things like dams and culverts and other practices to reduce impacts to the Pawcatuck river. She said what is important to know is that what happens north of us is affects what happens in Downtown Westerly and Little Narragansett Bay. Ms. Fuller noted that even with all the Federal stimulus monies coming, almost every Federal grant and most State grants require a Town financial match to demonstrate you are an active participant. Ms. Fuller shared the timeline for various Downtown and Pawcatuck River projects. She said SRICD will work with RI Department of Transportation (DOT) to secure a charter for a Downtown stormwater project for the summer of 2021. She said her organization and the Town will apply to SNEP this summer and match and funds received. Ms. Fuller said Westerly is ahead of many other southern Rhode Island communities and is very fortunate financially. Mr. Torres invited Ms. Fuller to the next EDC meeting where they will discuss the status of the Winnapaug Pond Project in partnership with Northeastern University.

Mr. Montesano said from a policy perspective, he is an advocate for Ms. Fuller’s presentation. He said the Planning team should work on how to create policy requirements that help incorporate green space into development projects. Ms. Letendre said there is a Comprehensive Plan action item to adopt low-impact design stormwater management and RIDEM has more information on their Web site. She noted that she, Ms. Oziolor, and Ms. Fuller have all taken a recent stormwater financing training. Ms. Fuller said she would email her presentation to everyone who wanted a copy.

Mr. Torres advised that the next EDC meeting agenda will include a review of this meeting and a presentation on the Winnapaug Pond project. He asked the Planning Board to get back to EDC regarding tonight’s meeting discussion. Mr. Hopkins said he believes the Board can make progress on these goals over the summer as they have light agendas. Mr. Brockway made a motion to adjourn the EDC meeting at 7:55 p.m. Mr. Abruzzese seconded the motion. The motion CARRIED by unanimous vote with no abstentions.

 

G. ADMINISTRATIVE OFFICER’S REPORT

 

1. None.

 

H. CONFIRMATION OF QUORUM FOR NEXT MEETING - June 15, 2021 –

Ms. Letendre reviewed that there are currently no Planning applications for the June or July meetings. She said she thinks it is a great opportunity to get long-range projects moving. There was further discussion on how to conduct future meetings.

 

I. ADJOURNMENT –

Mr. Constantine made a motion to adjourn the Planning Board meeting at 7:58 p.m. Mr. Lawlor seconded the motion. The motion CARRIED by unanimous vote with no abstentions.

 

Respectfully submitted,

 

 

 

Stephanie J. LaSota

Minute Taker

 

Approved by vote of the Board on July 20, 2021