Planning Board – Special Meeting Minutes*
Tuesday, June 14, 2022 - 5:30 p.m.

Westerly Town Hall | Town Council Chambers

45 Broad Street, Westerly, RI 02891

*This was a joint meeting of the Planning Board and the Economic Development Commission (EDC) to discuss the Route One Corridor Plan.

 

 

A. CALL TO ORDER –

Mr. Hopkins called the Planning Board meeting to order at 5:31 p.m.

 

Members present:           Chair Justin M. Hopkins, IV, Secretary Christopher K. Lawlor and Members Andrew Delisio and Kevin Lowther

 

Members absent:             Vice Chair Richard W. Constantine, and Members Joseph M. Montesano and Tabitha Harkin

 

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

 

Town Council Liaison Phillip M. Overton was absent. EDC members present were Chair James Torres, Vice Chair Doug Brockway, Secretary Timothy S. McLaughlin, and Members Ralph M. Abruzzese, Mary Scialabba, and Lucy Wang.

 

C. APPROVAL OF MINUTES – There were no minutes to approve.

 

F. NEW BUSINESS

 

1. Route One Corridor Plan Discussion – Mr. Torres introduced the agenda item and the purpose of the meeting. Mr. Brockway said discussion on the study and draft report is the desired outcome of the meeting. Meeting attendees reviewed comments from the May 3 joint meeting of the EDC and Planning Board. A printed PowerPoint presentation dated June 14 was provided and contained recorded comments from the May 3 meeting. Ms. Letendre encouraged meeting attendees to take notes to add to an idea board at the front of the room. Members reflected on if the report contained all the issues Westerly faces in the corridor and if anything is missing.

There was a review of the report’s goals and how to rank them. In discussion on the transportation action items, Mr. Lawlor commented that the goals make sense and that the Planning Board deals with these matters regularly, especially curb cuts and circulation issues. He shared concerns about left hand turns across Route 1 and the existing extra right-hand lane at the Airport Road intersection. Mr. Torres said the report addresses that specific lane. He said much of these things will be addressed by the Rhode Island Department of Transportation (RIDOT) study. Mr. Delisio said vehicle travel flow should be a priority over parking issues and bicycle access. Ms. Scialabba commented on the importance of synchronizing traffic lights. Mr. Abruzzese said he would like to see ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) compliance high on the priority list for pedestrian access. There was extensive discussion on ADA access and that it meant universal access. Ms. Letendre suggested they introduce specific language in the report to support universal pedestrian access, so ADA becomes the standard method. Mr. McLaughlin shared that traffic signals are an easier step and roadways are a long-term issue. Mr. Torres said the executive summary of the report is still under development and the next section discusses the transects – five sub corridor sections with distinct characteristics. He described them.

Mr. Brockway suggested the meeting attendees have an open discussion on the content of the report and return pages with written feedback in a week. Commission and Board members agreed they would email Ms. Letendre with their feedback. She mentioned that Thursday’s public workshop meeting will focus on the transects. Tonight’s meeting is focused on the goals and action items. The Planning Board will review these for inclusion in the Comprehensive Plan. The Town Planner is working on amendments to the Comprehensive Plan that discusses the study, new goals, and action items. Atty. Levesque suggested all answered sheets be submitted to the Town Planner and have her incorporate them into the report and they will be made public at the next EDC and Planning Board meetings. Mr. Torres suggested a method for reading the long report. He said an executive summary will be created that is easier to read and will be a synopsis, like a marketing brochure, for public distribution.

Mr. Hopkins said Weston & Sampson consultants will provide a high-level overview Thursday and will facilitate discussions with the public. A polling app will be used to collect feedback during the meeting via smart phones. The Route One Survey is still live and operational. The EDC had to put a deadline on responses in order to analyze the data received from 420 respondents. Mr. Brockway said by the end of June, they will take another snapshot of the data. June is community engagement month and the report is available to the public and they can submit commentary via the Web site. The goal is to have the plan endorsed by the Town Council in mid-October. Mr. Brockway said it is likely that the Comprehensive Plan will be amended, but less likely that the Zoning Ordinance changes will be implemented by November. It was discussed that some of the Route 1 roadway goals are not completely in the Town’s control but not outside its sphere of influence. The State will have to explain if they are not considering the Town’s input, Mr. Brockway said. There was further discussion of vision building for Westerly.

Other highlights from the meeting included the need to address bike access to Route 1 and installing bike safety signage. Ms. Wang said any road assessments should include the seasonal character of Westerly and the effect on existing parking. Ms. Letendre distributed printed reports to meeting attendees and explained her communications with RIDOT staff. The Town Planner has frequent interactions with RIDOT regarding the current Route 1 road work and Downtown’s green stormwater project.

Mr. Torres said the most important thing to finalize an amendment to the Comprehensive Plan and to get the State to adopt it after finding the report’s consistency with the Comprehensive Plan. The Planning Board will see the plan again in July. There was a discussion on the public engagement with the report and the Comprehensive Plan.

Ms. Letendre noted that the implementation overview was not included in the printed report she shared at the meeting, but it is published in the online report and is a similar template as what is used in the Comprehensive Plan. Ms. Letendre asked Commission and Board members to submit their comments to her by the end of the day on Tuesday, June 21.

Mr. Torres thanked Mr. Brockway for his work on the study reports and Ms. Letendre for her Planning work. Mr. Hopkins thanked Mr. Torres and Mr. Brockway for the extensive work put into the project.  

 

I. ADJOURNMENT –

Mr. Lawlor made a motion to adjourn the meeting at 7:17 p.m. Mr. Lowther 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 19, 2022