Planning Board – Meeting Minutes
Tuesday, March 1, 2022 - 6:00 p.m.

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

(Pursuant to Governor Daniel J. McKee’s Executive Order 22-20, dated February 18, 2022

this meeting was held in person and via Zoom.)

 

A. CALL TO ORDER –

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

 

B. ROLL CALL AND ATTENDANCE

 

Members present:           Chair Justin M. Hopkins, IV, Secretary Christopher K. Lawlor, and Members Joseph M. Montesano, Andrew Delisio, Kevin Lowther, and Tabitha Harkin. Mr. Lowther was present via Zoom.

 

Members absent:             Vice Chair Richard W. Constantine

 

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

 

Town Council Liaison Phillip M. Overton was absent. Gina Fuller, District Manager of the Southern Rhode Island Conservation District (SRICD), joined the meeting at 6:19 p.m.

 

C. APPROVAL OF MINUTES –

There were no minutes to approve.

 

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.

 

            There were no changes to the agenda.

 

E. OLD BUSINESS

 

1.      Route One Community Engagement - The Planning Office will provide an update on the preparations for Route One Corridor Study’s community engagement efforts and request the Planning Board’s endorsement of the public launch.

 

Ms. Letendre reviewed that Planning staff and the Route One Corridor Committee (ROCC) meets bi-monthly with Weston & Sampson consultants and they hope to launch the new website after the March 7th Town Council meeting. She asked for the Planning Board’s endorsement of the letter to move forward to the Town Council. Mr. Lawlor said he reviewed the letter and asked if the Route One Corridor study Web site could be viewed from www.westerlyri.gov. He commented that the published video was too fast and asked that the images of the Route One area be expanded wider so one can see beyond the street. Mr. Montesano agreed with Mr. Lawlor’s comments about the speed. Ms. Letendre said the Web site will be linked to the Town Web site.

Mr. Lawlor made a motion that the Westerly Planning Board hereby requests that the Town Council endorse the next steps in community engagement for the Route One Corridor Study.  Such community engagement next steps include:

1.   Launching of the Route One Corridor Web site;

2.   Launching of the community engagement survey on the website; and

3.   Sending letters to all property owners and residents in the “study area” as identified in the survey.

4.   Encouraging participation by the community through various means of promotion

The Planning Board hereby approves the letter addressed to Town Council as presented during the March 1, 2022 Planning Board Meeting. Mr. Montesano seconded the motion. The motion CARRIED by unanimous vote with no abstentions.

 

F. NEW BUSINESS

 

1.      Status on Zoning Ordinance Revisions & Brief Discussion - The Planning Office will introduce proposed revisions to the Westerly Zoning Ordinance and engage the Planning Board in discussion. A timeline for concluding amendment drafting and a workshop with the Planning Board will be established.

 

Ms. Letendre reviewed that Planning and Zoning has been working together on the revisions represented in the table distributed to the Board. She said staff is working through these issues in tandem with the Route One Corridor study and the Downtown stormwater management plans. Ms. Letendre explained that staff is trying to implement the items from the Comprehensive Plan that were prioritized by both the Planning Board and Town Council for this fiscal year. Ms. Letendre wanted to review the redundancies of the Zoning Ordinance with legal counsel so the Planning Board feels comfortable authorizing staff to proceed with all the other things that will be before them in an early June work session. It was discussed that they are modifying Zoning to do what the Comprehensive Plan is designed to do. Ms. Letendre said the Planning Board must make a recommendation on any Zoning Ordinance changes. She said they are going line by line to ensure what is in the Ordinance is consistent with State law and that there are no internal conflicts. Ms. Oziolor screen shared a table outlining the proposed amendments.

Ms. Letendre explained that all the edits in Article I reflect changes in language to be consistent with State general law and routine housekeeping clarifications. In Article II, terms defined they will be separating general definitions from use code definitions. She continued reviewing specifications of the amendments. Atty. Levesque said this is an investment of work and time by staff and the Board that is worth the effort.

There was some discussion of the preapplication planning process and discussion of the Zoning amendment procedure moving forward.

Mr. Lawlor made a motion that the Planning Board authorize the Planning staff along with legal counsel to continue making necessary revisions to the Zoning Ordinance. Mr. Montesano seconded the motion. The motion CARRIED by unanimous vote with no abstentions.

 

2.      Downtown Corridor Revitalization Plan & Riverside Greenway - The Planning Office will present to the Planning Board an overview of the Downtown Corridor Study Area and the proposed Riverside Greenway, which is incorporated in that plan. The Planning Board will be asked for their impressions and input on the vision for the extended Downtown.

 

Present at the meeting was SRICD District Manager Gina Fuller. Ms. Letendre and Ms. Oziolor who displayed the Westerly Downtown riverside greenway project area PowerPoint presentation. The project studies the Pawcatuck River as a way of connection from White Rock Road area, where a grant was awarded to build a river center and where there are existing boat launches, to Margin Street where there is a Town-owned marina. Ms. Letendre reviewed the grant acquisition and design plans for the riverside park and recreation center at White Rock Road. She said they will know in April or May the availability of Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management (RIDEM) funds and hopes the project will be completed in the next couple of years. She continued discussing areas along Canal Street, such as the National Grid parking lot leased by the Town and the special stormwater management methods used there. There are some shared parking lots behind buildings on Canal Street and staff posed the option of creating a cohesive vision for seating and accessibility to the river. The presentation showed seating and walkways on the Pawcatuck side of the river at the end of Coggswell Street and Donahue Park, which is viewable from The Bridge Restaurant on Main Street in Westerly. Ms. Letendre noted that the property owners are open to discussing redesigns of their parking lots where there is opportunity for green stormwater infrastructure. There was more discussion on Main Street properties like the McQuade’s Commerce Street parking lot and RIDEM’s boat launch property. Ms. Letendre said RIDEM does have plans to redo the launch property with more pervious surfaces and expressed interest in cooperating with the Town and the Department of Transportation with stormwater management project to introduce nature-based solutions. Staff hopes that the space will be more inviting with benches and tables. Ms. Oziolor described a conceptual plan for Wayne Ritter’s property at 107 Main Street. She displayed a map featuring ideas that could be a site for riverside events for the Town. Staff continued describing areas along the Pawcatuck River behind existing buildings with opportunities to utilize space for outdoor dining and other uses. Ms. Letendre noted the erosion happening along the riverbank which they would like to mitigate. There was a review of the recent Cinder Restaurant construction that increased the pervious surface area of that lot by about 95 percent and created public access to the river through seating and al fresco dining. Ms. Letendre said the restaurant owners will complete the project this spring by adding street trees.

      Ms. Fuller reviewed her PowerPoint presentation “Main Street Stormwater Project Update” sharing the goals of the SRICD. She said they have entered an approved Charter for the Planning phase and had a $25,000 Southeast New England Program (SNEP) technical assistance and training grant to develop designs for the Ritter property. She said they were also awarded a $75,000 grant from Narragansett Bay Estuary Program for planning. Ms. Fuller said the Town allocated $250,000 in Covid recovery funds as a grant match for the design and construction of the project and the Town has also applied for a Rhode Island Infrastructure Bank action grant worth $500,000. She added that RIDOT stormwater mitigation credits are valued at $300,000 and there will be private property owner investments of time and resources on their own sites. Ms. Fuller said they are moving on an aggressive schedule from March to July 2022 and are engaging qualified engineers next week. She said design and construction phases will start after that and be completed by December 2023. Ms. Fuller mentioned the RIDEM grant at Gingerella was gained as a kayak access grant.

Ms. Fuller said part of the requirement for property redesigns is to have owners sign agreements understanding easement requirements for operations and maintenance. She said there are currently agreements for three lots and incentives for property owners including construction and design money that they can receive for improving their lots. The Board thanked Ms. Fuller for her efforts. Mr. Hopkins noted setback issues along the river corridor and the concept of linking DC-1 to DC-2 to make Downtown more inhabitable.

Mr. Lowther asked about the status of the SNEP class and who was in it. Ms. Letendre said the team is focusing on the 107 Main Street parcel and has staff members from the Engineering and Building Departments, along with Planning staff, Ms. Fuller and Renee Stoops with SRICD. She said the property owner Mr. Ritter, his project manager Todd Mintz, and Marc Doherty from the Westerly Land Trust, are also on the team. There was general discussion on the scope of work for the parcel. There was some general discussion on improvement efforts needed in Westerly’s North End.  

 

G. ADMINISTRATIVE OFFICER’S REPORT –

No report was given.

 

H. ASSISTANT SOLICITOR FOR PLANNING AND ZONING’S REPORT –

No report was given.

 

I. CONFIRMATION OF QUORUM FOR NEXT REGULAR AND SPECIAL MEETING

 

1.      March 15, 2022 Regular Meeting Members of the Planning Board are asked to notify the Administrative Officer if they will not be present at the next special meeting. The following topics are anticipated to be discussed:

 

· Burger King (continued from February 15 meeting)

 

· Strafach 3-Lot Subdivision – 62 Airport Road – Pre-Application Review

 

· 58 Boombridge Road – 2-Lot Major Subdivision - Preliminary & Final Plan Review

 

· Resolution for Fair Housing Month – April 2022.

 

Mr. Hopkins mentioned public comments submitted relative to the discussion on the 32 Elm Street (former St. Pius X property) proposed multi-family development that will be circulated with the record to the Planning Board.

 

J. ADJOURNMENT –

Mr. Lawlor made a motion to adjourn the meeting at 7:29 p.m. Mr. Montesano 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 April 5, 2022