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Poll Shows Rhode Island Voters Support Promoting Affordable Housing
A new poll commissioned by Housing Works RI shows that voters in Rhode Island are strongly in favor of the state spending money to promote affordable housing. According to a report in The Providence Journal, ''the poll comes ahead of the 2011 expiration of a $50-million statewide affordable-housing program that was paid for by bonds approved by voters in 2006.''
''Conducted by Hart Research Associates, the poll ''found that 82 percent of registered voters who are likely to vote this November find the cost of houses and apartments in Rhode Island to be a problem. Hart said that 62 percent found the problem to be getting worse and 69 percent favored continuing the state-funded program.''
''You really have voters around the state saying this is not a problem that has gone away,'' said Molly K. O'Rourke, a senior vice president at Hart. ''There's a lot more consensus here than there is division.'' 5/14/2010
Resource(s): www.projo.com/
Grow Smart: Time to Shift Rhode Island's Economic Development Model
Deeply involved in public efforts to help the state beat the economic crisis, optimize stimulus investments and achieve true sustainability, Grow Smart Rhode Island took on Republican Governor Don Carcieri's recent cue for business, labor and legislative leaders to ''think out of the box,'' proposing a major economic development strategy shift from recruitment of predominantly large companies ''that seek vast auto-dependent greenfield sites'' toward ''small to medium sized companies interested in transit-friendly centers'' and ready to locate in ''historic, funky and vibrant neighborhoods.''
Such places, says Grow Smart Rhode Island in a press release, are becoming magnets for ''the next generation of knowledge economy workers who want to live in a safe, walkable neighborhood where they have easy access to cafes, grocery stores, services, schools, churches, bike paths and parks.''
The trend remains strong even in these hard times, as most of the state's new companies with high wage jobs chose rehabilitated buildings in urban and town centers, the press release notes, mentioning United Natural Foods, which took part of a restored mill in Providence; Atrion Networking, which joined other commercial tenants in a former factory redeveloped as Hope Artiste Village in Pawtucket; and AVTECH, which moved into a rehabilitated mill in Warren.
''We've concluded that in the area of marketing economic development sites, as in so many other aspects of our economic policy, Rhode Island needs to spend more time playing to its strengths and less time complaining about its weaknesses,'' said Grow Smart Rhode Island Executive Director Scott Wolf, releasing a packet of recommendations to the governor, lawmakers and the Rhode Island Economic Development Corporation (RIEDC).
Offering to partner with RIEDC and others to develop a Smart Growth site inventory, his broad-based group points out that such ''pad-and-rehab-ready'' sites could serve as a business recruitment tool.
It also stresses the need to provide specialized technical assistance to municipal partners, which often lack the expertise to set redevelopment incentives such as Tax Increment Financing (TIF); to restore the Historic Investment Tax Credit as an especially effective redevelopment incentive; to build upon the recent Knowledge Economy Initiative of the Greater Providence Chamber of Commerce and the Providence Foundation; to maximize the economic viability of the agricultural sector; and to ensure more effective use of the state's ports.
Details at http://www.growsmartri.com. -- Grow Smart Rhode Island, Providence Journal 3/25/2009
Resource(s): www.projo.com/
Report Outlines Best Practices for Investing in Rhode Island Public Transit
While Republican Governor Don Carcieri has declared his support for transit, the Rhode Island Public Transit Authority's (RIPTA's) $12-million budget deficit may result in deep service cuts despite 10-percent annual bus ridership increases in each of the past five years, a contradictory situation in which the governor ''must commit to real action in growing our public transit system,'' said Sierra Club Rhode Island Chapter Director Chris Wilhite, releasing the chapter's ''A Fare Choice: How Rhode Island Can Invest in Public Transit and Energy Independence'' report.
''With smart investment in clean, affordable transportation choices in Rhode Island,'' he pointed out, ''our state can move toward a future of energy independence, clean air, and climate recovery.''
The RIPTA's budget shortages are due to its funding mainly by 7.25 of the 31 cents in the state gas tax.
''Such a funding stream, linked to fuel consumption rather than fuel price, is unable to meet the current budget demands of rising fuel costs for buses,'' the report says. ''And when fuel prices go up, fewer people purchase gasoline and more choose to use public transit.''
Induced since the 1950s by cheap fuel and open roads, ''a shift from community-based transit to personal driving'' has fundamentally changed the way Americans live and work, but ''that lifestyle is no longer sustainable, due to rising fuel cost, worsening congestion, and widespread environmental damage,'' and to alleviate these problems, the report states, ''we must return transit to a central role in daily travel'' and ''reverse the incentives that have made cars the default mode of transportation.''
Noting that even reversed incentives ''are worthless if drivers don't have choices,'' and that almost three-quarters of the state's fuel goes for transportation, the report stresses that expanded and ''reliable, cost-effective, and convenient'' transit options are best to roll back the dependence on automobiles and foreign oil, and to cut tailpipe emissions.
Written by researchers Tom Sgouros and Wesli Dymoke, the report concludes that the state's transit strategy ''must be part of a larger plan incorporating smart land use, sensible long-term planning and development, realistic valuation of motoring costs, and effective ridership incentives, including elimination of driving incentives.''
See the report at www.ri.sierraclub.org/FareChoice.pdf. -- Rhode Island Sierra Club 8/28/2008
Resource(s): www.ri.sierraclub.org/
Officials Emphasize Need for Affordable Housing Trust Fund Apparent at Opening of Senior Housing Complex
''We had 400 applicants for 80 units so that means 320 people didn't make the cut, which shows how much further we have to go,'' said North Smithfield Town Administrator Robert B. Lowe at the grand opening of The Meadows near Woonsocket, a senior-reserved affordable apartment complex, whose construction by the Woonsocket-based Neighborworks Blackstone River Valley (NWBRV) nonprofit combined quality design, smart-growth goals and Energy Star standards, with Rhode Island Democratic Senator Jack Reed saying, ''A project like this should not be the exception, but the rule.''
The senator hopes he will help that happen through his proposed National Affordable Housing Trust Fund legislation, now in negotiations between the Democratic chairmen of the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs and the House Committee on Financial Services, Connecticut Senator Christopher Dodd and Massachusetts Representative Barney Frank.
The fund, reports Woonsocket Call writer Joseph Fitzgerald, ''would be the largest expansion in federal housing programs in decades, with a goal of producing, rehabilitating and preserving 1.5 million housing units over the next 10 years,'' and with the bill initially allocating ''between $800 million and $1 billion annually directly to states and local communities, without increasing government spending or the federal deficit.''
The Meadows affordable apartment project, the writer reports, was made possible through a $17.75 million low-interest loan from Citizens Housing Bank -- created in 2004 to address affordable housing shortages in Rhode Island, Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Connecticut -- with $1.6 million in state bond funds, a $6.2 million Low Income Housing Tax Credit investment brokered by the national Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC), almost $600,000 from the Federal Home Loan Bank of Boston, and $400,000 from the Rhode Island Housing Resources Commission.
''The lack of affordable housing in our state has prompted many to leave our region for more affordable areas,'' Citizens Bank President Joseph J. MarcAurele pointed out at the Meadows opening. ''Through the Citizens Bank Housing Bank, Citizens provides low-cost funding to nonprofit developers like NWBRV to create affordable housing and keep Rhode Islanders in the state.''
The $200 million program ''filled a significant financial gap,'' said NWBRV Executive Director Joseph Garlick, stressing, ''Citizens Bank has truly taken a leadership role in creating real solutions to Rhode Island's community development and housing needs.''
More about the program at www.prleap.com/pr/106631. -- Woonsocket Call 6/9/2008
Resource(s): www.woonsocketcall.com/
Historic Tax Credit Program at Risk in Rhode Island
In the first three years of the state's 2002 Historic Tax Credit program, each public dollar leveraged $5.47 in total economic output, with 75 percent of its projects and 82 percent of stimulated investment benefiting ''economically disadvantaged neighborhoods,'' stresses Grow Smart Rhode Island in a press release, concerned over Republican Governor Don L. Carcieri's budget ideas to save perhaps $10 million a year by buying the credits back from intermediaries, and to cap the annual number of credit-eligible projects.
House Democratic Majority Leader Gordon D. Fox and Senate Democratic President Joseph A. Montalbano, both sponsors of the 2002 legislation, the release notes, are uneasy ''about program changes that may affect its success.''
With the former warning against undercutting the program's value, the latter says, ''Let's not stop the momentum we see around here.''
Grow Smart Executive Director Scott Wolf shares this view, while welcoming discussion to make the historic credits even more efficient. ''Predictability is key to the program's continued success,'' he points out. ''We're deeply concerned about the prospects of a cap since that measure in particular removes predictability and has already proved devastating to tax credit programs in other states, such as Maryland.''
Promising joint work with the 55-member Coalition for Neighborhood and Economic Renewal to update the 2005 study that detailed the program's fiscal, socioeconomic and environmental benefits, Director Wolf adds, ''At a time when other states, including Massachusetts, Connecticut, Vermont, New York, Ohio and North Carolina are trying to play catch up by creating or expanding historic tax credit programs, we in Rhode Island need to safeguard the competitive advantage that the program provides us.'' -- Grow Smart Rhode Island 2/13/2007
Resource(s): www.growsmartri.com/
Providence Master Plan Emphasizes Small Neighborhood Schools
Having surveyed all 42 of Providence's public schools, almost half from before 1930, and held several sessions with staff, teachers and residents in the past 10 months, DeJONG consultants concluded that the city's new-generation schools should be small, accessible on foot, and well integrated into the neighborhoods -- all necessary because of the recent and projected demographic shifts and the educational, social and economic demands of the 21st century.
In its sweeping master plan, reports Providence Journal writer Linda Borg, the DeJONG team advises the city to close five schools and spend at least $792 million for renovation and possible conversion of several others and for construction of 19, mostly elementary schools.
With the ''balance between renovation of older structures and construction of new buildings'' yet to be decided, the consultants wrote, elementary schools should have no more than 600 students, and middle and high schools at most 750 and 900, respectively.
Accordingly, they suggest, the city should break up a 1,200-student high school into three or build a 750-student school, also divided in smaller units.
Also, since the population structure and density near many schools have changed and many of their students live farther away, and since land for construction is scarce, the city could locate new -- small and easily accessible -- schools on its park sites and convert the old school property into parks.
These moves would restore the schools' role as key community life centers, while fully accommodating enrollment fluctuations and ensuring stable and uninterrupted student-teacher relations in all educational phases.
Next month, the writer adds, DeJONG consultants will hold another series of community meetings to explain details and various options in the master plan, which will eventually require approval by Providence Mayor David N. Cicilline and the School Board. -- Providence Journal 1/17/2007
Resource(s): www.projo.com/
Growth Smart Rhode Island Briefing Book Urges Candidates to Campaign for and Pursue Smart Growth Goals
''Dear Candidate,'' writes Grow Smart Rhode Island Executive Director Scott Wolf in his dedication of its Candidates' Briefing Book, entitled ''Strategies for Protecting Quality of Place and Expanding Economic Opportunity,'' the state has ''tremendous untapped potential'' and needs leaders who promote ''a visionary and practical agenda'' to capitalize on those assets instead of squandering them ''through haphazard, unplanned growth and policies that drain energy and capital from our urban and town centers.''
The briefing book addresses 11 specific smart growth issues in three categories: Broad State Policies, Specific Strategies for Urban and Town Center Revitalization, and Increasing State and Local Growth Management Capacity.
''The smart growth philosophy is grounded in the three E's - economic development, equity and environmental protection,'' the book authors stress, calling it worth fighting for. ''We in Rhode Island have very little margin for error - given our small size, the increased pace at which our charms are being discovered by the outside world, and the large extent to which our future economic development depends on protecting and leveraging our outstanding quality of place,'' they write, championing smart growth both as good politics and a good policy. ''At a time when voters are hungering for political leaders who can bring them together, rather than set them apart, the smart growth issue presents a unique opportunity to show leadership'' and bring diverse constituents under a ''big tent.''
Accordingly, the briefing book tells candidates to campaign for and, once elected, to pursue the 11 smart growth goals. It expects the winners to implement the state's Land-Use 2025 blueprint; promote smart economic development; end state over-reliance on the local property tax; expand affordable housing and neighborhood revitalization; establish a more balanced transportation system; improve water management; protect special places through aggressive land conservation; maintain the Historic Preservation Investment Tax Credit; promote private investment in brownfields; ensure continuation of municipal capacity-building training; and take state and regional actions to tackle growth challenges and achieve management efficiency.
The book also includes local examples of the best smart-growth practices, noting that local reforms can arguably ''do the most to advance smart growth, since so many land use decisions in our state are delegated to municipalities.'' The book can be downloaded from the group's web site, with hard copies available from Dorothy Dauray at (401) 273-5711 ext. 7. 10/10/2006
Resource(s): www.growsmartri.com/
South Kingstown Enacts Inclusionary Housing Regulations to Help Meet Rhode Island's Housing Affordability Goals
With coastal zone housing increasingly beyond the reach of workers and all Rhode Island towns obliged to provide 10 percent of units for their low to moderate income residents by 2025, the South Kingstown Town Council's newly enacted ''inclusionary housing'' regulations require developers of six or more lots to set aside 20 percent of units as affordable, in exchange for density bonuses to offset such units' cost.
Currently, reports Providence Journal writer Katie Mulvaney, South Kingstown classifies 5.2 percent of its housing as affordable and needs 456 low-cost units to meet the state's affordability goal. Other communities throughout the state, she notes, are considering similar inclusionary zoning proposals, seen by the industry ''as unfairly burdening new homebuyers and builders'' with the cost of solving the state's affordable housing crisis.
The new South Kingston subdivision regulations, updated by the Planning Board earlier this month, apply to all projects of at least six lots, including condominiums and housing for seniors, with their affordable units remaining in that category for at least 99 years. -- Providence Journal 9/28/2006
Resource(s): www.projo.com/
“Incredible” Pawtucket Mill Conversion Brings Mixed-Use Artist Village to City’s Main Street
Nearly completed by California-based Urban Smart Growth (USG) developers, conversion of a former 360,000-square-foot mill complex on Main Street in Pawtucket into Hope Artiste Village will offer moderately priced artist studios, apartments, offices, restaurants, small businesses, a bakery, a courtyard theater and a sculpture garden, with Mayor James E. Doyle saying it’s “nothing new for us to transform vacant buildings into productive workplaces,” but this project is “incredible.”
It will later incorporate a 225,000-square foot mill just over the city line, reports Pawtucket Times writer Douglas Hadden from its ribbon-cutting event, where USB principal Lance Robinson, credited his friend, Pawtucket-born attorney Jack Partridge for bringing the mill to his attention, and the mayor and planners Herb Weiss and Michael Cassidy for “absolutely exemplary” cooperation.
With a community open house scheduled for September 15, officials and local residents shared the excitement. The mill “has been empty for so long,” observed Councilor Mary Bray. “It’s bringing the neighborhood together.”
Longtime area resident Kay McGettrick was “really happy” about the mill’s reuse, praising developers for including a two-level police substation, with an officer gym. “It means (police) will be around this area. And you just like to see a city come alive,” she said. “It makes (residents) proud of their community.”
USB Official Ron Wierks told the writer the firm had just launched redevelopment of a vacant mill in North Providence into 150 condos, and will shortly present the Providence Zoning Board with a 156-unit conversion proposal for another city mill. All these Pawtucket and Providence projects, he said, will cost over $100 million and will depend on $27 million in state and $20 million in federal historic tax credits to be sold later at a discount in financial aftermarkets.
Mill redevelopment “is preservation,” he stressed, noting that his firm had heard developers were looking at the Pawtucket mill to raze it for “a big box (retail) complex, like a Home Depot (style).” Instead, added nearby resident and local USG marketer Corinne Wahlberg, the artist village complex will feature small retail spaces. “No franchises, no national chains,” she said. “Everything’s representing the local arts.”
-- Pawtucket Times 8/22/2006
Resource(s): www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?brd=1713
Shift of New Rhode Island Housing Projects from Single to Multifamily Tied to Economic, Policy and Demographic Factors
Higher land and construction costs, combined with demographic changes, renovation tax credits and affordable-housing efforts have shifted the Rhode Island residential market from single-family to multifamily housing in the past half-year, especially between April and June, with Rhode Island Builders Association Executive Director Roger Warren saying developers see multifamily projects as a more economically viable solution.
The number of single-family home permits dropped 9 percent, reports Providence Business News writer Justin Sayles, from 875 in the first six months of 2005 to 799 in the first six months of 2006, including a drop from 415 in the first quarter to 384 in the second. In the same half-year periods, the number of multifamily home permits more than doubled, from 194 to 414.
The multifamily market may become even hotter next year if state voters approve a $50 million bond issue for affordable housing. Director Warren expects much of the money would go for higher density projects, which would also be an “economic shot in the arm” for the industry in a case of further residential market slowdown.
The Rhode Island Association of Realtors reported earlier this month that in comparison to the second quarter of 2005, last quarter’s single-family home sales went down almost 10 percent, with the $285,000 median price unchanged, but homes staying on the market an average of 11 days longer.
So far, director Warren and Peregrine Group LLC principal Colin P. Kane, whose company builds multifamily housing, remain optimistic. The overheated single-family home market is now more balanced, said the latter, with the former adding, “I don’t think that you’re going to be seeing the decline that you are going to in other parts of the country. And when people see that, I think they will be coming back to the market here in Rhode Island.” -- Providence Business News 8/12/2006
Resource(s): www.pbn.com
Providence Draws Praise for Great Placemaking at CNU's Annual Conference
Its old buildings well-preserved or beautifully restored, core area revitalized and officials committed to further improvements, Providence amazed the 1,500 attendees at the four-day annual conference of the Congress for the New Urbanism (CNU), with CNU co-founder and key leader Andres Duany telling a seminar that's what the movement strives for, ''making places that are so great -- so much more diverse, lively, interesting and exciting -- that they put suburbia to shame.''
He restated that principle, sometimes missed by critics, at a plenary session. ''If there's one thing New Urbanism stands for, it's complexity,'' he stressed. ''We understand and appreciate the complexity that makes any place a vibrant place to live. That's what makes us strong.''
Although traditional-type planning for compact neighborhoods, walkable streets and mixed-use urban centers ''flies in the face of nearly 50 years of government policy, which has often encouraged suburban development at the expense of cities and towns,'' notes Providence Journal arts writer Bill Van Siclen, Andres Duany also pointed out that New Urbanism had reached ''the tipping point'' in terms of public support and political and financial clout, mentioning the movement's leading role in post-hurricane Gulf Coast reconstruction.
Another top speaker, the writer adds, Washington-based Urban Land Institute (ULI) Chairman Marilyn Jordan Taylor, who also chairs the American Institute of Architects' regional and urban designs committee and who focuses ULI on urban sustainability, infrastructure and smart growth, urged New Urbanism advocates and all other planners to deal with ramifications of global population growth. -- Providence Journal 6/4/2006
Resource(s): www.projo.com/
Rhode Island Growth Summit Seeks to Inspire Public Action on Land Use: 2025 Plan
Even though Rhode Island already hoped to preempt sprawl through the 1975 and 1989 state plans, its recent land consumption rates were nine times faster than population growth, the average lot size increased to 2.5 acres, highway jams became common and small towns had to address multimillion-dollar school expansion needs, with Smart Growth Leadership Institute president, former Maryland Democratic Governor Parris N. Glendening, telling some 500 officials and activists at the Power of Place summit that to make the new ''Land Use: 2025'' plan successful they must change state zoning rules and property tax structure, ensure cooperation among all agencies, and involve the public in the fight against congestion and related health risks.
''You really need a sense of urgency for the public to understand all this. That's when elected officials will start responding,'' he said. ''It's got to be more than just a plan. Ninety-nine percent of all development plans are feel-good wish lists not backed up by tough political decisions.''
Sponsored by Grow Smart Rhode Island, reports Providence Journal environmental writer Peter B. Lord, the summit specifically sought to launch an educational process and inspire public action on the ''Land Use: 2025'' plan, approved by the State Planning Council last month.
''Previous state land-use plans languished in part because they were not well understood,'' observed Grow Smart Executive Director Scott Wolf, adding that ever higher energy costs and obesity rates make compact and more sustainable development ''the only answer.''
Hopeful for the prospects, Grow Smart Chairman Michael Ryan pointed to the state's strong historic-preservation program, a new building rehabilitation code, more than 1,300 local officials with Smart Growth training and the crowded summit itself as harbingers of change.
''This vision calls for Rhode Island to remain a unique and special place,'' he noted, stressing, ''We need the 500 people here to make it work.''
Under the plan, the state will center development in urban areas and curb it elsewhere, to limit its total new footprint to 51,000 acres until 2025. It also will offer special planning and regulatory assistance to places under heavy developer pressure, such as waterfronts and highway interchange zones, while encouraging mixed uses now banned in most areas.
To advance the process, former longtime Conservation Law Foundation chief and most recently Massachusetts Office of Commonwealth development Secretary Douglas Foy, who resigned in March, said Rhode Island should follow his ''silo busting'' approach -- getting agencies to look beyond their turf to what is best for the common good. -- Providence Journal 5/13/2006
Resource(s): www.projo.com/news/
Planned Cranston School Closure Could Mark End of City's Successful Neighborhood School Network
Targeted by administrators for closure this June, but strongly defended by School Committee members Paul Archetto and Steve Stycos, parents and others, the small Horton Elementary School in Cranston, some three miles south of Providence, could still be saved, with former Committee Chairwoman Jacqueline White warning that the closure would be the ''beginning of the end'' for the successful neighborhood school network, and the committee delaying its formal decision, hopeful the City Council and Republican Mayor Steve Laffey might help find funds to keep it open.
Horton enrollment dropped to 135 students, including two citywide special-education classes, reports Providence Journal writer Barbara Polichetti, and administrators expect the closure to save from $500,000 to $740,000 in the proposed $129.7 million FY 2007 school budget, an estimate questioned by Paul Archetto and Steve Stycos, who think letting the school function would cost about $300,000.
''It's a last desperate attempt to save the school,'' said the former, while resident Susan Adler chastised the budget cutters, asking, ''This may be dollars and cents, but where's the sense?''
During an earlier hearing, Steve Stycos pressed the same point. ''I think that neighborhood schools are really important and these small schools really work,'' he stressed. ''When we get blue-ribbon awards or a school is rated as high-performing, it is almost always the smaller schools.'' -- Providence Journal
3/21/2006
Resource(s): www.projo.com/
Harsh Assessments of Massive Big-Box Development Aired at North Smithfield Planning Board Hearing
The state's largest currently proposed retail project, the so-called Dowling Village with big boxes on some 165 acres along Eddie Dowling Highway -- 80 percent of them in North Smithfield, the rest in Woonsocket -- ''is being sold to you as something that will increase your tax base, when it won't,'' testified Massachusetts-based national growth-management consultant Al Norman at a North Smithfield Planning Board hearing, warning listeners that the Bucci Development firm's plan ''could mean an annual loss of $84 million to existing businesses.''
Calling the project ''dangerous and risky for the town'' and certain to ''displace economic activity elsewhere in the trade area,'' with the impact statement saying ''nothing about the number of jobs that would be destroyed,'' the consultant also noted its misleading name since a ''village is a mixed use development that includes some housing and a retail area of much smaller scale.''
Others, reports Woonsocket Call writer John Larrabee, echoed his warnings. Blackstone River Watershed Council representative Sandra Belliveau pointed out that the proposed parking for 4,500 cars would mean more than 60 acres of impervious surface, with storm run-off hurting the river.
Grow Smart Rhode Island Director Scott Wolf expressed concern both over the short-term and long-term consequences ''of the conventional and heavily auto-dependent brand of big-box development'' for the state's urban centers. And to Planning Board Chairman Lucien Benoit's remark that ''we're an auto-dependent society,'' he replied: ''Given our current high gas prices, perhaps it's time we consider becoming less so.'' -- Call 10/7/2005
Resource(s): www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?brd=1712
State Education Department Adds ''Renovation Before Construction'' Policy to Rhode Island School Construction Aid Guidelines
Long advocated by the broad-based Grow Smart Rhode Island public interest group and formally adopted by the Rhode Island Department of Education (RIDE) in 2002, smart-growth principles of school renovation before construction, whenever possible in pedestrian-friendly neighborhoods, have finally been incorporated into RIDE's updated and now web-posted School Construction Aid Guidelines, with Growth Smart Rhode Island Executive Director Scott Wolf commending officials ''for promoting fiscally prudent school development guidelines that will enhance children's educational experience, revitalize communities and conserve scarce municipal and state resources.''
This step, says his group in a press release, ''will go a long way toward raising awareness that preserving Rhode Island's distinct sense of place is very much linked with our schools remaining vital centers of community.''
The updated guidelines eliminate minimum school acreage requirements, under which some municipalities may have passed over possible ''urban or town center'' school locations in favor of sprawling, car-dependent sites on their undeveloped edges.
For exhaustive treatment of the subject, the group's web site offers readers a link to the recent Schools for Successful Communities: An Element of Smart Growth guidebook, written by experts from the Council for Educational Facility Planners International (CEFPI) and the EPA's Development, Community and Environment Division (DCED).
9/1/2005
Resource(s): www.growsmartri.com
Aquidneck Island Planning Commission Looks Forward to Technical Assistance from EPA's Smart Growth Program
''Smart Growth means development that serves not only the economy but also the community and our environment,'' said EPA's New England Regional Administrator Robert Varney, commenting on the EPA Smart Growth Program's technical assistance grant to the Aquidneck Island Planning Commission (AIPC) for implementation of its West Side Master Plan by the three island municipalities -- Newport, Middletown and Portsmouth.
Drawn up by an AIPC task force created in 1996, reports Bristol Phoenix writer Jason Turcotte, the West Side Master Plan aims to boost the economy, guide waterfront development and enhance quality of life through frugal use of land, much of it owned by the federal government.
One of the five grant recipients selected by EPA from among 56 applicants nationwide, AIPC will receive assistance from a private team of specialists, including experts from the Fairfax, Virginia-based ICF Consulting firm, with regional offices also in Lexington, Massachusetts.
''They will be people with experience in zoning and planning,'' said AIPC Executive Director Tina Dolen. ''It'll be a great opportunity.''
Listing the ten EPA Smart Growth principles, the writer notes that AIPC was also invited to the next EPA's New Partners for Smart Growth Conference, January 2006 in Denver. -- Phoenix
7/29/2005
Resource(s): www.eastbayri.com/
North Smithfield Takes Fresh Look at Downtown Site for New Middle School
Although North Smithfield, just west of Woonsocket, owns 16 acres adjacent both to Pacheco Park off Main Street and to a condo complex under construction, town officials have dismissed the site for a new middle school as too small and right only for recreational use, but voters narrowly defeated a $30 million school construction-land acquisition bond in April and now School Facilities Planning Task Force co-chairman David Chamberland says, ''Pacheco Park looks pretty good.''
Industry consultants, reports Woonsocket Call writer Michael Holtzman, told the task force that a prospective middle-school site with existing water and sewer links must have at least 20 acres, an assertion challenged by former Planning Board member John Flaherty, currently with Growth Smart Rhode Island.
The task force's co-chairman shares that view, noting that the denser village location allows for a smaller site, especially since the town owns Pacheco Park's ball fields and can make them available to the new school's 550 prospective students.
Still, using the site for a new middle school won't save the town money, because losing one year due to the bond defeat means higher construction costs, and about half of the $2.3 million projected for land acquisition will be spent on access to Main Street and road and sidewalk improvements. -- Call
7/11/2005
Resource(s): www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?brd=1712
Grow Smart Rhode Island Praises Gov. Carcieri's Decision to Seek Alternate Location for New State Police Headquarters
It's a ''classic case of state subsidized sprawl,'' said Grow Smart Rhode Island Executive Director Scott Wolf as its Board of Directors voted to oppose siting of a new State Police headquarters on ''a remote parcel of land designated for open space'' within the grounds of the Big River Reservoir in West Greenwich, with Republican Governor Don Carcieri withdrawing the plan five days later and promising to find another alternative.
Opposing the headquarters plan, Grow Smart Rhode Island officials stressed the need for state agencies to focus new development in existing and ''designated, well-planned new centers of development,'' to use public monies ''to foster redevelopment in areas of existing infrastructure,'' and to preserve ''farmlands, forests and open space.''
After the governor withdrew the plan, they praised his responsiveness, with Board of Director Chairman Michael F. Ryan hoping for a smart site selection in established urban centers. 6/28/2005
Resource(s): www.growsmartri.com ; www.projo.com
With an Eye on Dallas, Providence Editorial Laments Rhode Island's Lack of a Regional Transit System
''When it comes to public transportation, the Northeast may think it has nothing to learn from the sprawling West, but it does,'' points out a Providence Journal editorial, wishing that Rhode Island -- similar in size and traffic to the Dallas-Fort Worth metro area -- had the equivalent of the Dallas Area Rapid Transit (DART) system, whose 45-mile light-rail lines between downtown Dallas and Garland and Plano protect ''the region's economy from the stultifying effects of congestion.''
The Dallas metro area's leaders and voters decided early and repeatedly to save themselves from ''the clutches of traffic gridlock,'' first by creating DART with a 58 percent vote for a one- cent sales tax for regional bus and rail service in 1983, and then by 77 percent approval of long-term financing for light-rail expansion in 2000.
''They did so under attack from highway-building interests and small-government anti-transit forces,'' and their reward is ''a gleaming light-rail system of quiet street-level trains with growing passenger counts.''
Light rail attracts development near stations, and in the affluent suburb of Plano ''lofts above street-level stores are now a hot real estate item,'' while the Trinity Rail Express trains conveniently shuttle people along the 34-mile Dallas-Fort Worth commuter line.
''So now people in Dallas can take a train to the Fort Worth honky-tonks, have a couple of beers, and safely go home,'' the editorial says, adding wistfully, ''If only Providence residents wanting a night in Newport (some 18 miles south) could do the same! And vice versa.'' -- Providence Journal
2/22/2005
Resource(s): www.projo.com/
Providence Mayor Wants Zoning Rewrite to Be ''Blueprint for Sustainable and Smart Growth''
Although Providence's zoning ordinance was repeatedly revised in the 1990s, it still reflects the 1950s' rigidity and is too restrictive for the city's modern land-use, density and historic preservation needs; that's why the Department of Planning and Development has been working on its thorough rewrite, announced Mayor David N. Cicilline at a news conference, asking the newly appointed 16-member Zoning Commission to present the City Council with ''a blueprint for sustainable and smart growth'' by February.
''We spent a lot of the '90s down-zoning and de-densifying the city,'' through requirements such as more land for each housing unit, said planning and development director Thomas E. Deller, pointing out that enormous growth pressures demand new zoning direction, with an ordinance than ensures a ''more public and open development process.''
He revealed that seven developers have proposed residential high-rises in restricted-height zones; one recently allowed by the Zoning Board of review divided the neighborhood's officials and residents.
According to city officials, reports Providence Journal writer Gregory Smith, the new ordinance should provide for developer tradeoffs that would allow some bigger and taller buildings if they included an underground garage rather than a huge parking lot or followed other smart growth principles.
Officials also want to streamline the ordinance and make it clear for developers and residents, stop the profusion of overlay districts that add local development restrictions, ensure its compatibility with state laws, play down the Zoning Board's role, and reduce the number of ordinance's maps from more than 170 to 25, one for each neighborhood. -- Providence Journal
10/29/2004
Resource(s): www.projo.com/
Nonprofit Breaks Ground at Historic Stillwater Mill; Project Combines Affordable Senior Housing with Mixed-Use Services, Retail
Under Harrisville's 2002 master plan to turn the century-old and mostly vacant 12-acre Stillwater Mill into a mix of varied-price housing, shops, businesses and a public library, the nonprofit Community Builders launched its first phase by breaking ground for 53 senior housing units, with Grow Smart Rhode Island executive director Scott Wolf hailing the massive redevelopment project as ''the essence of smart growth.''
In a show of bipartisan support at the ceremony, Republican Governor Donald Carcieri said, ''This project is terrific because of the affordable housing aspects and the opportunity it allows to preserve a historic property,'' and U.S. Democratic Senator Jack Reed calling the project ''special, because it allows low-income seniors to live safely and comfortably in housing that also provides supportive services.''
Aided by almost $9 million from the federal Department of Housing and Community Development (HUD) for the senior housing and other components so far, reports Call writer Joseph Fitzgerald, the project and its design, including street-level retail and the library, awaits voter approval this November.
Stressing the Community Builders agency's 38-year expertise in affordable housing and the ability to raise $1 billion for its funding from varied sources during that time, the writer quotes project manager David Block, who said the mill redevelopment will be ''a visible symbol of the continuing renewal of mill communities along the Blackstone River corridor, and will serve as the catalyst for additional investments in the mill complex and its surroundings.'' -- The Call 9/21/2004
Resource(s): www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?brd=1712
Smart Growth Yellow Pages Debuts in Rhode Island
Rooted in a spring 1997 conference of public, nonprofit and private leaders and activists determined to manage growth and fight sprawl, Grow Smart Rhode Island has recently expanded its multi-layered educational and organizational campaign with the Grow Smart website's Smart Growth Yellow Pages -- ''a fully automated on-line resource directory to help you better connect with others collaborating on smart growth related business and community development opportunities.''
Set up with help from former Governor J. Joseph Garrahy (1977-1986) and overseen by research and communication director John Flaherty, the Smart Growth Yellow Pages feature 39 categories, listed alphabetically from Agriculture and Architects to Regulatory Agencies and Urban Revitalization.
The proceeds from a one-year multiple-category listing cost of $175 per client ''will support Grow Smart's continued policy reform, capacity funding efforts and information clearinghouse.''
The ever-larger Providence-based Grow Smart Rhode Island coalition works to revitalize cities, towns and village centers, preserve cultural and natural resources, and expand economic opportunity for all residents.
9/13/2004
Resource(s): www.growsmartri.com/about.html
Last-Minute Mayoral Lobbying Rescues Rhode Island's Historic Tax Credit Program
Rhode Island's Commercial Historic Tax Credit Program has become so popular among developers that some state lawmakers thought a one-year moratorium would slow its drain on the budget, but last-minute lobbying by Pawtucket Mayor James E. Doyle and Woonsocket Mayor Susan Menard saved it from suspension, with Senate President Joseph Montalbano declaring the program ''promotes the kind of smart growth that brings rebirth to urban centers and prevents urban sprawl.''
Crediting both mayors for their persuasiveness, House Speaker William Murphy confirmed that ''a one-year moratorium would have been detrimental to proposals already under discussion,'' which lawmakers ''did not want to jeopardize.''
The program, reports Pawtucket Times writer Jim Baron, offers developers tax credits for 30 percent of historic property restoration costs. In both cities, according to their state Representatives Peter Kilmartin and Todd Brien, the proposed moratorium would have undercut several residential, commercial and mixed-use downtown projects. ''In Pawtucket, said Representative Kilmartin, ''if we don't maintain the historic tax credits, the redevelopment of downtown won't continue at the pace it has started to move at.'' -- Pawtucket Times
6/18/2004
Resource(s): www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?brd=1713
Providence Mayor Asks for Commission to Study Transportation as a Stimulus for Smart Growth, Economic Development
Concerned about worsened metropolitan congestion and business requests for more downtown garages, Providence Mayor David N. Cicilline wants the state General Assembly to pass legislation creating a legislative study commission that would focus on transportation as a means to stimulate ''smart growth'' and economic development in the eight-city metro area.
According to city administration director John C. Simmons, reports Providence Journal writer Gregory Smith, key study issues would include rail and bus service, transportation among universities and other large city employers, and the relocation of Route 195.
The 17-member commission -- its report due by next February -- would include three legislators from each state chamber, six municipal representatives and the directors of the state Department of Transportation, the Economic Development Corporation, the Public Transit Authority, the Airport Corporation, and Grow Smart Rhode Island. -- Providence Journal
5/5/2004
Resource(s): www.projo.com/
Web-Based Smart Growth Tools Designed to Help Rhode Islanders Make Informed Decisions for Their Communities
''As Rhode Islanders have observed a proliferation of underutilized buildings in our city and town centers and loss of farmland in our rural areas, we've seen increased concern over the loss of community character, access to jobs, traffic congestion, escalating property taxes and other negative effects of sprawl,'' said Grow Smart Rhode Island executive director Scott Wolf, launching an outreach and educational campaign, under which his statewide coalition is offering a new web-based Smart Growth e-Briefs and Smart Growth Toolbox, to help the public fight sprawl and protect the state's quality of life.
The e-Briefs, reports The Narragansett Times, provide monthly updates of smart growth news, events, ideas and trends, along with links to web sites exploring particular issues in depth; the toolbox includes an introduction to smart growth, an overview of key issues, planning and implementation tools, model ordinances, case studies, public involvement strategies, and reference to related sources.
''It's always been our contention that when given a clear choice, most people will chose smart growth over sprawl,'' director Wolf said. ''Now we have the tools in place to help a broader audience of visionary people make sound choices for their communities.'' See www.growsmartri.com -- The Narragansett Times
1/28/2004
Resource(s): www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?brd=1714
Report Outlines Steps for Improving Land Use Strategies in New England
''Sprawl is neither the ordained nor the inevitable outcome upon the
New England landscape,'' but the necessary public-private steps to
''improve land use patterns and reduce the cost of local government''
must begin with legislation to eliminate gaps between land use laws of
the region's six states and with incentives for municipal cooperation,
asserts the New England Environmental Finance Center at the University
of Southern Maine's Edmund S. Muskie School of Public Service in its
just-posted online ''Model State Land Use Legislation for New England.''
The 97-page study proposes the creation of municipal service districts,
an outcome-based comprehensive planning law and omnibus model
state-level land use control legislation. It points out that in the face of
growing sprawl costs, ''it is incumbent upon all levels of government to
respond in a comprehensive, forceful, and effective manner.''
Specifically, the states and municipalities should acknowledge that they
share land use authority; that the state can and will assert its authority
to fulfill its financial, social, environmental and other responsibilities
when they are jeopardized; that primary land use decision-making
authority can and should reside at the local level, with state review
warranted if state interests and responsibilities are at stake; and that
''when the state asserts authority over municipalities, it must be done
equally and fairly across the state.'' To help the six states ''enact all or
a portion'' of the proposed legal framework, the study organizes the
material in three increasingly specific parts, entitled ''A mechanism to
create a form of regional governance tailored to New England,'' ''A
far-reaching set of amendments to the state-level, comprehensive
land-use planning statutes of Maine, Rhode Island, and Vermont''
(since Connecticut, Massachusetts and New Hampshire lack such
statutes), and ''A set of 10 individual provisions which, taken together,
represent omnibus land use legislation.'' The study also defines or
clarifies definitions of impact fee; implementation program;
moratorium; rate of growth, or ''cap'' ordinance; capital budgeting;
cluster development; floating or unmapped zoning; high density
development; infill development; locally unwanted land use (LULU); Not
in My Back Yard (NIMBY); overlay zoning; planned unit (mixed use)
development; and transfer of development rights. 7/18/2003
Resource(s): http://efc.muskie.usm.maine.edu/pubs.htm
Hoping for Orderly Development, Dexter Employs Slow-Growth Policies
Under Dexter's new growth-control rules taking effect in January,
the town will limit residential building permits to a number
dictated by its school capacity -- allowing 22 new homes next year
-- and will later impose developer impact fees to fund schools,
roads and other public services. Considering ''the endless
subdivisions for new homes'' a threat to the town's rural quality of
life, Councilman Wayne E. Cross emphasizes, ''We're not saying that
people can't develop their property, we're just saying that they
might have to wait,'' which will make growth ''much more orderly.'' In
another growth-management phase, he adds, the council may also
freeze senior citizen taxes to encourage them to stay in town,
since they don't use ''as many services as families with young
children in the school system do.'' According to Providence
Journal writer Erin Emlock, the state Supreme Court has
recently upheld a similar 1996 South Kingstown home-to-school-ratio
ordinance, challenged by developers as violating their
constitutional rights. 12/18/2001
Resource(s): www.projo.com/
The National Governors Association concluded its 93rd ...
The National Governors Association concluded its 93rd annual meeting in Providence by adopting a Comprehensive National Energy Policy position paper, which notes that the nation's "dependence on foreign sources is at an all-time high" and urges a federally-led approach to energy issues, "while still recognizing state and local authority over environmental and energy matters." Anticipating both continual energy demand increases and energy efficiency improvements, the paper asserts that "even with more conservation, innovation, and new technology, the United States will need more energy supplies." The paper sees energy conservation and efficiency as "a first, low-cost, environmentally safe option" in response to the nation's energy needs; calls for "a diverse and flexible portfolio of fuel sources, including increased domestic production from renewable, alternative, and conventional sources;" and suggests reaching the necessary fuel consumption cuts in the transportation sector through such solutions as "greater fuel efficiency," the production of "advanced technology vehicles," federal tax incentives for buyers of fuel-efficient "hybrid and fuel-cell vehicles," and improvements of "mass transit systems." 8/16/2001
Resource(s): www.nga.org
The challenges of how to reinvigorate our ...
The challenges of how to reinvigorate our older cities and -- at the same time -- encourage new growth are not issues peculiar to Rhode Island or Maryland or to any single state, but -- in differing degrees -- common to almost all our states, the departing chairman of the National Governors Association, Maryland Governor Parris N. Glendening told his colleagues at their opening plenary session, noting that they chose Providence for their 93rd annual meeting in recognition of "the great work that has been done over the past decade to revitalize the city." During the session, its keynote speaker, the chairman of the League of Conservation Voters, Theodore Roosevelt IV -- the great grandson of President Theodore Roosevelt -- together with Iowa Democratic Governor Thomas Vilsack, who chairs the Committee on Natural Resources, released the association's report, "Private Land, Public Benefits: Principles for Advancing Working Land Conservation." Governor Vilsack said states have a unique opportunity to lead "in forming a state and federal partnership" to create "a simple, flexible program to help our farmers, forest landowners, and ranchers" in securing such common benefits "as cleaner water, cleaner air and enhanced recreation." According to an NGA press release, farmers, ranchers and forest landowners "manage about 70 percent or 1.4 billion acres of the country's landscape (excluding Alaska)." A strong conservation program for these working lands "would help combat urban sprawl, protect wildlife habitat, and help reduce air and water pollution." 8/16/2001
Resource(s): www.nga.org
Replacing Maryland Democratic Governor Parris N. Glendening ...
Replacing Maryland Democratic Governor Parris N. Glendening as the chairman of the National Governors Association at the 93rd annual meeting in Providence, Michigan Republican Governor John Engler pledged to strengthen the NGA's unified voice in Washington, with special efforts to ensure congressional reauthorization of welfare reform and to help states "compete and thrive in the global economy" through their specific "clusters of innovation." Congress, said Governor Engler, "must reauthorize the landmark welfare reforms of 1996 and tackle the tough issue of Medicaid reform. Governors must fight for reforms that give states maximum flexibility and the ability to innovate and tailor programs to meet their local needs." He defined state "clusters of innovation" as "regions where industry, higher education and government bring together skilled workers, state-of-the-art infrastructure, venture capital and intellectual capital." The association's new vice chairman, Kentucky Democratic Governor Paul Patton, said he looks forward "to working with Governor Engler and continuing the tradition of strong bipartisan partnerships that are unique to this organization and make the governors a formidable presence in Washington." Commenting on this annual change at the NGA's two top posts, Greenwire writer April Reese quotes Governor Engler's spokesman Matt Rausch, who predicts that the sprawl issue, central under Governor Glendening's year-long chairmanship, will be "downgraded" on its current list of priorities. But Governor Glendening, the writer notes, takes his turn at the top post on the Council of State Governments, "where he is expected to continue efforts to promote smart growth' to other states." 08.08.2001 8/16/2001
Resource(s): www.nga.org
In a 5-4 ruling in the ...
In a 5-4 ruling in the case of a Rhode Island landowner who sought $3.4 million in state compensation for a property value loss caused by wetlands regulations, the Supreme Court said the state can neither put "an expiration date" on such claims nor delay them with an unripe-for-review designation, but agreed that the petitioner "failed to establish a deprivation of all economic use" of his land and sent him back to state courts to determine the dollar value of the loss. Asserting the majority's view that the petitioner's "acquisition of title after the regulations' effective date did not bar his takings claims," Justice Anthony M. Kennedy wrote: "Future generations, too, have a right to challenge unreasonable limitations on the use and value of land." And once the state denied the petitioner a "compelling public purpose" exception for his development project, it "may not burden property by imposition of repetitive or unfair land use procedures in order to avoid a final decision." Justice John Paul Stevens concurred with part of the reasoning on Fifth Amendment property issues, but dissented on another part, saying it "oversimplified a complex calculus." A separate dissent, written by Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg and signed by Justices David H. Souter and Stephen G. Breyer, said the plaintiff had neither claimed nor demonstrated that the case was "ripe" for review. The plaintiff, 81-year old Anthony Palazzolo, who first envisaged the 18-acre marsh fill and development in 1959, is elated. He pointed out that the Supreme Court ruled against the state on two of three issues. His attorney, Jim Burling of Pacific Legal Foundation of Sacramento, saw the ruling as a message to state and federal regulators "that, no matter how well-intentioned their environmental goals, they cannot simply put a freeze on the use of private property without giving the owner a fair price for it." The National Association of Home Builders' president, Bruce Smith, issued a statement that the real story "is not whether a property owner won or lost, but simply that the highest court in the land said the property rights and taking claims of private landowners can and must be heard in courtrooms across America, and in a timely manner." But the other side also is upbeat. Noting that the case is coming back to Rhode Island, its Attorney General Sheldon Whitemore said, "We're in very strong shape after this decision." And Kendra Beaver of the local Save the Bay environmental group stressed that "Winnipaug Pond will be protected and 18 acres of land will not be filled." 7/6/2001
Resource(s): www.washingtonpost.com
We want our state to grow smart ...
"We want our state to grow smart," declared Governor Lincoln Almond (R) in his State of the State speech, announcing an executive order to establish a Growth Council, which will "ensure that our economic development enhances our environment." The council "will work hand-in-hand with cities and towns, the private sector and environmental organizations to provide guidance to local communities on land use issues." The governor pledged to build upon the economic and environmental momentum of the past five years and emphasized that "to attract the workers of tomorrow," the state must maintain its high quality of life. Saying that one way to ensure it "is to invest in the arts," he proposed to "nearly double the funding for the Arts Council," whose grants will benefit Trinity Repertory Company, the Newport Art Museum, the Rhode Island Philharmonic, the Providence Black Repertory Theater and other arts groups. A strong transportation system, he continued, also "goes miles" in boosting the state's image and economy. Hard at work to improve infrastructure without increasing debt, the state is maintaining its highways, paving roads, repairing bridges, planning a train station at T.F. Green International Airport and pursuing similar projects. And when the I-195 project is completed, the governor said, "we'll have a safer route to travel and more open land for development." But noting that for many residents one of the top reasons for living in Rhode Island is its natural heritage -- parks, beaches and open space, the governor asked lawmakers to "safeguard" those assets. He urged them to enact the $50 million bond issue he has proposed to preserve 35,000 acres within this decade. Applauding the Nature Conservancy for already doing its part by raising $45 million to preserve Rhode Island's open space, the governor told lawmakers, "Just think what our combined efforts will mean for our future." He also asked them to make clean water a state priority, by protecting watersheds and the Narragansett Bay. Proposing a bay bond that will help the Narragansett Bay Commission to address "combined sewer overflow problems" and cities, towns and homeowners to protect "their local water quality," the governor concluded: "When you couple this bond with our open space referendum, we're giving Rhode Islanders a tremendous opportunity to preserve the heritage of our state." 02.03.2001 2/14/2001
Resource(s): www.nga.org/governors
The state's capitol, Providence, is well worth ...
The state's capitol, Providence, is well worth watching, says U. S. News & World Report writer Frank McCoy, signaling its decade-long, $2-billion transformation from a backwater to a riverside draw. Under the leadership of Mayor Vincent Buddy Cianci Jr., the city, like Boston, Denver and Keokuk, Iowa, has made preservation of historic, cultural, and environmental resources an organizing ethic and its base of commerce. Its leaders have also concluded that the usual urban fixes - new malls, convention centers, stadiums - aren't cure-alls. Their newly proposed 538-acre mixed-use project, with offices, hotels, apartments, marinas and parks, may take 20 years and a billion public dollars, but promises to create 30,000 jobs and increase area-generated taxes from $6 million to $106 million a year. 7/11/2000
Declaring in that Rhode Islanders want the ...
Declaring in that Rhode Islanders want the state "to grow smart," Governor Lincoln C. Almond announced his imminent Executive Order creating a Growth Council "to ensure that our economic development enhances our environment." This council, said the governor in is State of the State speech, "will work hand-in-hand" with municipalities, the private sector and environmental organizations to guide local communities on land use issues. To ensure that residents will always have what they value so much -- parks, beaches and open space -- the governor urged the enactment of the $50 million bond issue he has proposed for preservation of 35,000 acres this decade. The governor pointed out that the Nature Conservancy is already doing its part by rising $45 million to preserve New Hampshire open space. He asked the audience to applaud the group and its representative Doug Parker, and he placed great hopes in "our combined efforts" for the future. The governor also called for making clean water a priority. Thus, he proposed a bay bond to help the Narragansett Bay Commission fight sewer overflows problems and fund the Department of Environmental Management' s program to help municipalities and homeowners protect local water quality. "When you couple this bond with our open space referendum," said the Governor, "we're giving Rhode Islanders a tremendous opportunity to preserve the heritage of our state." 2/15/2000
Grow Smart Rhode Island was formed to ...
Grow Smart Rhode Island was formed to ensure "that Rhode Island develops in a way that will promote economic vitality while protecting the environment and preserving community character," said James H. Dodge, chairman, president and chief executive officer of Providence Energy Corp. This project's goals are to minimize unplanned, low density, single use development in rural parts of Rhode Island and stop the declining vitality of the urban centers. The group includes members of the business, environmental, academic and nonprofit communities. It will study the economic, environmental and social impacts of development trends in the state, set up statewide planning meetings, and advocate for policy changes. 3/1/1998
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