|
Fellow Residents of Charlestown,
Monday's Town Council meeting began, but could not complete,
an important Public Hearing on proposed major changes to regulations on
housing lots: Public Hearing and Potential Action Concerning Ordinance
#397, Amending Chapter 218-52 Residential Conservation Development.
The hearing will be continued on Thursday, July 14, starting
at 7 pm at Town Hall and it's important that residents attend and
understand these changes.
We wrote about Monday's meeting here. The Westerly Sun reported on it here. As reported in the Sun:
The
contentious public hearing drew upward of 100 residents as Town Hall
approached capacity at the start of the meeting, and led to a nearly
2.5-hour discussion regarding the impact of the ordinance, which was
developed over the past two years following extensive work and multiple
hearings by members of the town's Planning Board.
The
hearing was continued until Thursday evening, with members of the council
set to resume discussion during a special meeting scheduled for 7 p.m. The
meeting will be open to the public and include an ongoing comment period
during which residents can speak.
Prior to Monday's meeting, local attorney Maggie Hogan wrote
about it here. Ms. Hogan explains that this proposed ordinance is a
major infringement on property rights.
The major objection with the new regulations is how vague
they are and how much is left to the discretion of the elected Planning
Commission on a case-by-case basis. As reported in the Sun:
"This
as written is very vague. it leaves a lot of gray areas and it remains
opaque, leaving projects at the mercy of the planning board and elected
officials," [Tim] Stasiunas said. "(The Planning Commission)
lacks credibility in decisions, and that is a heavy burden for residents to
have to rely on an elected official to simply treat them honestly and fairly."
Please consider attending Thursday's meeting if you can.
|
