Council Considers Several Proposed Ordinances at Meeting Tonight

While the new Town Council won't be sworn in until at least November 22, the current Council still has some business to attend to. At its meeting on Monday night, the Council will hear four different proposed ordinances.

One relates to signs in town, one to floods, another speaks to parks and the final and newest proposed ordinance the Council will consider at its meeting Monday night at 7 p.m. in Town is about non-profit education institutions.

"It would give the Council some say over whether non-profit education institutions come to town," said Town Manager Bill Sequino. A copy of the proposed ordinance was not included with the packet the made available to the public prior to the Council meeting.

The Council and Planning Board have been working on an ordinance that would limit non-profit educational institutions ability to locate in East Greenwich because such entities – like New England Tech and Happy Hearts, for example – don't have to pay property taxes.  

When New England Tech bought the Brooks Building on Division Street, it took some $670,000 off the tax rolls. NEIT agreed to pay $450,000 per year for the next 20-years in lieu of taxes.

"The Council doesn't necessarily want to lose the tax base to non-profit education institutions," Sequino said.

The sign ordinance amendment would limit the size of signs downtown and in the waterfront area to 100-square-feet and 140-square-feet on the Route 2 corridor. Businesses in shopping plazas with more than 100,000-square-feet of space could not have signs exceeding 30-percent of the size of its store-front façade, if the ordinance change passes.

The amendment to the town parks ordinance would make it at least a $100 fine to be in municipal park between dusk and dawn, and was introduced because residents were reporting disturbances at Fairfield Park in the middle of the night.

The flood ordinance "is required as part of the FEMA National Flood Insurance Program new map adoption and is needed for residents of the Town to qualify for any flood related reimbursements  by FEMA," according to a memo to the Council authored by Town Building Inspector Wayne Pimental.

The Council meets at 7 p.m. in the Council Chambers at Town Hall tonight. Assuming the election results are certified on time, this will be the last meeting for Councilors Mark Schwager and Richard Buonauito.