Council Delays Zoning District Changes

If changes to the town’s zoning districts come to fruition, it won’t be until next year. The North Kingstown Town Council chose to delay a decision on revisions to one of the town’s existing zoning districts as it awaits the .

The zoning district in question — a Compact Village District (CVD) — gained the discussed a proposed village center development at Rolling Greens Golf Course. The . The application, presented in December 2010, for the Preserve at Rolling Greens, would bring 92 living units and more than 35,000 square feet of commercial space to Ten Rod Road. As the area is not zoned for commercial-level development, it would require changes to the town’s comprehensive plan and zoning ordinances.

Discussion then turned to revising the existing CVD zone to make it applicable and practical for village centers throughout town — such as Allenton, Hamilton, Lafayette and others — not just at Rolling Greens.

At Monday’s council meeting, residents said that extricating the fate of the CVD zone from Rolling Greens is impossible.

“We’re kidding ourselves not to believe this has something to do with Rolling Greens,” said Jeff Zucchi of Rollingwood Drive. “This has nothing to do with Hamilton or Allenton. This has to do with an application on the books with Rolling Greens.”

During public comment, residents highlighted the proposed village center’s location outside the urban service boundary, groundwater protection, sewage and the need for revitalization in already existing village centers (including the Post Road district) to support their opposition of the project.

“As much as we have stated this, our message has not been heard — at least not by the planning commission,” said .

Residents have also accused the Planning Commission of catering the zone changes to the Rolling Greens application. William Landry, attorney for the project, had initially proposed changes to the existing CVD zone to the commission over the summer but told the council during public comment that his version of the edits was not the same as what the council was considering that evening.

“If you compare what I drafted to what the planning department and planning board did, it would be night and day,” said Landry.

The new CVD changes would allow mixed-use, village-like centers in areas as small as two acres in existing village centers, a figure that drew concern from some residents.

“I own seven acres and I couldn’t possibly imagine a CVD on seven acres, let alone two,” said Zucchi.

For properties of 10 acres (the minimum amount of land needed to create a new CVD) or more, a developer could construct a building as large as 15,000 square feet with transfer development rights. According to North Kingstown Planning Director Jon Reiner, the percentage of commercial use in such a building would be determined during the master plan process. The development's average number of bedrooms per unit can also not exceed two.

Though one of the goals of the CVD would be to avoid sprawl, some residents voiced concern that it would do the opposite if the CVD was applied to allow a village center at Rolling Greens.

“It’s a question about quality of life,” said Wayne McCarthy of Old Baptist Road. “It’s a beautiful town to live in, but it’s changing at a quicker and quicker pace.”

Following the sentiment from public comment, the council chose to delay any decision on changes to the CVD zone until the completion of a study on village centers and transfer development rights by Horsley Witten Group, expected in January. According to the first phase of the study, Horsley Witten identified the Rolling Greens area as a village center likely to grow in a “fragmented fashion” and without an identity if action is not taken. The study pointed at the Allenton area as the most ideal for a revitalized village center, with Davisville and Saunderstown the least ideal.

For Town Councilor Charles Brennan, the community involvement in the project throughout the process made him more comfortable with delaying the decision, which was in stark contrast to the wind turbine issue when residents “weren’t paying attention.”

“People are paying attention now,” said Brennan. “They’re going to meetings and spending a lot of time on this.”

The council will readdress the CVD zone issue at its Jan. 23 meeting.