Providence City Council Meeting | October 21st, 2024 | Committee on Ordinances
Call to Order and Roll Call
Chairman Espinal called the Committee on Ordinances meeting to order and the clerk conducted the roll call. A quorum was confirmed with five members present, and instructions were provided for public testimony.
Presentation and Remarks on Comprehensive Plan
Planning staff and Chief of Staff June Rose presented the latest revisions and map amendments to the city's comprehensive plan. Council President Rachel Miller and committee leadership shared remarks outlining the plan's vision for housing, sustainability, and zoning before entering exhibits into the record.
Public Hearing on Comprehensive Plan
Residents and community representatives provided public testimony regarding the comprehensive plan amendments. Speakers expressed significant concerns regarding industrial zoning regulations at the Port of Providence, housing density, and environmental justice protections.
Committee Discussion on Comprehensive Plan
Committee members questioned Planning Director Bob Azar regarding statutory review intervals, state approval deadlines, and neighborhood design standards. Councilors also offered closing remarks reflecting on community feedback and upcoming zoning implementation steps.
Vote on Comprehensive Plan Ordinance
The committee approved a motion to close the public hearing on the comprehensive plan. A motion to approve the ordinance adopting the comprehensive plan as amended was subsequently approved, with Councilor Royas recorded in opposition.
Adjournment
A motion was made and seconded to adjourn the Committee on Ordinances meeting. The motion carried unanimously and the meeting concluded.
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For being here. Welcome to committee and ordinance. Today is Monday, October 21, and the time is 05:43. Madam call madam clerk, roll call, please.
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Chairman Espinal.
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Present.
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Vice chairwoman Peterson. Present. Councilwoman Harris. Present. Councilman Vargas.
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Present. Councilor Royas.
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Present.
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You have five present. You have a quorum.
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Thank you. Has everyone had an opportunity to sign in? So this is our fifth public hearing. Many of you have already spoken. I see a large number of people that have probably signed up.
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So let why don't we say we keep it to one minute just to get you in and out? You know how this is important to us, and and this is why we had so many hearing. We wanna make sure that you are heard. Okay. Madam clerk, first item on the agenda, please.
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An ordinance adopting the city of Providence's official comprehensive plan.
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Thank you. And tonight, we have mister Bob Azer from Department of Planning and Development. And before mister Azer speaks, I just wanna wish him a very happy birthday, Theresa's birthday. Happy birthday. Happy birthday, Bob.
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Thank you. You know, October 21 must be a very special day because it is also birthday. Happy birthday. Also Miguel Young, one of our policy team member. Wow.
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Wow. It's a special day.
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Alright. Mister Bob, take it away. Thank you. Thank you, mister chair. Thank you, members of the committee.
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Happy birthday as well. And I hope I hope we we all get a good present tonight with this comprehensive plan. I just have a a couple of things that I wanna put into the record. There is a a revised draft that has been posted to the city council's website. There were a couple things that I wanna mention.
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June Rose, your chief of staff also has a couple of items as well. I just wanna mention that we have updated the growth map to change the some of the labeling on the neighborhoods. We have updated the future land use map that includes properties we mentioned previously, 215 Camp Street, 639 Wickenden Street, 173 Ives Street. There were a couple of modifications to the Bob, they're having
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a hard time hearing you in the back.
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Yeah. It it sounds like sounds like the volume's not all that high on this mic.
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Thank you, Mr. Victor, for
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pointing that out. Test one, two, three. It's not that high. I test test one, two, three.
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Test.
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Test 123. Is that better? Is that better? I can turn it up. I can
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turn it up if I need it to.
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I would turn it up. Test 123. Testing. Testing. Seems a little better.
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That's probably a little that's a little distorted. Yeah. Okay. We'll do our best. Okay.
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So I mentioned that we updated the growth map, the labeling of neighborhoods, the future land use map to include a couple of properties that we talked about last time. The base zoning map has also been updated as has table 11.1 which describes the changes in the the map change zoning map changes that have also been updated. Finally, the implementation table has been updated with new language that reflects the most recent text changes that June Rose will describe for you.
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Thank you. K. Before we go to June Rose, chief of staff, I'd like to acknowledge councilwoman Graves who is here with us tonight, council president Rachel Miller, councilman John Goncalves, councilman Miguel Sanchez, Pro Tempe Chattro, as well as city solicitor EP Swamps. Thank you. June, please.
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Good evening. Good to see folks who are here for the fifth straight week for a public hearing. We have new language in two sections since our last public hearing last week. The first bit of new language is in m five k, and this is about gas stations. This committee previously amended the language, changing it from discourage the development of new gas stations to prohibit the development of new gas stations within city limits.
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We've added the language except by special use permit if the targeted land is unsuitable for residential development. In the section on designations and definitions of the future land use map, in business slash industrial and in waterfront slash port, so this is language that will relate to both m two and w three. We've add we formally had, prohibitions with the word may that may be prohibited in the future city zoning ordinance. We've now added on top of that a section of designations that will be prohibited, that shall be prohibited by the comp plan. And so the language that we've added in to do that is in the General Industrial District M 2, the city shall prohibit the following future uses, power generation plants dependent on the combustion of fossil fuels or via processes that produce emissions at levels that are established to impact public health, noxious or toxic chemical manufacturing, and ethylene oxide manufacturing and storage facilities.
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And then it continues via the city zoning ordinance, the city may prohibit future uses, and that is the language that was in previously.
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Thank you. Thank you. So now we hear remarks from council president. Please.
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How are we doing? Loud enough? Okay. So thank you mister chairman and I wanna sincerely thank everyone who's out here again tonight for the fifth public hearing and everyone who has been coming out all along throughout this process. Attending a public hearing, sharing your story at a community meeting, submitting written testimony.
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We are so grateful. The city council is so grateful for the tremendous amount of input that we have gotten on this plan. And this council heard those voices and feedback and those truly shaped tonight's amendments. This plan is stronger because of the testimony of every single resident and business that gave it. I'd like to give a special thanks to Bob Azar and Tim Shea.
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For nearly two years, Bob and Tim have been collecting feedback and submitting proposals. In Ward 13 alone last year, more than 300 people weighed in on the comprehensive plan, participated in line online or in person. And then finally, I wanna thank this committee, councilors Vargas, councilwoman Peterson, councilman Royas, deputy majority leader Harris, chairman Espinal. You have really set the table on how to include residents, how to include everyone who lives and works in our beloved city. We're here at this fifth public hearing with thousands of input points.
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I don't think that Providence has ever had a comprehensive plan that has included so many voices. The amended plan before us tonight addresses head on the challenges that residents face, the challenges that we all face together. And it holds faith in those hopes that were shared through all of the testimony and all of the letters. It holds those as well. Our vision for growth, the path forward for Providence, it's one where the working people of Providence thrive.
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It's a vision for families who are worried about making rent each month, for young people worried about being priced out of the neighborhood that they grew up in, for elders who are concerned about the ability to stay in their homes, for new immigrants looking to build a safe future for their children, for communities suffocated for decades by pollution and environmental hazards, for all of the workers who work in Providence to make Providence great and who are seeking a path to family sustaining wages, for people who rely on public transit, for pedestrians that want safer streets, for all of us that call Providence home. The policies we propose need to match the scale of the challenges we face. And so just to remind you of two of those challenges, Rhode Island has the highest asthma rates in the country. Last year, Providence had the highest rent increases nationwide. So we have a responsibility to act, not with half measures, but with bold decisive act action that reimagines what's possible.
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The comprehensive plan prepared and presented to this committee was already strong from the planning department and and the administration. It rightly focused on increasing housing density and supply throughout the city, recognizing that the housing shortage is a key part of the crisis. But tonight you've got amendments before you that center the other key crisis related to housing and that's affordability. The choices we make tonight will determine the kind of city Providence becomes and who Providence is growing for and with, and I'm so proud of what we're bringing to this table. The plan addresses the most urgent issues facing Providence from housing to climate to transportation, and the people of Providence can't wait any longer.
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Rent and home ownership are untenable for residents across income brackets. We know this. We can't afford to live. That's why these amendments include inclusionary zoning and the creation of mixed income affordability citywide as a key strategy to grow towards. If we're serious about growing with the communities who make Providence a great and beloved city today, if we're serious about stopping the cycle of displacement, we have to work together to make affordability the rule and not the exception.
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Inclusionary zoning means that every new development contributes to solving the housing crisis, not driving up costs. It's about making sure developers set aside units so that working families, nurses, teachers, hotel workers, cleaners, right, aren't priced out of the city that they help keep running. And we're gonna have to fight to ensure that everyone in Providence has a place to call home. And in this case, by fight, I mean we together, this council has to work together. The plan is just the start.
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It's the road map and the vision for where we need to go. We gotta find the subsidies, we have to strengthen tenant protections, we have to support tax agreements that make this plan not only possible, but powerful in its impact. We need to break down the barriers that stifle our growth. A great example of this that so many people shared in testimony is outdated parking minimums, which have tied our hands and limited our potential. So required parking minimums as they currently exist drive up housing costs, underutilized valuable parcels of land, and deter development.
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By reducing and eliminating them wherever possible, wherever reasonable, we can free land for better use and incentivize developers to build the homes we need. The amendments before you do not ban parking minimums outright, they create the path to do so on appropriate projects and in appropriate neighborhoods. As we build, we need to maintain the beauty and the character of our beloved city. Thank you to counselors Anthony and Goncalves for keeping that front and center and to counselor Anthony for proposing a new committee to review and enforce design standards, ensuring that growth doesn't compromise the aesthetics and architectural integrity that make Providence unique. For generations, the area in and around Providence's port has been an environmental hazard, endangering the health, safety, and well-being of Southside residents.
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Thank you to the leadership of Majority Leader Espinal and so many residents who submitted testimony who came here week after week. The plan sets us on the path to prohibit outdated uses that are poisoning our air and water and move us towards a clean and green economy that centers workers and residents. It's past time that we shift away from fossil fuels and invest in green infrastructure. Throughout the plan, new language introduced by deputy Whip Anderbois emphasizes the urgency of the climate crisis and embed sustainability into the fabric of our city, From improved storm water mitigation plans to plans for a resilient urban forest. We are standing up for cleaner air, for public health, for a future that's sustainable for all of us.
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And let's be crystal clear, when we're talking about addressing homelessness, we're talking about dignity and respect for our city's most vulnerable residents who very often do not have a voice. We refuse to treat people like a problem to be swept away. Instead, under the leadership of majority whip Sanchez, we're coming to real evidence based solutions that center the humanity of every resident including providing temporary use permits for emergency shelters, improving outreach and services to encampments, developing permanent housing options, ensuring access to mental health and substance use treatments. It's time for a new direction for the city on homelessness. The amendments before us represent deep collaboration.
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It incorporates the priorities of all 15 counselors and the needs of all 15 wards. So when I look at the plan before us, I see a shared vision for a more just, a more equitable, a more sustainable providence. I see a city that is fighting for its people. Providence is resilient and that resilience is what makes us special. But to truly thrive, we have to be ambitious, intentional, and unwavering in our commitment to one another.
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Providence is ready to lead and with the plan before you tonight, we will.
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Thank you so much.
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Thank you so much council president. And also thank you for your hard work in this. I saw everything that you did, and you were tireless, and you really work hard on this. Thank you so much. K.
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So city sergeant, can I get the list of everyone that has signed up, please? K. And before we go to the public, I'll entertain a motion to enter into the record exhibit h.
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So so moved.
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Motion is made by councilor Peterson, second by councilor Mervargas. All in favor, aye. Aye. Opposed? The ayes have it.