Council Approves Aquifer Protection Ordinance Changes

By Cynthia Drummond for BRVCA
July 19th 2023

RICHMOND – By a margin of three votes to two, the Town Council approved amendments to the Aquifer Protection Ordinance at a public hearing Tuesday.

Town Planner Shaun Lacey explained that the changes will streamline and clarify groundwater protection regulations, allowing development in areas where it was previously prohibited. Lacey, who will be departing at the end of the month, also alluded to efforts by some to undermine the changes.

“In the day leading up to tonight’s public hearing, I was made aware of concerns by a minor percentage of the public…” he said. “My feeling on the subject is, it’s probably based on two things, a lack of understanding of these regulations, what they sought out to do, but unfortunately, I think part of it, too, is a little bit of a lack of trust in the process, and the message that I really want to send to you, and I think everyone in this room and I think, people that are on the call watching the deliberations, is that, if you trust your staff and you trust your Planning Board, and you trust your experts, many of whom that are sitting in this room tonight, good things are going to happen.”

Councilor Michael Colasante, a vocal opponent of the amendments, said he had personally contacted several developers, including GFI, Capstone Properties and D’Ambra, all of whom had expressed concerns about the changes.

“Businesses may feel the regulations cause economic hardship,” he said. “…This, however, may be what some people want, while they give lip service to economic development.”

Council member Samantha Wilcox asked whether it was appropriate for Colasante to be speaking on behalf of business owners and Trimmer agreed that it was not.

“Each and every meeting we have seems to result in a pontification on how three members are anti-economic development,” he said. “… This is ridiculous. It’s disrespectful, it’s disruptive and it’s a waste of people’s time.”

During the public comment period, some residents said they supported the amendments and others, including former council member Lauren Cacciola, appeared to mistakenly equate the amendments with higher property taxes.

“We cannot afford to live here,” she said “I work a full - time job. I care about the environment, I really do, but why do we need this? How much is it going to cost? What’s going to go into this?”

Representing one of the large developers was Rick Zini of Capstone Properties, who was participating remotely. Capstone manages the largely vacant Chariho Plaza, an eyesore that has been a source of angst for the current and previous Town Councils.

There have been unconfirmed indications that the company might be prepared to invest in the plaza and that the council’s chronic divisions might actually be discouraging development.

“I just want to make a couple of statements on the record, as Capstone’s name has been brought up on multiple occasions, including this evening,” Zini said. “I think it’s clear that everyone understands that there are large, commercial taxpayers in the town, such as Capstone, that are watching the process and are informed about the proposed regulations. Capstone has not spoken in favor or against the regulations, but has been observing in recent weeks the process that has been happening. I think it’s important also to state that before new development can happen in the town, the town must decide what it wants for development and how that is regulated. That needs to be settled before any developer or major taxpayer is going to make additional investment in the town. It’s also important to state that good development happens with both protecting the town’s natural resources and working with the town on its issues.”

The council voted three to two to approve the amendments, with Colasante and Helen Sheehan opposed.

Smoking in public

At a second public hearing, the council considered amendments to the town’s smoking ordinance, proposed by Police Chief Elwood Johnson, that would prohibit the smoking or vaping of cannabis in outdoor public places.

However, the proposed ordinance, drafted by Town Solicitor Karen Ellsworth, would also prohibit smoking tobacco in public outdoor spaces.

Sheehan said she supported the prohibition of public marijuana use, but not cigarettes.

“I do not support a ban on smoking cigarettes in an outdoor public place, but that’s the way this was written. It included regular cigarettes. Cigarettes are cancer-causing, but that does not give you the right to control it,” she said.

Colasante agreed with Sheehan and asked that only cannabis be named in the ordinance.

“Smoking a cigarette does not impair…but marijuana does,” he said. “It’s basically the TSG [sic] that is so high today.”

Samantha Wilcox pointed out that the amendment targeted “the nuisance of secondhand smoke.”

The amendment was approved three votes to two, with Sheehan and Colasante opposed.

The council meeting

The disagreements continued into the regular Town Council meeting. Colasante complained he had not had enough time to read the executive session minutes before being asked to approve them and proposed they be included in the councilors’ packets. His effort was unsuccessful.

Wilcox said she felt there had been sufficient time to review the minutes, which are usually less than two pages long.

Council Vice President Richard Nassaney said that attaching the executive session minutes to the packets would make them vulnerable to leaks.

“Another reason executive session minutes are handed to you just before the meeting is because they’re executive session minutes,” he said. “You read them and you give them back. If you have them before a meeting, it gives the opportunity for that information to be put out into the public, shared with people who are not privy to that information.”

Mark Trimmer proposed limiting the duration of Town Council meetings. Ellsworth said the Rules of Procedure would have to be amended to formalize that change, and said she would draft a motion for the council to consider at the next meeting.

There was a lengthy discussion of another proposal by Trimmer to take the $20,000 from the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) that had previously been allocated to the hiring of an economic development director and restore those funds to the design study of the Wyoming district. The study was a casualty of the town’s failed budget.

“What I realized in the last seven months was that Shaun [Lacey] was doing a great job as basically, an economic development director,” Trimmer said. “He’s been working with all these developers and he’s got a lot of things going on if were they to bear fruition, would really help the town financially and really mesh with what we’re all trying to do here.  I feel that hiring an economic development employee – I’ve always been against hiring an employee…and I continue to be against that.”

Trimmer added that he was also opposed to using ARPA funds for a review of the town’s planning and zoning ordinances. The council had previously approved $15,000 for the ordinance review and $135,000 for an economic development director.

“I just would rather see the money used for something that will give an absolute, definite benefit, rather than to be used for something that might give a benefit.”

Ellsworth pointed out that it would probably be a waste of time and money to hire someone to review the town’s ordinances since the General Assembly, during the last session, had passed significant changes that will impact the town.

“They will require us to re-write probably, most of the zoning ordinance and much of the subdivision regulations, and I’m not sure what value there would be now in reviewing the regulations and ordinance now, when we know we will have to enact new ones by next January,” she said.

Trimmer said he wanted to redirect the ARPA funds to certain federal grants, which are expected to require matching funds from the town.

Trimmer’s proposal was approved with Colasante and Sheehan opposed.

The council also approved allocating $40,000 to a small business grant program, which would be available to existing businesses as well as new businesses coming to the town.

Jessica Purcell

After her victory in the Rhode Island Supreme Court, announced on July 18,  Jessica Purcell will be formally sworn in to the Chariho School Committee at a special Town Council meeting on Friday at 9:30 a.m. 

The council will also consider a request to approve the hiring of a new Town Planner to replace Shaun Lacey.