November Letter to Editor

To the editor:

In a Nov. 13 letter to the editor, a Barrington resident inquired about the identity of CODDER 02806 suggesting there was something “fishy” about it. We thought it was a reasonable inquiry deserving a response.

CODDER 02806 is an acronym for “Committee Opposed to Detrimental Development and for Environmental Responsibility”.  The initiative for the creation of our committee, which now numbers 10 residents of the Hampden Meadows community, was the interest of a housing developer, the East Bay Community Development Corporation (EBCDC), to construct 50 or more corporate owned apartment rental units for low and moderate income housing tenants on what is now 5.6 buildable acres of land (i.e. 9 units per acre) on the Sowams Nursery property on Sowams Road. The land abuts the Palmer River and is otherwise bounded exclusively by owner-occupied single family residential houses zoned R10 (4 units/acre) and R25 (2 units/acre).

The Sowams Nursery is itself zoned R25 which permits no more than 2 units per acre, a fact generally known and understood by abutting, contiguous and community neighbors.

A grass roots group of residents affected by the construction project informally met in May 2012 to discuss ramifications of the project. We concluded that the project was not in the best interests of either the town or the thousands of residents of the Hampden Meadows community. A committee was formed to research the many facets of the project, and this committee came to be known as CODDER 02806. Since that date we have done the following:

• Conducted several door-to-door solicitations of signatures to a petition in opposition to the EBCDC project, collecting 527 resident signatures, almost all in the Hampden Meadows community.

• Made numerous requests of the town for information made available under state law

• Done extensive research concerning the ecological consequences of the EBCDC proposal

• Establish a web site (CODDER02806.com) explaining in detail the grounds for our objection to the project

• Written many letters to town boards and committees explaining in detail the reasons for our objections to the project

• Attended all public meetings of the planning board,town council, housing committee, and technical review committee in their deliberations concerning the proposed housing development, identifying ourselves as members of CODDER 02806 and presenting our point of view.

• Authored numerous  letters and notices published in the Barrington Times and Barrington Patch encouraging attendance at town meetings, and providing commentary on the many issues involved.

• Amassed an e-mail contact list which provides up-to-date information

• Hired an attorney who has commenced litigation in the R.I. Superior Court naming the town planning board and the EBCDC as defendants. This litigation was begun in response to the planning board approval of the master plan of the EBCDC. The planning board, which reduced the number of units to 42, may still reject the application of the EBCDC in other phases of the application process once their own studies of the issues are completed.

We hope this responds adequately to the writer’s  inquiry.

CODDER 02806

- See more at: http://www.eastbayri.com/opinion/letter-barrington-group-has-been-hard-at-work/#sthash.1faKGYLX.dpuf

CODDER 02806 FIGHTS FOR THE RIGHTS OF CITIZENS OF BARRINGTON IN COURT!

On Aug. 29th 2013 CODDER 02806 filed suit with RI Superior Court, appealing the town Planning Board's decision to approve the EBCDC generalized Master Plan to install 42 Low and Moderate Income apartment rental units on 5.6 Acres of the Sowams Nursery Property. We have reached more than 50% of our objective of $25,000 and continue to raise funds for our legal costs to protect our neighborhoods and take this fight to the end. Please stand with us! Contribute today at CODDER 02806, Inc., P.O. Box 133, Barrington, R.I. 02806.

Clarity on the Low to Moderate Income Housing "Mandate"

There seems to be some confusion on whether the Low to Moderate Income Housing Act is a law with stiff penalties for non-compliance.

It is not.

The LMIH Act is a "goal". This goal created a process whereby towns must show a clear intent to eventually have 10% of their housing be LMIH compliant. The town shows this intent by updating the Comprehensive Plan to include that, eventually through rehabilitation and new construction, 10% of housing will be affordable as defined by the LMIH legislation.

That is the extent of the Town's responsibility. There is no written nor direct penalty for not having this goal in the Comprehensive Plan. Importantly:

• There is no strict timetable by which a town must be compliant. 
• There is no written rule that says LMIH-compliance supercedes any other consideration the town makes when reviewing proposed housing projects. In fact, within the Act, Section 45-53-4 (Line 4(v)) clearly states the opposite.

Upon establishing the plan (which itself has a process), it is up to housing developers to propose housing projects, and whether rehabilitation or new construction projects, include housing units that would be LMIH eligible. The Town then reviews each project against a wide array of factors, only one of which is whether it helps achieve the LMIH goal. Other factors are considered of equal or greater importance as well, including conservation, appropriateness for an area, ability for infrastructure and social and civil services to support, and so on.

As you can read about in the History section, some of this was considered when an earlier proposed development of Sowams Nursery was rejected. CODDER02806 is concerned this same level of push-back is not being applied to this even higher density project.

If a Town does not agree with a plan, it can reject the plan. At this point, the developer who proposed the plan can appeal the Town's rejection with the State Housing Appeals Board (SHAB), as defined in Section 45-53-5 (c). During this appeal, SHAB will use as part of its criteria items defined in Section 45-53-6, including an evaluation on a Town's progress towards achieving the goal of having 10% of housing units be available for LMIH applicants, and an evaluation of the Town's Comprehensive Plan to see if that has a clear path to the goal.

If SHAB concludes the Town rejected the plan in error, it can override the Town's rejection and the result is the developer can proceed with the project. However, even at this point, the Town can elevate the case to the State Superior Court, as defined in Section 45-53-4 (a)(4)(x).

CODDER02806 feels there are numerous strong cases to be made against putting a 48-unit corporate own dense housing project on the nursery, and we are working very hard to present ongoing evidence to the town by researching information and documents that clearly support rationale for opposing the development.

The process established by this Act does put the onus on the Town to prepare a strong case against the proposed development. However, as evidenced by the above, there are many steps in this lengthy process, making it neither a foregone conclusion nor a "done deal".

Barrington is not yet at the 10% level. However, nor are most other towns in Rhode Island. Of the few towns that are at or above the 10% level, all but Newport was already there at the time the mandate was passed. The LMIH Act was intended for Towns to balance all needs, and along the way achieve the goal.

We do not feel this project balances all of the needs of the town, nor does it adequately acknowledge all aspects of the Comprehensive Plan the Town itself wrote and amended. And we certainly do not see the need to fast track a high density project in an inappropriate area, when other options are clearly included in the Act.

We hope this clears up some the confusion surrounding the actual and implicit goals of the proposed development of Sowams Nursery.

UPDATED: Watch NBC 10 this Sunday

During NBC 10 News this Sunday, Bill Rappleye will be discussing the controversial Palmer Pointe project with June Speakman of the Barrington Town Council, Gary Morse, a concerned citizen about the project and finances around it, and others. 

Tune in to Channel 10 at 11:30am this Sunday (7/28), or can be watched online at: 

https://www.myworldnews.com/Channel/224-wjar/Story/138047-10-news-conference-july-28-2013

And be sure to check back at codder02806.com for more details and a writeup.

Setting the Record Straight... AGAIN

In keeping with the tidal wave of disinformation being currently offered by the Barrington Town Planner, an article in the Barrington Times dated July 24, 2013 concerning the proposed Sowams Nursery subdivision by the East Bay Community Development Corporation (EBCDC), offers the following:  “Mr. Hervey said the type of zoning for that area –Village zone – calls for five units per developable acre of land.

Unless the Barrington Town Building Official, Zoning Department and all current Town zoning maps, including those in the Barrington Comprehensive Community Plan, are incorrect, the Sowams Nursery, the site of the proposed subdivision, is not a “Village Zone”. As seen on page 19 of the Barrington Comprehensive Community Plan (or see the third Map on our Library page, or on MainStreetMaps.com), Sowams Nursery is zoned R25, which means “Residential,  25,000 square feet, or 2 units per acre". The property has been so zoned for decades.

We will continue our campaign to state the facts concerning this ill conceived $14.5 million, Corporate owned, multi-unit apartment rental complex based on factual information, and reliance on the law which offers reasonable and  reliable standards for the denial of the project.

Getting Serious: Fundraising officially begins!!

Since October, 2012 when we collected more than 500 signatures on a petition opposing construction of a $14.5 million multi-unit, Corporate owned, rental apartment complex on the Sowams Nursery (zoned R25 – i.e. 2units per developable acre) we have provided the reading and listening public and town Boards and Committees with a vast array of information, law and argument concerning the proposed subdivision. Much of this information is available on our web site CODDER02806.COM

It has become obvious in recent meetings conducted by Town Officials, involving lawyers acting on behalf of the East Bay Community Development Corporation (EBCDC), that there is an imbalance between the needs of the town, the goals of the Low to Moderate Income Housing legislation, the actions of the EBCDC, and the tenor of meetings with town officials. As a result, and because our argument for denial of the EBCDC’S application is ultimately grounded in the law, we have retained the services of our own Attorney.

After speaking with and vetting a number of possible candidates we happily discovered, and engaged the services of, Attorney J. William W. Harsch, with offices in Warwick (his resume can be found on our web site). Attorney Harsch represented us at the last Planning Board Meeting on July 16th 2013, introducing expert testimony in rebuttal of prior testimony elicited by the EBCDC.

Our overall objectives are simple:

• Ensure the integrity of our zoning ordinances and subdivision regulations throughout Barrington
• Protect ecologically sensitive areas, particularly the Palmer River and coastlines.
• Ensure the town achieves the commitments they set forth in the Barrington Comprehensive Community Plan by protecting the character of neighborhoods.
• Protect the “health and safety” of our residents as those terms are used in applicable law (i.e. traffic, sewer capacity and condition, sidewalks etc.)
• Require compliance with state ordained standards for denying Comprehensive subdivision plans such as the EBCDC’S.
• Protect Barrington from the inevitable costs to residents that this project would produce. 

Contributions should be made payable to CODDER 02806, INC. and sent to:

CODDER 02806, INC.
P.O. Box 133
Barrington, R.I. 02806

We will be providing periodic updates on how we're tracking towards goals.

MANY THANKS

(posted on Patch as well)

This weeks' updates

Three important articles this week appear in various publications.

Setting the Record Straight

• Appearing in this week's Barrington Times print, on page 3 in the Opinions section: It has been an ongoing strategy of those few (in and out of Municipal Government) who support the ill advised $14.5 million Sowams Nursery apartment rental complex to employ strategies of disinformation in an effort to mold public opinion.
• Read more in this article, and in today's Barrington Times

Are there Pesticides at Sowams Nursery?

• One aspect of the proposed development at Palmer Pointe that has not been widely discussed is the potential for the former agricultural business to have used, and subsequently contaminated soil on the property with, agricultural chemicals, such as insecticides, fungicides, herbicides, etc.
• Read more in this Patch article.

In Barrington, a dustup over affordable housing continues

• Since last fall, Palmer Pointe, a proposed affordable rental housing development off Sowams Road, has stirred opposition that has led to a more sweeping attack on affordable housing in this affluent town.
• Read more in this Providence Journal article.

Are there Pesticides at Sowams Nursery

Also today, another concerned Barrington resident posted a Patch Blog post questioning whether there are pesticides at Sowams Nursery.

One aspect of the proposed development at Palmer Pointe that has not been widely discussed is the potential for the former agricultural business to have used, and subsequently contaminated soil on the property with, agricultural chemicals, such as insecticides, fungicides, herbicides, etc.

When commercial agricultural properties are considered for residential development, it is customary for the prospective purchaser to conduct due diligence investigations in the form of soil and groundwater testing, as well as conduct a full inventory of the pesticides that have been used at the property.  This is particularly important when the site has been used for agricultural purposes for some time; e.g., during times when now-banned pesticides were legal. To date, I have not seen or heard anything about such investigations. The Barrington Conservation Commission did provide comments to the Planning Board on this issue, but have not heard back on their response to those comments.  

Continue reading the article here.

Good article in Providence Journal

This is a great article in the Providence Journal:

BARRINGTON — Since last fall, Palmer Pointe, a proposed affordable rental housing development off Sowams Road, has stirred opposition that has led to a more sweeping attack on affordable housing in this affluent town.

Last week, as the Planning Board appeared poised to approve a scaled-back master plan for Palmer Pointe at its Aug. 6 meeting, the Town Council discussed a challenge to state law to stop a local tax benefit for Sweetbriar, a 47-unit affordable rental development on Washington Road.

Continue reading the article at Providence Journal.

Final Weeks Begins!

The Barrington Planning Board has set a date of August 22nd for a final decision on whether to allow the EBCDC project application for the $14.5mm corporate-owned housing development on Sowams Nursery to proceed to proposal to the Town Council. 

This kind of project requires many different Town Boards and Committees to align. The above date has resulted in an accelerated series of meetings CODDER will be attending with our new Counsel, Bill Harsch (see this announcement). 

• Town Council Meeting- July 15th at 6:30pm Library Auditorium (agenda)
• Item 15 of the agenda is "Discuss and Act on Affordable Housing Questions and Update Comprehensive Permit/Low and Moderate Income Housing Exemption Applications".
• Special Planning Board Meeting- July 16th at 7pm School Committee Room in Town Hall (agenda)
• Planning Board to hear expert testimony lead by our Counsel, Bill Harsch 
• Zoning Board of Review- July 18th at 7pm School Committee Room in Town Hall
• Purpose: "hearing applications for Dimensional Variances, Use variances or Special Use Permit"

The most important of these meetings this week is on Tuesday, July 16th. 

Separately, we recently saw this Providence Journal article, from the President of the Charlestown Town Council which highlights challenges they've experienced recently with regards to their own Low to Moderate Income (LMIH)-related housing projects. Notably, their attempts to proactively address the needs of both low-to-moderate and elderly housing have been complicated by a variety of unforeseen factors at various government and private levels. 

This serves as a good cautionary tale as Barrington continues to try and balance the State mechanisms that allow developers to push potentially ill-fitting development proposals with a Town Council and Boards needs to oversee their own destiny with regards to how the town evolves.

UPDATED: CODDER engages Counsel

On July 2, 2013 CODDER 02806 engaged William W. Harsch, with offices in Warwick R.I. as Counsel in the matter of the proposed $14.5 million development of rental housing units on the Sowams Nursery in Barrington.

Updates:

• Find at this link relevant information about the attorney.
• We have posted this article in the Patch as well.

He appeared on our behalf at the Planning Board Meeting on July 2nd and  will be eliciting the testimony of experts on various matters concerning the project at a meeting of the Planning Board scheduled for July 16, 2013 (also reported in Patch).

We felt it necessary to engage an attorney to rebut the many misrepresentations that have surrounded this controversial project, and to support, within the legal framework, our claims concerning the inappropriateness of this proposed project.

As a result, we will be seeking your help in raising money to cover future costs. This is a matter with broad implications concerning the welfare of our community and our Town, and we have tried to present those to you in an honest and straightforward manner on our blog and in the media.  If enough of our many supporters pitch in we should be easily able to cover the prospective costs.

There will be more details soon!

UPDATE: Planning Board Meeting and How You Can Help

Important Meeting!

The Barrington Planning Board will be holding their monthly meeting on Tuesday, July 2nd in the Barrington Library Auditorium. One of the topics will be the proposal for development of Sowams Nursery. We therefore are releasing a new flyer to highlight this meeting, and specifically the new and updated questions to be raised by CODDER 02806. You can see the flyer here:

How Can You Help?

We have heard from many people, asking how they can help oppose this proposed development. 

In addition to showing support at the important meetings in which aspects of this proposal are raised and visiting CODDER02806.com, you can send a letter to:

Michael McCormick

Chairman of the Planning Board

Barrington Town Hall

283 County Road, Barrington, RI 02806-2406

Your letter should state why they are opposed to the project and indicate any unanswered questions that you would like answered.

Letter to the Editor

This Letter to the Editor was published today on EastBayRI.com, in response to another reader submission about the authority of the State Housing Appeals Board and the continued dialog that makes this development project anything but a "done deal".

Click Read More to see the full letter.

Important meetings this week!

On Monday, June 3rd at 7pm in Council Chambers at Town Hall, the Town Council will be meeting to discuss the requested Tax Abatement sought by EBCDC in their project to develop corporate-owned housing at Sowams Nursery. As mentioned in this blog post, this is the most recent event in a long series of actions regarding tax abatements on projects like these, with many open questions.

On Tuesday, June 4th at 7pm in Council Chambers at Town Hall, the Planning Board is hosting part 2 of the second Public Hearing on the proposed development of Sowams Nursery.

These Public Hearings (outlined here and here) provide opportunity for all Barrington residents to have their voices heard on this project. The second session on May 30th went so long the Board agreed to extend it into a third session on Tuesday. And as with the first Public Hearing, CODDER 02806 will be making a presentation.

This is one of those rare times when the public can make significant contributions to the welfare of this beautiful town we live in.

PLEASE RAISE YOUR VOICE!

Interested in keeping up more closely with CODDER 02806 and this project? Join our mailing list on our website (enter your email on the right hand side)!

The Tax Abatement Issue

Gary Morse posted a new Patch article today that highlights the tax abatement that will be requested of the Town Council, and therefore Barrington residents. This abatement is basically to allow EBCDC to pay less taxes on their proposed project at Sowams Nursery than is normal.

As a follow on to the petition (which was submitted with 61 signatures but is now up to 141), this new article outlines the history of decisions regarding such tax abatements, how these unfair tax assessment methods have led to litigation against the town as recently as 2010, and why there are still open questions about the processes that have led us all to this point.

And this comes at a key time just after the recent walkthrough of the Sowams Nursery property by the Planning Board and the critical upcoming second Public Hearing on May 30th.

Second Public Hearing coming soon!

Today our latest flyer was distributed in the Barrington Times, to remind all about the second of two important Public Hearings regarding the proposed $14.5mm affordable-housing project at Sowams Nursery. See the original announcement about these Hearings here.

As with the session on May 15th, CODDER 02806 will make a formal presentation, and the public is invited to speak and ask questions. Needless to say these are critical meetings since they involve review of the “Master Plan” phase of the review process, and public input is very important. Further, we have learned much in the last two weeks since the first session, about many areas including procedural questions to tax abatement requests.

So please set these dates aside and plan on attending, encourage neighbors to go as well, and to keep up to date, sign up for our mailing list at CODDER02806.com.

See the flyer here:

What can you do?

CODDER 02806 recommends visiting this Barrington Patch article by Gary Morse "What Can Average Resident Do?" It discusses tax abatements for the proposed $14.5 million corporate owned dense housing project at the Sowams Nursery property. There's a link to the petition you may want to sign. Gary has long been a champion in representing the interests of taxpayers.

While the petition has been delivered to Town Hall on May 20th, there are almost as many signatures on it since then as there were leading up to it. This shows continuing and growing awareness of questions that need to be asked about this project.

Please also attend the next meeting of the Planning Board on Thursday, May 30th at Town Hall, at 7pm.

Protect our Environment

Check your local Barrington Times for a special letter regarding our environment and the implications of the $14.5mil corporate owned project proposed for Sowans Nursery.

Full letter contents below.

First Public Hearing last night!

The first Public Hearing for the proposed construction of a corporate owned $14.5million, multi-unit, rental apartment complex at the Sowams Nursery on Sowams Road. Barrington Patch provides coverage of the questions asked, many by Bill Lemoult, and already this morning the comments have begun to roll in.

Watch for the second Public Hearing scheduled for 5/30. See flyer below:

The Saga of Strategy 5-8

We believe that authority exercised by the Town Council pertaining to the Barrington Comprehensive Community Plan and Municipal zoning ordinances, to develop Low and Moderate Income Housing (particularly at the Sowams Nursery) is flawed.

This is a memo that was dropped off at Town Hall yesterday.

CODDER: Myths vs Facts #3

Today we published the third in a series of Myths vs Facts regarding the proposed construction of a corporate owned $14.5million, multi-unit, rental apartment complex at the Sowams Nursery on Sowams Road.

While this project has been discussed since early last year, there still exist many assumptions and myths about the nature of the project and the LMIH goals used as justification.

We are setting the record straight.

Click Read More for details!

Save the Date Flyer

Today our new flyer was distributed in the Barrington Times. See the flyer here:

CODDER: Myths vs Facts #2

Today we published the second in a series of Myths vs Facts regarding the proposed construction of a corporate owned $14.5million, multi-unit, rental apartment complex at the Sowams Nursery on Sowams Road.

While this project has been discussed since early last year, there still exist many assumptions and myths about the nature of the project and the LMIH goals used as justification.

We are setting the record straight.

Click Read More for details!

CODDER: Myths vs Facts #1

Today we published the first in a series of Myths vs Facts regarding the proposed construction of a corporate owned $14.5million, multi-unit, rental apartment complex at the Sowams Nursery on Sowams Road. See the post on Patch here.

While this project has been discussed since early last year, there still exist many assumptions and myths about the nature of the project and the LMIH goals used as justification.

We are setting the record straight.

Click Read More for details!

Reminder: Board of Trustees meeting

As previously reported, Barrington’s Housing Board of Trustees will weigh in on the master plan for the proposed $14.5mm affordable-housing project at Sowams Nursery tomorrow evening (Tuesday April 23). The board will meet at 7 pm in the Barrington Senior Center.

Update: Patch covered the event and reported in this article.

Smithfield v. Bickey Development, Inc

We have submitted to the Town a new memo citing a case in Smithfield. The memo has been posted to the Patch, can be seen in original form here, and can be read below. Note that the specifics of the Smithfield case can be found here.

Master Plan Public Meetings coming in May

The East Bay Community Development Corporation (EBCDC) has formally filed an application for a permit to develop a $14.5 million 50-unit rental apartment complex on the Sowams Nursery property on Sowams Road in Barrington. A public hearing on the matter is scheduled for May 13 and 30th, 2013.

Read more for important information about these sessions (and click here for a printable version, click here for Patch article):

New sections

We have added two new sections to the site:

• History: Where you can find history of the Palmer Pointe and George Street projects.
• Library: Growing list of group actions and information sources
• Town Calendar: Upcoming Town Council, Board and Committee Meetings
• Media Coverage: Where you can see links to all articles in Barrington Patch and Barrington Times about local housing, LMIH housing mandate and CODDER actions.

These sections are works in progress, so any feedback is welcome!

Lets not further pollute our local water ways

This article was originally written by Les Costa. I posted it on the Barrington Patch today. The article can be seen at this link.