Friday, July 26, 2013

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: 

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 Planare 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.


Thursday, July 25, 2013

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)

Wednesday, July 24, 2013

This weeks' updates

Three important articles this week appear in various publications.

  • 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
  • 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.
  • 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.

Tuesday, July 23, 2013

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.

Sunday, July 14, 2013

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 MeetingJuly 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 ReviewJuly 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.

Wednesday, July 3, 2013

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:


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!