Judge strikes down Narragansett's 'three-student' rental ordinance — again
SOUTH KINGSTOWN — A Superior Court judge has once again struck down a Narragansett town ordinance limiting rentals to three students, dealing yet another blow to the town’s controversial efforts to control the rental housing market.
Judge Sarah Taft-Carter on Wednesday ruled in favor of a coalition of landlords challenging the ordinance that restricted rentals of non-owner-occupied dwellings to three unrelated people. The judge found that the Town Council had illegally adopted the ordinance in September 2021 without having the Planning Board vet it for consistency with the comprehensive plan and local zoning rules, as required by state law.
The ordinance had strong backing from the Narragansett Pier Residents Association, whose members have complained that student rentals are changing the fabric of their neighborhoods. They accuse non-resident landlords and investors of buying up properties and turning them into lucrative rental units packed with students in the off-season and tourists in the summer, and, as a consequence, pushing out families who no longer can afford to move into town.
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Some 350 landlords and property owners — acting under the nonprofit group, Narragansett 2100 — just as stridently opposed the policy, arguing that it denied their right to make a profit.
George Nonis, president of the landlord group, faulted the ordinance for driving a wedge through the town by pitting neighbor against neighbor and demonizing University of Rhode Island students trying to enjoy a typical college experience.
Joelle C. Rocha, who represents the landlord group, said it's unclear how the town will proceed, but said Narragansett 2100 will persist.
"My clients (as they have been for years) remain willing to work with them on a path forward, but our past attempts have been rejected. Hopefully, that changes, but such a restriction has a significant detrimental effect on property rights, and my clients intend to pursue all options available if the Town proceeds to pass the ordinance yet again," Rocha said in an email.
How the town will proceed remains unclear.
Narragansett Town Solicitor James Callaghan said the incoming Town Council will be left to determine whether to appeal Taft-Carter's ruling, start the process over with the same ordinance, or draft a new ordinance altogether.
"With the election they will have to reconvene once the new council is sworn in and come to a decision," Callaghan said.
The ordinance and issues surrounding student rentals were a hot item in the recent elections. Susan P. Cicilline Buonanno, the top vote-getter with 3,696 votes, was one of two council members to oppose its passage.
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Why has the rental restriction been rejected twice in court?
It was the second time Taft-Carter has rejected the ordinance. The Town Council approved a “three-student” ordinance in 2020 after the state Supreme Court upheld a similar policy in Providence. In that case, the Planning Board found that the ordinance may promote public health and safety, curtail noise pollution and be in keeping with the town’s character. The board, however, determined that ordinance was inconsistent with the town's comprehensive plan and voted to reject it.
Narragansett 2100 and renters, however, challenged the ordinance in court and won, arguing they had been blocked from speaking about the proposal. Taft-Carter declared it void because the council had limited public comment on the debate during a virtual hearing.
Two weeks after Taft-Carter’s ruling, the Town Council passed an identical ordinance, 3-2, this time without first securing Planning Board review. Again, the landlords sued, and Taft-Carter put the ordinance on hold until she could rule on its legality.
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In her ruling on Wednesday, Taft-Carter struck the ordinance down on procedural grounds and didn’t examine whether the measure was consistent with the coastal town’s comprehensive plan.
Long-standing tensions between Narragansett and URI students
Narragansett has long had a strained relationship with URI students, stretching back decades. In 1994, yet another Superior Court judge held that a zoning ordinance enacted by the town that restricted landlords from leasing properties to three unrelated people “unlawfully burden[ed] the fundamental right of otherwise competent adults to live with whom they choose.”
The conflict came to a head in 2014 when an end-of-school-year party descended into mayhem, with drunken students throwing bottles and parading down the streets of Eastward Look, a neighborhood heavy with student rentals.
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URI students make up a huge share of the town’s population — between 6,000 and 8,000 students out of 14,500 residents.
Discussion of the ordinance comes as URI is experiencing a housing crisis. Eight hundred students were waiting to find on-campus rooms this spring, and more than 250 remained on the list as of early last month.
Students are tripling up in rooms designed for doubles, bunking in two houses set aside for international engineering students and even staying at the nearby Holiday Inn.
Correction: The story incorrectly reported the Narragansett Planning Board's actions in 2020.
This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: Judge strikes down Narragansett's 'three-student' rental ordinance
