Warren cut the density of a proposed housing project by 38%. Now the town wants to undo that
WARREN − In a town where just 3.8% of the housing stock is income-restricted and new residential construction is limited to single-family homes on large lots, the Planning Board recently killed a proposed 40-unit multi-family project on 4.5 acres.
Now the Planning Board is considering whether to revise its decision on a project called Penny Lane because that ruling is almost certainly not allowed under changes to state zoning laws passed last year as part of a 13-bill push to increase the amount of housing stock in the state amid a crushing housing crisis.
Warren approved the project on Jan. 3 with the condition of reduced density
The Planning Board approved the application at a meeting on Jan. 3, but tacked on the condition that the density had to be dropped from 40 units to 25 units.
The original plan was for nine units an acre, and the reduction dropped it to 5.5 units per acre. The original plans show 14 townhouses with one-, two- and three-bedroom units.
Why is the town reconsidering the decision?
Town Solicitor Dan Benjamin Ferreira told the Planning Board at a Monday night meeting that the reconsideration of its decision is "completely discretionary" and that it is not a new hearing of the entire application. There will be no new evidence.
"We don't have the power to reduce the number of units in that proposed development," Planning Board Chairman Frederick Massie said.
The town would go to court, spend a lot of money, lose, and then potentially get saddled with a denser development, allowed for under the updated law governing comprehensive permits, Massie said.
A little about the Penny Lane project in Warren
The Penny Lane project is a proposed 40-unit income-restricted, rent-controlled development on 4.5 acres at 581 Child St. in Warren. It is being developed by the East Bay Community Development Corporation.
As initially proposed, the complex would include 14 two-story townhouse-style buildings. The existing house on the property would be turned into a duplex composed of two two-bedroom units.
The unit mix spread across the 14 buildings would be eight one-bedroom units, 14 two-bedroom units and 16 three-bedroom units.
The units would be restricted to people making 60% or less of the area median income.
$43,020 for a single person
$49,200 for two people
$55,320 for three people
$61,440 for four people
The area is currently zoned at one single-family house per acre, which would make the maximum by-right development on the property just four houses.
At issue are the new rules for how a developer can appeal a planning board's decision and changes to comprehensive permits that allow income-restricted projects to increase density, in this case, up to 12 dwelling units per acre.
The new state housing law also gives developers a density bonus for projects that are entirely income-restricted. With 12 units per acre, on a 4.5 acre site it would be 54 units.
Appeals go straight to the Superior Court and, when the appeal is based on conditions imposed on a project, the court is instructed to "determine whether such conditions and requirements imposed make the construction or operation of the housing infeasible."
In this case, the developer told the town that reducing the density of the project from 40 units to 25 would kill it because it would be too expensive for the revenue it would produce.
When is the new meeting?
The Planning Board is to reconsider its decision at a special meeting at 5:30 p.m. on Feb. 12 that will be streamed online.
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Reach reporter Wheeler Cowperthwaite at wcowperthwaite@providencejournal.com or follow him on Twitter @WheelerReporter.
This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: Warren tries to reverse decision killing affordable housing plans
