UPDATE: Planning Commission Alert!

UPDATE: The Planning Commission meeting is TONIGHT. Read Tom Ferrio's story on Tom Gentz at the Wednesday Affordable Housing Commission meeting. His performance was embarrassing and he told the Commission his proposal to gut the state affordable housing law will probably NOT be going to the Town Council meeting this month. However, the Planning Commission will love his proposal - at least one of their members probably wrote it.. So watch to see what happens tonight.

A key element to Gentz secret affordable housing plan?

November 3^rd agenda includes Gentz’ secret plan to kill affordable housing, and new parking and shrubbery ordinances

By Will Collette

Gotta love our Planning Commission’s insatiable passion for meetings and endless interest in reaching into residents’ lives.

This Thursday, November 3, the Planning Commission will conduct a “workshop” (i.e. all talk and no action, very much like every other Planning Commission meeting).

There are three topics on this workshop’s agenda. First is a discussion of the proposal Town Council President (and CCA Secretary) Tom Gentz is writing in secret to scrap the state’s affordable housing law and replace it with the Charlestown Citizens Alliance version of affordable housing – send them all to Central Falls.

Typical of the way Gentz has handled this whole affordable housing scheme, there are no links, attachments or details for this agenda item. Gentz should be ashamed at himself for the deplorable hypocrisy of this whole affair – this is one of the guys who used to pontificate about transparent and open government.

Two other topics are listed, identified as changes to zoning. If you click on the links, you will find new, proposed ordinances to regulate in minute detail off-street parking restrictions for properties all over Charlestown, as well as plantings and shrubbery at both residential and non-residential developments.

The Knights Who Say Ni!!! want more shrubbery
Video here.

You should read the proposed ordinances for yourself – shrubbery here, and parking here – and make your own judgments.

You can see the original language – the current wording – of the town ordinances in the sections that are stricken out with the new language the Planning Commission wants added in. The existing parking ordinance is here. The existing landscaping ordinance is here.

In my opinion, these proposed ordinances are typical of the Planning Commission’s approach to land use planning – they propose to extend their reach deeper into the lives of every Charlestown resident, they take ordinances that are already extremely detailed and make them much more so, and they propose unenforceable standards.  

Some examples: Who is going to determine that there is at least two inches of mulch around all plantings? Who will enforce the requirement that any off-street parking is done on a "dust free" surface? Who is going to make sure no one is sleeping in a camper or RV you have parked on your property (an issue Linda Felaco raised earlier)?

These ordinances are another attempt by this Planning Commission to write into law its desire to control minute details of life in Charlestown.

These new ordinances also reflect the Planning Commission’s desire to make it very difficult for anyone to consider any new development or small business of any kind in this town.

They belong on the list of reasons why Charlestown needs to change the Planning Commission to restore the balance between preserving all that is great about Charlestown with the rights of its citizens to enjoy that greatness.

The "workshop" on Thursday is at Town Hall and starts at 7 PM. You can also watch it on Clerkbase video. The first ten people who show up in person for this "workshop" will be handed pliers to pull their fingernails out.