There IS a monster under the bed

Zombie Housing Density Bill arises from the dead

Invasion of the Zombie Peeps

By Will Collette

You’ll probably be hearing a lot more about this in the next few days from the CCA, but the state legislation they were very worried about has indeed risen from the dead.

I’m talking about a bill, introduced at the request of the RI Builders Association, that would change Rhode Island’s rules for the housing density.

For background on last year’s dead legislation, read here.

The new bill, H-7866,  was dropped in the hopper by Rep. Ray Gallison and just emerged from all the last minute bills filed right before the deadline for new legislation to be posted on the General Assembly bill tracker database. 

Like last year’s bills, H-7866 seeks to override local ordinances that limit housing density based on such factors as lot size and slopes.

Rep. Ray Gallison (D-Bristol)

Rep. Gallison is a Democrat, lives in Bristol and practices law. He is known as a serious and diligent legislator, unlike Rep. William San Bento, who was the prime sponsor of the Builders Association bill last year. In sharp contrast to Gallison, San Bento was most famous for being the legislator with the highest absenteeism rate.

Land use, environment, construction and other related subjects are not Gallison’s specialties.

Unknown at this time: whether there is a companion bill in the RI Senate. Last year, the House bill and its Senate counterpart were introduced simultaneously.

At this time, there is no Senate version showing on the Senate Housing and Muncipal Government Committee’s inventory. 

No doubt the CCA will be putting out alerts and calls to action about this bill. We’ll be watching it too.

But before you get caught up in the panic, remember this fundamental rule of legislating – it is far easier to block a bill from passing than it is to get a bill passed.