Consultants for North Providence presented a draft update to the town's comprehensive plan and described proposed actions tied to Mineral Spring Avenue but the Town Council did not vote to adopt the plan at Monday's meeting.

Susan Mara, a planner with Weston & Sampson, told the council that "the state of Rhode Island requires all cities and towns update or request that all cities and towns update their comprehensive plan every 10 years with about a 25 year horizon." Mara said the draft includes 10 chapters, goals and policies, public outreach results and an implementation table that assigns responsibility, timing and priorities.

The draft reflects public workshops, a project website and a survey. Mara said residents repeatedly asked that neighborhood character be protected and that the town consider improving connections for walking and bicycling. She also said housing recommendations do not increase the town's maximum residential density, noting, "the previous comp plan had a maximum the highest density, at 7 units per acre, and this remains the same."

Brent, a town planning staff member, described a floor amendment to the future land-use map that "essentially mirrors the zone change" continued earlier in the evening. He said the amendment would bring certain parcels along Mineral Spring Avenue into a Commercial Village designation to align the comp plan's future land-use map with proposed zoning changes.

Council members asked whether adopting the future land-use map would automatically change zoning. Brent and state-process comments explained that the comp plan's future land-use map guides later zoning updates and that zoning ordinances are expected to be brought into conformity with an approved comp plan, but changes to the zoning ordinance itself typically follow separate legislative steps.

For now, Council President (acting) said no final adoption vote would occur Monday because many council members were seeing the full draft for the first time. Councilman Bacala moved to send the draft to the ordinance committee for further review; the motion was seconded by Councilman DiLorenzo and passed on voice vote.

The planning board previously issued a positive recommendation and the town has already submitted a draft to the State, which returned comments Mara said the consultants addressed. The council asked staff to provide all council members a copy of the draft and promised to return the topic to the agenda after committee review.

What happens next: the ordinance committee will review the draft and any proposed future land-use map amendments; the council will consider committee recommendations at a later meeting.