Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Zoning Impact Fees topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Council continues public hearing and requests planning commission opinion on zoning impact-fees ordinance
Summary
After a public hearing on proposed changes to the town’s zoning impact‑fee ordinance, the Charlestown Town Council voted April 14 to continue the matter to May 27, 2025, and asked the planning commission for a formal opinion and the town administrator to solicit cost estimates for required studies.
The Town Council held a public hearing on Ordinance 430 (amending Chapter 218 — zoning impact fees) on April 14, 2025. The discussion reviewed legal definitions and the practical costs of bringing Charlestown’s impact‑fee regime into compliance with Rhode Island law.
Councilor Maher sponsored the item. The council and several members of the public — including Catherine Gibson and other residents — exchanged views about whether the town should retain its ordinance, place the program under moratorium, or invest in the studies required to compute legally defensible, proportional impact fees. Councilors and staff noted several legal requirements: a municipal needs assessment, capital improvement program elements, levels‑of‑service standards and a requirement to update the needs assessment every five years. Tax assessor Kent Swain’s prior work and presentations were discussed as background; one attendee referenced Sam Shamoon’s previous work on school and open space impact fees as an example.
Multiple councilors said the cost of a defensible needs assessment and impact‑fee analysis could exceed the town’s annual impact‑fee receipts (the town collects roughly $20,000 a year in the current fee structure), making an up‑front study expensive relative to existing receipts. Some councilors argued a moratorium (or repealing the ordinance and reintroducing it later) was an acceptable pragmatic choice; others said this would remove a policy tool and urged the town to pursue compliance with a phased approach.
After discussion the council voted unanimously (5–0) to continue the public hearing to May 27, 2025, and to request a formal written opinion from the Planning Commission on the ordinance. The council also asked the town administrator to solicit estimates for the cost of the analysis/studies necessary to adopt legally defensible impact fees, and asked staff to provide the planning commission’s response prior to the continued hearing.
