Doug Brockway, chair of the Economic Development Commission, presented a recap of the Route 1 corridor study to the Westerly Town Council on Jan. 6 and urged the council to set timelines for zoning proposals and traffic studies.

The study, which Weston & Sampson prepared for the town and was presented to the council in June 2022, contains recommendations ranging from zoning changes to traffic and stormwater studies, Brockway said. He told the council he would like a first draft of zoning proposals by a set date: “I put down March 31 here, but that's my management style. I would like it by that date. If you can't do it by that date, then explain to me why.”

Why it matters: Route 1 is a major thoroughfare in Westerly with vacant and underused properties and recurring stormwater and traffic problems. The study includes recommendations that could affect development patterns, traffic access and town infrastructure costs.

Council discussion focused on which body should advance the recommendations, the cost and scope of sewer extension, and whether incentives such as tax abatements or public–private partnerships should be used. Councilor Bill Aiello said he opposed incentives in the study and questioned tax abatements: “I didn't like the the tax abatements that you wanted to give for developers up on Route 1.” Another councilor raised concerns about how sewer expansion would be paid and whether capacity exists.

Several councilors and Brockway said parts of the study are administrative or advisory (for example, allowing mixed-use zoning, shared access easements to reduce curb cuts, and traffic/safety studies with RIDOT) while other items — notably a proposed sewer extension — would require separate cost and capacity analyses. Brockway emphasized the report contains a mix of low‑cost “administrative” suggestions and larger infrastructure options and said he did not intend personally to push for sewer expansion.

Council President Chris Duhamel said he wanted the EDC to work with its council liaisons and planning staff to determine what work the planning board has completed and what remains, and to return to the council with an update. Duhamel described the direction as: “I would like an update of what the planning board or planning staff have worked on with the EDC since … June fourteenth of 2023.”

There was procedural disagreement over whether the council president could task the EDC without a separate council vote. A councilor moved to appeal the chair’s ruling; the appeal was put to a roll-call and the council did not sustain the appeal (the chair’s direction stood). The meeting record does not show a separate substantive vote to adopt the report or any zoning changes; planning staff and the planning board remain the bodies that must advance formal zone‑change proposals.

Next steps and clarifications from the meeting:
- The planning board previously recommended a draft resolution to accept elements of the study and propose related zoning changes; councilors asked planning staff and the planning board to report status and any drafts back to council. Brockway said he could not say how much work remained.
- Recommended changes discussed included adding mixed-use allowances in the corridor, encouraging shared side‑street access and easements to reduce curb cuts on Route 1, and commissioning traffic and safety studies with RIDOT. The transcript does not record formal adoption of any zoning changes at this meeting.
- Concerns raised by councilors included potential costs for sewer extension, the fiscal impact on taxpayers, and the transparency of public–private partnerships and tax abatements suggested in the report.

The council did not adopt any ordinance or zone change during the meeting. Duhamel asked for an EDC/planning update to be brought back to the council; the council did not set a formal deadline in a recorded vote beyond the president’s requested schedule.