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Council schedules Feb. 18 public hearing on zoning amendment amid public concerns about 'unrelated' ordinance and short-term rentals
Summary
The town council set a public hearing for Feb. 18 on an amendment to Appendix A (zoning). Members of the public urged caution, arguing the council should wait for state action on a related 'unrelated' ordinance and urged the town to consider limiting accessory dwelling unit (ADU) rentals to annual leases.
The Narragansett Town Council scheduled a public hearing for Feb. 18, 2025 on an ordinance to amend Appendix A of the town code (zoning), voting 5-0 to place the item on the calendar.
At the meeting several residents urged caution and urged councilors to wait for state-level action before changing local rules. Catherine Celebrato (resident) told the council it was “premature” to amend the town’s unrelated-occupancy ordinance while the General Assembly is expected to consider changes at the state level and while litigation and temporary restraining orders involving short-term rentals remain active. Celebrato said the town should wait until the state rewrites the enabling statute before changing local rules.
Celebrato also urged the council to make accessory dwelling units (ADUs) annual rentals, saying the state statutory minimum of 30 days is easy to circumvent and warning that without an annual-rental requirement ADUs may become short-term or student housing rather than units that attract families. “Unless you mandate that those are annual rentals, you're not going to add to the affordable housing in this town at all,” she said.
Dr. Al Alba, another resident, recommended the council move forward carefully but said the town should comply with state law to avoid litigation, noting the town has faced lawsuits in the past. The council clarified that the Feb. 18 hearing is to consider the zoning amendment; councilors invited residents to testify at that hearing and said the council wanted more community input.
The motion on the floor was recorded as: schedule a public hearing on 02/18/2025 on an ordinance amending Appendix A of the Code of Ordinances of the Town of Narragansett, Rhode Island, entitled Zoning (motion passed 5-0). The council emphasized the hearing will provide an opportunity for residents to offer testimony before any final vote.
