Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Complete Streets Ordinance topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Planning board flags practical concerns in draft Complete Streets ordinance; staffs to meet with BPAC
Summary
The board reviewed a solicitor‑draft Complete Streets ordinance with Bike & Pedestrian Advisory Committee edits. Members supported the goals but asked staff to rework mandatory language, preserve an exception for disproportionate cost, clarify enforcement and the planning board’s role, and return a refined draft.
Planning staff presented a solicitor’s draft Complete Streets ordinance that incorporates suggested edits from the town’s Bike & Pedestrian Advisory Committee. Board members generally supported the policy goal of improving pedestrian, bicycle and transit connectivity but raised practical questions about mandatory requirements, exceptions, enforcement and impacts on project cost and housing affordability.
Members asked staff to: restore an exceptions provision where required accommodations are excessively disproportionate to probable use or cost; clarify how state roads would be handled when the town cannot unilaterally require changes without RIDOT permitting; create procedures to get road projects before the planning board where appropriate; and soften absolute language (for example, replacing “maximize” with more practicable terms). Staff and BPAC will meet to reconcile the committee’s recommendations with the board’s operational concerns and return a revised draft to the board and solicitor.
Next steps: staff will convene a working session with BPAC and board representatives to refine the draft, retain reasonable exceptions for disproportionate cost, and develop clear procedures for enforcement and when projects are subject to the ordinance.
