North Providence Council moves 2025 comprehensive plan to ordinance committee after Mineral Spring zoning debate

North Providence 'Planners from Weston & Sampson presented the town's draft Comprehensive Plan 2025 and descriptions of community outreach, then the Town Council voted to send the plan to the ordinance committee for a future vote.

Planner Susan Mara told the council the state requires jurisdictions to update comprehensive plans approximately every 10 years and described the draft as a long-range document with goals, policies and an implementation matrix covering housing, land use, economic development, transportation, open space and historic resources. Mara said the team ran three public workshops, a project website and a survey, and that planning staff and a steering committee of board members and residents reviewed draft chapters.

The presentation prompted questions about housing density and the future land use map. Mara said the draft does not recommend increased residential density and that the previous plan's maximum of seven units per acre remains the same. Planning staff and Brent explained a proposed future land use amendment that would mirror a town zoning proposal affecting properties along Mineral Spring Avenue, shifting some lots from Residential General (RG) to Commercial Village (CV) to regularize long-standing, nonconforming business uses.

Legal counsel flagged an advertising/notice problem for the town's separate zoning application earlier in the meeting, so councilors heard testimony but did not vote on the town's zone change that evening. Deborah Pesacharvo, a property owner at 977 Mineral Spring Avenue, said she and her sister want to sell and retire but currently cannot because of existing zoning. Staff said the amendment would allow businesses that have operated for years to continue and to allow new tenants in those commercial locations.

After discussion about how the future land use map relates to the zoning ordinance and what procedural steps are required to align the two, Councilman Bacalar moved to send the comprehensive plan to the ordinance committee for a vote; the motion passed.

The ordinance committee will consider the plan and any related land-use amendments; council members said the committee process will provide time for additional review of the future land use map amendment for Mineral Spring Avenue. The council did not adopt the plan that night, and any final local approval would be followed by submittal to the state for its review and approval.