Providence hearing draws hours of testimony on proposed rent‑stabilization ordinance; no vote taken

Providence — The Providence City Council’s HOPE Committee heard more than six hours of public testimony Tuesday on a proposed Providence Rent and Stabilization Act, exposing a sharp split between tenants and housing advocates pressing for rapid protections and landlords and developers warning of costly side effects.

Lawrence J. Mancini, the city’s chief financial officer, told the committee the finance department received a fiscal note only the day of the hearing and that its initial estimate shows “program administration have more than a half $1,000,000 next year alone.” Mancini also presented modeled scenarios — using Portland, Maine, and Saint Paul, Minnesota studies as references — that produced a wide range of possible property‑tax revenue losses. Those modeled ranges ran from roughly $1.9 million to $3.25 million in one scenario to as much as $10.3 million to $17.5 million in another, he said, and he urged the council to allow time for additional review before any vote.

Emily Friedman, the city’s director of Housing and Human Services, said the administration recognizes urgent rent burdens in Providence but urged caution in adopting an ordinance that could impede housing production or create underwriting uncertainty. “Rent stabilization does not freeze rents or lower them,” Friedman said; it “regulates the pace…