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Westerly planners introduce Route 1 overlay district; council raises outreach and scale questions
Summary
A Route 1 corridor overlay district was presented to the council, proposing five subcorridors and design guidance to improve pedestrian safety, signage and character; councilors asked for more outreach, data on affected property owners and suggested a fresh planner review before adoption.
Town planners presented the Route 1 corridor study to the Westerly Town Council on Dec. 15, describing an overlay-district approach intended to guide future redevelopment along the corridor without broadly removing uses from property owners.
"The overlay district allows the town council and the planning board the opportunity to improve the travel experience, optimize land use, provide sensible growth," the presenter told the council, describing five subcorridors with distinct character and objectives ranging from neighborhood mixed use to conservation areas.
The planning team said the overlay is intended as a design and direction tool rather than a set of new prohibitive use restrictions. Staff noted the planning board has already endorsed the approach and that public engagement has been ongoing since October; a public-comment period on the website was open through Dec. 31, 2025.
Council members asked for clarity on the scale of changes and outreach. One councilor noted the study would affect roughly 408 properties in the quarter and asked how many initial participants in stakeholder outreach were independent residents rather than developers. Planning staff said "hundreds" were engaged and pledged to provide the full list of property owners and abutters to the council.
Some councilors suggested pausing action until a new town planner can review the proposal; others said the proposed overlay largely preserves residential areas and would improve sidewalks, signage and site circulation. Planning staff said rezoning is limited to a small number of parcels and the overlay mostly establishes design expectations and potential zoning text amendments that would come back for public hearing and adoption in January.
No ordinance was adopted at the meeting; staff said the Council would see zoning text amendments and additional materials in January and that the planning page on the town website hosts the study and appendices.
