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Town agrees on approach to fold Narragansett Pier redevelopment language into zoning code
Summary
At a July 8 work session, the council and planning board reviewed a consultant's effort to transcribe the Narragansett Pier urban redevelopment plan into zoning ordinance language and signaled consensus for a cautious option that retains council approval authority while clarifying permitted uses, parking and landscaping rules.
The Council and Planning Board signaled support July 8 for moving the Narragansett Pier urban redevelopment plan's language into a new zoning ordinance section while retaining the town council as the approving authority.
Consultant Jay Parker of Weston and Sampson told the group the team had transcribed the redevelopment plan and successive amendments into a draft ordinance and identified four decision points for the board's direction: regulatory authority, permitted uses, parking and off-street loading, and landscaping requirements. "So there are 4 decision points that we are looking to get some assistance with," Parker said.
Why it matters: the redevelopment plan dates to 1969 and has been amended more than once; the consultant said much of the original language is dated and inconsistent with the town's current zoning code. Bringing the plan's provisions into an ordinance format would allow the town to apply rules consistently and to add clearer performance standards for parking, loading and landscaping.
The draft recommends preserving a single approving authority but providing the planning board and staff with clearer, table-based use lists and performance standards. Jill, the staff lead on the project, said the work has been supported by a state site-readiness grant awarded in 2024 and that the consultant's iterative draft (she said the working draft was about 800 pages) informed the current proposal.
Board members repeatedly emphasized minimizing new costs or permitting burdens for businesses already operating downtown. Durkin said the priority should be to "keep[] it vibrant," urging that changes not force existing uses into special-permit processes. Several members said an existing-use analysis—matching current businesses to proposed BA/BB/BC use categories—would help ensure the ordinance does not unintentionally make long-standing uses nonconforming.
On the landscaping point, Parker flagged vague language in the current plan (noting the existing text that "all unpaved areas shall be landscaped") and proposed borrowing clearer standards from the Galilee Special District as a baseline. The council and board voiced general support for refining landscaping standards so they are enforceable but not unduly burdensome.
Next steps: with consensus around the consultant's "option 1" approach—leave final regulatory authority with the council while the planning board refines use tables and performance standards—staff and Weston and Sampson will produce a draft ordinance for further planning-board review and eventual presentation to the council and public hearings.
