Harrisville planning commission recommends against Ordinance 571 after heated public hearing over density and fit

The Harrisville Planning Commission voted on June 30, 2026 to recommend that the City Council not adopt Ordinance 571, a proposed overlay and master development agreement for parcels at about 640 West Harrisville Road. The commission reopened a public hearing on the ordinance, heard a detailed presentation from the applicant and dozens of residents, then approved a motion opposing the ordinance and sending that recommendation to the council.

Developer Randy Smith of Kilestone Homes described the proposal as a discretionary use of the city’s overlay tool to create 31 lots (30 new homes and one existing house) and to offer at least half of the new homes at a target price of $498,000 tied to a 120% area median income metric. "Every target value home will carry a 20 year deed restriction," Smith said, adding that the restriction requires owner‑occupancy and that the developer is contractually committed to the price for the specified units.

Smith told the commission the project includes cottage and two‑story home types, optional rear garages, and design controls intended to produce variety and quality materials. He also asked the commission for several flexibilities: averaging lot frontages to about 46 feet, allowing a 4‑foot front porch encroachment on cottage lots, and modifying the road section (the plans showed 28 feet of asphalt but the applicant said staff prefers 30 feet and the developer proposed updating plans accordingly). The applicant acknowledged the surveyed site is 4.964 acres—short of the 5‑acre threshold in the overlay—and discussed options including flexibility in the development agreement or minor ordinance changes to address that difference.

Staff repeatedly reminded the commission that the action is advisory to the City Council. As staff put it, "this is a legislative decision... there is no obligation to approve this," and the council will hold its own public hearing before a final decision.

Public comment was strongly tilted against the proposal. The mayor, who spoke as a resident, said he did not believe the site was the right location for dense housing. Several long‑time neighbors said the plan would be a sharp and harmful change from surrounding rural and agricultural lots. "These houses are crummy looking... This will turn into a slum of Harrisville," one resident said, expressing the fears of some neighbors about quality and neighborhood fit. Other speakers warned that granting variances or amending the overlay to accommodate this project would set a precedent that encourages more dense infill in rural areas.

After deliberations, a commissioner moved that the commission not adopt a favorable recommendation for Ordinance 571 and the associated master development agreement; that motion passed by voice vote. The meeting record does not include a roll‑call tally in the transcript; vote counts and individual member votes were not specified in the provided record. The commission’s recommendation will be transmitted to the City Council, which will schedule its own public hearing and final decision.

The developer emphasized that the proposal was drafted to meet a target price and that without requested flexibilities the project might not be financially viable. Opponents said that even if the city needs more housing, this site and the scale proposed were not appropriate for the neighborhood.

Next steps: the Planning Commission’s recommendation will be included in the public record forwarded to the Harrisville City Council for consideration at a future council hearing.