They learned to live with the solar fields and sky-scraping windmills.
But 32 condos — 16 restricted to low- and moderate-income households, and 16 market rate units — neighbors testified last week, would “injure” homeowners in the rural Shun Pike neighborhood off Peck Hill Road, not far from Plainfield Pike.
The abutters of a proposed condominium development codenamed “Western Meadows,” pitched for construction at 198 Shun Pike, attended last Tuesday’s Johnston Planning Board meeting to sound their objections.
“We are deeply concerned about this proposed project and wish to voice our opposition for several compelling reasons,” said Keri Dennison-Leidecker, who lives at 200 Shun Pike, “immediately adjacent to the proposed development site.”
There Goes The …
“Our neighborhood along Shun Pike is quiet,” Dennison-Leidecker testified during a public hearing on the development. “It has a rural character. This peaceful environment is the primary reason we chose our house and moved back to Johnston last November.”
The development has been proposed by Robert Baldwin, member of Trinity Properties of RI, LLC, for a nearly 8-acre parcel currently zoned R-40 on the south side of Shun Pike. Last Tuesday’s public hearing was to issue a “Comprehensive Permit” for a “Preliminary Plan Submission.”
According to the developers, the project would help Johnston meet state-mandated affordable housing goals. They submitted the project under the state’s Low- and Moderate-Income Housing Act, and “after pre-application, preliminary plan review is the first stage of review for a project submitted under the Act, with only final plan review and approval after that on the local level.”
The developers tout financial benefits that they say will accompany the project — both tax dollars and the addition of 16-units toward state-mandated affordable housing quotas.
“A most important benefit that will accrue to the Town of Johnston is the provision for 16 additional Low & Moderate-Income housing units added to the inventory in Johnston and thus counted towards the 10% goal mandated by the State of Rhode Island,” asserts a Fiscal Impact Study submitted to the town by Trinity. “The Town is currently at 7.91%.”
The study also estimates Johnston “will realize total estimated revenues of $219,504 from Property Taxes on an annual basis with the development of the proposed Western Meadows.”
Déjà view?
Dennison-Leidecker said she and her partner sought “a serene place to live” when they relocated to Shun Pike.
“Introducing a development of this size and scale, no matter its purpose, at 198 Shun Pike, would drastically alter the quiet nature of our community,” she argued before the Planning Board. “Not only would it alter the serenity that Shun Pike offers, it would invariably raise the level of current traffic dangers. Traffic safety is a significant concern on Shun Pike — with frequent incidents of dangerous speeding. Adding more residential units will inevitably exasperate these issues; posing potential risk to pedestrians, cyclists and drivers alike.”
Following Dennison-Leidecker’s testimony, more than a dozen neighbors stood to punctuate her remarks.
Over the past few years, this region of Johnston and neighboring Cranston, has had its fair share of growing pains as resident groups have banded together to fight development projects.
Johnston residents successfully shot down a massive 160-acre Central Avenue solar project (that defeat still lingers in court). Cranston residents are fighting an 8-home development on Sage Drive (a zoning change was recently vetoed by Cranston Mayor Ken Hopkins; the City Council may challenge the veto next week).
Large swaths of untouched, mostly former farmland give the area a distinct rural feel. A blossoming housing crisis, however, has pitted developers and legislators against single-family homeowners.
“The ecological impact cannot be overstated,” Dennison-Leidecker argued. “Development will disrupt local wildlife habitats that are already struggling in our increasingly developed area, while the removal of trees and undergrowth and their replacement with asphalt and concrete, does further harm to the environment balance. Preserving our natural surroundings is crucial for maintaining the quality of life that attracted many of us to Johnston in the first place.”
‘The Trifecta’
Dennison-Leidecker had a trio of bullet points to share with the board.
“In short, a development of this sort injures Shun Pike and those who live there in three ways: its rural character is diminished, the risk to safety is elevated, and finally, the environment is harmed,” she testified.
Conscious of political correctness, some of the project opponents made careful arguments.
“Our objection is not against low to moderate-income housing,” Dennison-Leidecker explained. “Our objection is to the development of this tract because of the harms referenced. However, with respect to low and moderate-income housing, numerous areas in Johnston would be more conducive to such developments … Because these locations offer what many of the potential occupants would need; access to essential services like public transportation, grocery stores, pharmacies and access to schools. Locations with existing infrastructure to support residents’ daily needs would ensure a more sustainable and beneficial environment for low to moderate-income housing initiatives.”
The Plan
Trinity’s attorney Joelle C. Rocha, of Providence law firm Duffy & Sweeney, urged the Johnston Planning Board to approve the applicant’s proposal.
By the end of the meeting, the board balked at passage, voting instead to table the discussion so that the committee could digest all the testimony and information provided by the applicant.
“It’s state law now that frankly, the application as it has been presented, is ready to be approved,” Planning Board Vice-Chairperson Joseph Lembo told the crowd. “And legally, it covers everything. The state has now changed so many of our density rules … the affordability rules … (But) the community of Johnston does have a say in it.”
Each board member sat before a hefty paper packet of documents submitted by Trinity. The Trinity reps, Baldwin and their hired experts sat together at a table in the Johnston Senior Center dining room, where the Planning Board holds its hearings.
“This is also the first time we’ve had this type of a project in front of us,” Lembo told the crowd. “I did not read everything in the packet prior to this evening. I’ll admit my error there.”
Lembo tried to lower audience expectations. The crowd was getting argumentative; shouting down the attorney. The board was visibly torn between the competing interests.
“Technically, this could be approved right now,” Lembo told them. “Because it meets all state requirements. Are there things that we, the town of Johnston, can add to it, or ask for some adjustments? Sure. But I think the six of us, and my other two members, should also have some time to review this a little further.”
‘The Community’
Both the abutters and the applicant left unsatisfied. The project will be back on the agenda soon.
Meanwhile, the objectors are gathering like-minded neighbors, using yard signs and knocking on each others’ doors.
“Notably, the signs displayed throughout our entire neighborhood express a collective sentiment against this development,” Dennison-Leidecker told the board, and her fellow neighbors. “In conclusion, we urge the committee to prioritize the wishes … of the community over the financial interests of developers. Listening to the concerns of those directly affected by this proposal is vital in making an informed decision that respects the integrity and wishes of Johnston residents.”
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