As State Lawmakers Look to Boost Housing, Zoning Remains a Pitched Political Battle in Rhode Island

House Speaker Joe Shekarchi made housing a priority, but some towns object to losing local control

Charlestown Town Planner Jane Weidman displays a map of development around the town’s salt ponds.
Charlestown Town Planner Jane Weidman displays a map of development around the town’s salt ponds.
Ian Donnis/The Public’s Radio
1 min read
Share
Charlestown Town Planner Jane Weidman displays a map of development around the town’s salt ponds.
Charlestown Town Planner Jane Weidman displays a map of development around the town’s salt ponds.
Ian Donnis/The Public’s Radio
As State Lawmakers Look to Boost Housing, Zoning Remains a Pitched Political Battle in Rhode Island
Copy

As Rhode Island tries to accelerate progress in taming its housing crisis, zoning changes remain a flashpoint for conflict.

Jane Weidman, the town planner in Charlestown and legislative liaison for the Rhode Island chapter of the American Planning Association, said “there’s a lot of resentment” between local planners and state officials.

“It’s been an adversarial position instead of a collaborative position,” Weidman said. “There’s this idea up at the Legislature that things have to come down from the top: ‘We need state mandates.’ There’s the whole issue of overriding local land use control, which is, I think, where a lot of the tension is.”

The measure was a top priority for House Speaker Joe Shekarchi and Gov. Dan McKee signed it into law last week after years of political battle.

This story was reported by The Public’s Radio. You can read the entire story here.

Next hearing in seven-year legal battle set for May 8
With no Plan B in sight, homeowners, tenants, and seniors waited hours to protest a proposed 7.5% levy increase — a move Mayor Smiley says is vital to fund schools but critics fear will displace working families
On a crisp morning at Bradbury Mountain, Park Ranger Jeff Pengel leads a pun-filled journey into the overlooked world of lichens — ancient, resilient organisms quietly shaping our forests and hinting at the impacts of climate change
Saturday’s funeral mass will begin at 10 a.m. local time — 4 a.m. ET
Val Lawson and Frank Ciccone join forces in bid to lead chamber, while Ryan Pearson mounts challenge in high-stakes scramble for votes ahead of potential Tuesday decision
Activists and local officials demand answers after federal agents allegedly used a taser during an apprehension in Dexter Park and transferred the injured man without allowing him to speak to a lawyer