Affordable housing, wind turbines, arcades and short-term rentals were the topics of an hour-long Middletown City Council meeting on August 5.
The meeting was more about protocol than practical action, as a number of proposed changes to land use planning were discussed.
First, the city accepted a request to amend the zoning plan for the property at 351 East Main Road to expand the city’s use for new housing.
“We bought the property across the street to create affordable housing. Then earlier this year we bought the adjacent property to expand that property,” said city attorney Peter Regan, adding that the city intends to use the two-family house there as office space.
However, he said the property is zoned residential and office space is not allowed. The 22,000 square meter property needs to be subdivided and rezoned. The approved application will now go to the Planning Committee for recommendation and then back to the council for a public hearing.
In other matters:
– The council voted 6-0 to accept the application from Aquidneck Mini Golf at 40 Valley Road. The property owner is pushing for a zoning change that would allow movie theaters, arcades and bowling alleys in the limited commercial zone.
“The goal is to add an arcade to this facility,” said attorney Girard Galvin, who represents the owner. “We are looking for the easiest ways to expand the opportunities. Of course, we will approach the planning board and have a more comprehensive discussion.”
If rezoned, Galvin said, another property owner might have the opportunity to build an arcade, movie theater or bowling alley along Valley Road. Council voted to forward the application to the Planning Committee for review.
– Council approved communicating with the City Council to have a representative of Revolution Wind present to the Council at a future meeting, even though Middletown does not have a permit for this project, which has already been approved by the federal government.
The project will be located 15 miles off Point Judith and will consist of 65 turbines and two offshore substations. The cable will land at Quonset Point. The project received all permits and required approvals from CRMC and the Department of the Interior in August 2023 and is expected to be operational in 2025;
– At the request of Councilman Dennis Turano, officials will collect all current data on short-term and long-term rentals. Officials will use housing market data compiled by the current Comprehensive Plan Subcommittee.
Turano wants to start a citywide “project” to find out where all rental apartments are located, what the average income of renters is, whether owners rent out second homes on a permanent basis, and much more.
“I think it would give us a better understanding of how many rental properties we have, what types of rentals there are and maybe the rental prices in each area,” he said. “It would be valuable in making future decisions on housing issues.”
“We know where short-term rentals are located unless they are unregistered,” said Council President Paul Rodrigues, adding that if the city did so, “the people who don’t want to give us that information would think the city is trying to attack them in another way.”
There has been widespread discord among property owners in recent months as the city looks for ways to curb the increase in short-term rentals.
“I don’t know of any database that could give you such specific information on all the rental properties in the city,” said city planner Ron Wolanski.
– School Building Committee Co-Chair Ed Brady gave an update on the project, saying the “very long, arduous voting process” will be completed by August 8 and presented to the committee on August 14.
“Every time you adjust this contract, there will be change orders,” Brady said. “There will be no surprises. If something is wrong, you will know.”
– In a financial report, Finance Director Marc Tanguay told the council that the city could have an approvable surplus of $1.2 million before the audit, given similar tax collection levels to past years (about 98.5 percent).
