Replacing the Henderson Bridge Workshop 12/14

  The Cities of Providence and East Providence, the East Providence Waterfront Commission, and the Seekonk Riverbank Revitalization Alliance will host a workshop on:

Friday, December 14 at 3:30 PM Providence Department of Planning & Development 444 Westminster Street, first floor auditorium

The workshop will present designs for replacing the Henderson Bridge developed by Professor Will Green (URI) and his senior design studio for comment and input.

Rhode Island Transit Master Plan - Public Workshops 12/11-12/12

Public Open House Workshops - December 11-12, 2018
Providence, Woonsocket, Newport

The Transit Master Plan will envision how our passenger transportation network should look and operate in the future. In Rhode Island, our passenger transportation network currently includes bus, rail and water transportation services. The Transit Master Plan will envision how this network should be enhanced and further developed to best meet the travel needs of the state's residents, workers and visitors. To develop this plan, we will use data, public input, stakeholder feedback and more. Both short-term and long-term projects will be proposed, as well as an implementation strategy identifying potential partnerships, policies and needed investments.

Get Involved/FAQ

What you should know about every school district in RI

By: Dan McGowan 
Posted: Aug 27, 2018 12:04 AM EDT
Updated: Aug 27, 2018 12:11 AM EDT

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WPRI) – With classes set to begin for students across Rhode Island, Eyewitness News asked superintendents from every district to identify their district’s biggest strengths and challenges heading into 2018.

Each school leader was asked five questions: 1. What’s the number one thing parents and students should know about this district this year?2. What is the biggest challenge your district faces? 3. With voters set to consider a $250-million ballot question for school repairs across the state, what are the top three building improvements needed in your district? 4. What will your school district look like 10 years from now? 5. Tell us something nobody knows about your district.

So how did they respond?

Providence redevelopment plan stalls amid community concern

By: Dan McGowan,  WPRI
Posted: Jul 10, 2018 11:25 PM EDT
Updated: Jul 11, 2018 11:24 PM EDT

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WPRI) – A proposal to redevelop 233 acres of mostly industrial land along the Woonasquatucket River in Providence was met with sharp criticism Tuesday evening from business owners and residents who raised concerns about whether the city will seize their properties.

Repeated assurances were offered by city planning director Bonnie Nickerson that the proposal focuses on “public improvements to public property” and will not result in private properties being taken by eminent domain. But that did little to dissuade dozens of opponents who turned out for a public hearing in City Hall in front of the City Council Committee on Urban Redevelopment, Renewal and Planning (URRP)…

Nickerson agreed to conduct more outreach and return with an amendment that removes eminent domain language from the proposal.

Full Story

Providence seeks to borrow $160M for school repairs

By: Dan McGowan 
Posted: Jul 19, 2018 02:50 PM EDT
Updated: Jul 19, 2018 03:23 PM EDT

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WPRI) – Providence leaders are racing to add a question to the November ballot that would ask city voters for approval to borrow $160 million for school repairs over the next several years.

The bond question, which didn’t come to light until Thursday, will be introduced at Monday’s City Council meeting. In order to appear on the ballot, it must be approved before Aug. 8, which gives the council just over two weeks to vet the proposal.

Full Story

City Council Ordinance Committee hearing on Fane Tower zoning change 7/18

The City Council Ordinance Committee will hold a public hearing on the Fane luxury skyscraper proposal on Wednesday, July 18th at 5:30pm in the City Council Chamber (City Hall, 25 Dorrance Street, Third Floor).

Emily Martineau, City Council Chief of Staff at emartineau@providenceri.gov 

Chair Terrence Hassett at Ward12@providenceri.com.

A Towering Debate
By Dan McGowan
for the Eastside Monthly
Posted June 25, 2018

Excerpt
Fane already has an agreement in place to buy the land from the state for about $3 million, but he needs the City Council’s help. The maximum height for a building allowed in the location he wants to build is 130 feet, well short of the 500 feet he currently envisions. The City Plan Commission has already voted against recommending a zoning change, but the council has the final say. The proposal is currently before the council’s Ordinance Committee.

Full story with history of proposal

Brownfields as Land Reuse for Building Better Communities

Tuesday, July 17 at 9:30 AM - 12:30 PM
Navigant Credit Union - 693 Broad Street, Central Falls, RI 02863

The City of Central Falls Office of Planning and Economic Development along with New Jersey’s Institute of Technology TAB Team and Grow Smart RI have teamed up to host a free seminar on
Brownfields and how to effectively manage them in your community!

The workshop is open to planners, developers, community members, or anyone interested in the development of brownfields sites in Rhode Island.

For more information and to Register

Regulating Short Term Rentals (Airbnb) - Neighborhood Meeting 6/25

From Councilman Sam Zurier's 6-17-18-Ward-Letter

In recent months, Councilwoman LaFortune and I have received requests from constituents to consider regulation of short-term rental platforms such as Airbnb.  We asked the City Council staff to research current regulations in place in other communities.  We now would like to share that research with you and receive your thoughts and ideas about what type of regulation would make sense in Providence.  With that in mind, we have scheduled a neighborhood meeting to take place at the Rochambeau Branch Library Conference Room on Monday, June 25 at 6:00 - 7:00 p.m.  Please mark this on your calendar and consider coming if you wish to learn more about this issue and offer your feedback.

12 things to know about Providence's $749M budget

By: Dan McGowan 
Posted: Jun 18, 2018 10:05 PM EDT
Updated: Jun 19, 2018 05:17 PM EDT

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WPRI) – If all goes as planned, Providence will have a budget in place for the fiscal year that begins July 1 by the end of the week.

The City Council Finance Committee on Monday gave its blessing to a $749-million tax-and-spending plan that differs only slightly from the proposal Mayor Jorge Elorza put forward in April.

The budget, which is comprised of a package of several ordinances, will be considered by the full council at a special meeting Wednesday night and again Friday night. The council is widely expected to support the proposal.
Full Story

Next Stop: Making Transit-Oriented Development Work for RI

GrowSmartRI Forum

Cities and towns across our region and the nation are seizing on the public-private partnership opportunities to build stronger, more vibrant and sustainable communities through transit-oriented development.

With major transit projects currently in the works, increased demand for housing in walkable urban neighborhoods and job sites with convenient access to transit, Rhode Island is poised to take advantage of these trends to grow smart with transit.

For more information and reservations

Is there enough affordable housing in your town?

By PBN Staff -
May 6, 2018 12:15 am

The 2017 Housing Fact Book from HousingWorks RI at Roger Williams University notes that households earning the state’s median income of $56,852 in 2016 could afford the median-priced single-family home in only four of Rhode Island’s ­municipalities. For affordable housing advocates, that is not enough to meet the needs of the state’s families. They argue that more affordable housing needs to be built across the state, in every community. What do you think about the state of housing where you live?

PBN Survey

Life or Death for Fane Tower?

PROVIDENCE CITY PLAN COMMISSION NOTICE OF REGULAR MEETING

TUESDAY, MAY 15, 2018, 4:45 PM Joseph Doorley Municipal Building, 1st Floor Meeting Room 444 Westminster Street, Providence, RI 02903

CITY COUNCIL REFERRAL
6. Referral 3429 – Rezoning of a portion of AP 20 Lot 397 Petitioner: Fane Organization, Jason Fane and I-195 Commission The petitioner is proposing to create a new height subdistrict – D-1-600 – in the D-1 zone, and rezone AP 20 Lot 397 from D-1-100 to D-1- 600. The additional height is intended to allow for construction of a high rise residential building on the site. The petitioner is also proposing to change the zoning ordinance so that the Downtown Design Review Committee may waive regulations relating to building height, massing and required transition lines – for action (AP 20 Lot 397, Downtown)
Full Agenda

How much is Providence Water really worth?

The Objective Facts Behind Elorza’s Plan to Sell Providence Water
Posted on May 6, 2018
By Providence Rules
A project on transparency in government, regulation, law and politics.
Created by Johanna Harris.

Providence Mayor Jorge Elorza’s plan to monetize the city’s water supply is ideal material for a four-part mystery series with a twist ending.

In part one, entitled Status Quo, the Rhode Island Public Utilities Commission keeps the lid on the rates charged by Providence Water, constraining the utility to earn a zero rate of return. (Yes, zero.) So it’s a mystery why any potential buyer of the city’s water supply would have the remotest incentive to do so.
Full Story

RI leaders meet to discuss concerns with census trial run

By: Dan McGowan 
Updated: Mar 28, 2018 02:04 PM EDT

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WPRI) - With the Trump administration’s decision to add a citizenship question to the 2020 Census stoking fear that many immigrants will ignore the survey altogether, a group of Rhode Island leaders met privately in Central Falls Wednesday to discuss how the question may impact the country’s only trial run happening in Providence County. Full Story

City of Providence Seeks Community Input Ahead of JUMP Bike Share Program Launch

Bike Share is coming to Providence! We’ll soon be rolling out 400 JUMP bikes for anyone to use, and we want to hear from you!

Attend an upcoming Open House event to learn more, see an e-bike, and share your ideas about where you would like to see bike share hubs in our community.

Four bike share outreach events are planned as follows in Providence:

• Monday, March 19, 12:00-2:00pm - Downtown Open House, 444 Westminster Street, First Floor
• Monday, March 19, 6:30-8:00pm - West Side Open House, West Broadway Neighborhood Association (WBNA), 1560 Westminster Street
• Tuesday March 20, 6:30-8:00pm - East Side Open House, Brown RISD Hillel, 80 Brown Street
• Wednesday, March 21, 6:30-8:00pm - South Side Open House, SWAP Community Room, 500 Broad Street

Residents will also have the opportunity to voice support for bike share hub locations during an online campaign in late March. The final station map will be announced in summer 2018.

For more information follow JUMP Bikes on Facebook and check out their website at jumpbikes.com/about.

Contact:
Victor Morente, Press Secretary
401-441-4995
vmorente@providenceri.gov

A Budget Primer

Everything you should know about Providence’s improving-but-still-shaky finances
By Dan McGowan
Published: February 8, 2018, 1:12 pm  Updated: February 8, 2018, 1:51 pm

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WPRI) – Mayor Jorge Elorza used part of his State of the City address this week to tout progress on Providence’s short-term finances but also warn that the city still needs to address its massive unfunded liabilities for retirees. And he wasn’t just being cute with his words.

So how is it possible report budget surpluses while also staring down billions of dollars in long-term problems?

Here’s a cheat sheet that might help explain things.

State Finances/School Repairs

The following articles are not new but worth keeping track of.


A WPRI.com cheat sheet with key facts on the $9.4-billion tax-and-spending proposal
By Ted Nesi
Published: January 18, 2018, 4:00 pm  Updated: January 18, 2018, 9:37 pm


Raimondo’s $1 Billion School Rehab Initiative Will Only Address One-Third of Need
Friday, January 19, 2018
GoLocalProv News Team

Report: Providence tax deals lack compliance, transparency

By Dan McGowan, WPRI.com Reporter
Published: January 9, 2018, 12:45 pm

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WPRI) – There is “widespread noncompliance” with annual reporting requirements for recipients of tax breaks in the city of Providence, according to a review of the special deals released Monday by the city’s internal auditor’s office.

The 95-page report on the city’s 52 active tax stabilization agreements (TSAs), prepared at the request of the City Council, also suggests there “is not an easy or transparent way” for the public to learn about the incentives that are currently in place.

Full WPRI Story

Task force learns how RI could fund billions in school repairs

By Dan McGowan, WPRI.com Reporter

Published: October 23, 2017, 8:32 pm  Updated: October 23, 2017, 10:44 pm

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WPRI) – Rhode Island could fund billions of dollars in needed public school repairs by moving to a system that funds projects as they happen, placing a general-obligation bond question on next year’s ballot or offering incentives to cities and towns that commit to quickly making infrastructure improvements, General Treasurer Seth Magaziner suggested Monday.

Magaziner, who co-chairs the Rhode Island School Building Task Force, stopped short of making any recommendations during the panel’s second meeting, but he warned there is no amount of “financial wizardry” that will get the state out of spending more than it currently spends if leaders want to commit to making $600 million to $3 billion in school repairs in the coming years.

One thing Magaziner made clear to the group: “Just pouring money into this existing system isn’t going to get us there.”

 Full Story  

RI schools need $2.2B in repairs. Here are 12 things everyone should know

2017 State of Rhode Island Schoolhouses Report  (Jacobs Report)

Rhode Island School Building Task Force

Task Force Members, Agendas, Presentations & Minutes, Upcoming Meetings, Public Forums

Workshop: Designing A Vision for the “Post-Industrial” Seekonk Corridor

Designing A Vision for the “Post-Industrial” Seekonk Corridor

A Workshop on October 30, 6 to 8 PM

At Tockwotton on the Waterfront
500 Waterfront Drive, East Providence, RI 02914

This workshop will present work being done to redesign the Seekonk Corridor by Professor William Green’s University of Rhode Island Landscape Architecture Senior Design Studio. The workshop will provide an opportunity for people who care about the future of learn about the emerging vision for the area, give feedback, and contribute ideas.

The Seekonk Corridor extends from the Henderson Bridge to just south of the Washington
Bridge along both sides of the Seekonk River.

For more information