In 2016, consultants reviewed the remaining land in Charlestown available for housing development and determined that if no more land is preserved, many thousands more housing units will be built and our year-round population will triple. . Occurring primarily in North Charlestown, this development will dramatically alter the character of our community, destroy some of Rhode Island’s most critical forests that provide wildlife habitat and clean our water and the air we breathe, reduce our appeal to tourism and will significantly increase tax rates.
Candidates backed by the Charlestown Citizens Alliance have won grants and built community support for open space bonds to buy land in partnership with government agencies and private groups, such as the US Fish and Wildlife Service, the Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management and The Nature Conservancy. .
As a result, we have created a community characterized by protected lands that offer scenic views; wildlife habitat; ground and surface water protection; and permanent public access to hiking trails, forests, ponds, open fields, ocean beaches, and the Pawcatuck River. This open space has created jobs, provided recreation opportunities, attracted tourists, reduced flood insurance rates, kept the cost of community services down, and improved the quality of life.
Our opposition to this year’s election argues that we have too much open space, that we shouldn’t be acquiring any more, and that land preservation competes with development and slows residential growth. The data does not support their claims.
In 2015, voters approved $2 million to “fund open space acquisition and preservation,” and so far we’ve preserved 150.5 acres, using $341,250, with funding from DEM, to purchase a 27-acre property with 1,600 feet of frontage on the Pawcatuck River; $100,000 in partnership with TNC to preserve 55 acres contiguous to TNC’s Pasquiset Reservation; $75,000 to purchase a 3.5 acre parcel next to City Hall; and $500,000, with a grant from DEM, to purchase 65 acres of trails adjacent to the Francis Carter Reservation. We also received a $400,000 Natural Heritage Grant to purchase the 100-acre Saw Mill Pond watershed, but this purchase is currently blocked by Councilors Carney and Klinger.
The 150.5 acres preserved could have supported about 47 house lots. During the same period, developers were allowed to subdivide 707 acres of farmland and forest into 201 new residential units. The city has issued building permits for the construction of new homes on these and many other lots, other vacant lots continue to be developed for commercial use, and over 400 acres are being ground for the gravel.
Development is progressing at more than five times the rate of preservation, yet our political opponents see land conservation as a threat to population growth!
To continue to protect our city and develop the land responsibly, vote for Susan Cooper, Peter Gardner, Ann Owen, Joshua Vallee and David Wilkinson for the city council, and for Walter Mahony, Carol Mossa and Lisa St Godard for the commission of planning.
Ruth Platner
charlestown
The author is the current chair of the Charlestown Planning Commission.