To the editor:
Councilman Primiano’s letter to the editor of Sept. 21, contains just the kind of political distortions and half-truths that we should work to avoid in our local …
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To the editor:
Councilman Primiano’s letter to the editor of Sept. 21, contains just the kind of political distortions and half-truths that we should work to avoid in our local politics.
In our small town, council people are elected to make reasoned and informed decisions based on the law, the public’s input and guidance from the appropriate professionals. We are not well served when council members spread misinformation. So let’s start with the facts:
1. The developers of the Zion property have a state obligation to subsidize 20 percent of their non-nursing care units so that they meet the State of RI mandate for affordable housing. Barrington’s ordinance calls for 30 percent in an effort to increase the number of affordable units before all the buildable land is gone.
2. To avoid an obligation they feel is detrimental to the success of their development, the developers and the council negotiated that there could be a fee-in-lieu of that obligation. According to state law that fee must be used to create affordable housing elsewhere in town or the money goes to the state (for the same purpose and not necessarily used in Barrington).
3. The $2.3 million that Mr. Primiano would like to see used to reduce property taxes cannot be used that way by state law.
Zion’s agreement to fund the fee-in-lieu would be a win-win for the town. Barrington complies with the state mandate and it doesn’t cost the taxpayers a cent.
If the councilman would rather not see the construction of affordable housing in a town that desperately needs it to keep their seniors and younger adults from moving out, he should make that clear and not hide behind the other fiscal demands made on the budget.
No matter who is elected, we are required to create affordable units up to 10 percent of our total housing units. This mandate was created exactly because municipal leaders in some Rhode Island towns have resisted or refused to obey the state laws or to represent all the people of the community. When you vote for council members vote for those who truthfully tell the full story behind the issues.
Michael Winitsky
Barrington
Mr. Winitsky is a former member of the Barrington Housing Trust.