Letter: Monastery purchase was always about housing

Posted 10/11/23

To the editor:

It is quite clear how the Barrington Times’ editor feels about open space, and yes, we can agree that it was a generous family donation of land off Sowams Road. However, all …

This item is available in full to subscribers.

Please log in to continue

Log in

Register to post events


If you'd like to post an event to our calendar, you can create a free account by clicking here.

Note that free accounts do not have access to our subscriber-only content.

Day pass subscribers

Are you a day pass subscriber who needs to log in? Click here to continue.


Letter: Monastery purchase was always about housing

Posted

To the editor:

It is quite clear how the Barrington Times’ editor feels about open space, and yes, we can agree that it was a generous family donation of land off Sowams Road. However, all town taxpayers now have a hand in its acquisition, as those three acres are permanently removed from the tax roles.

What we cannot agree on is the editor’s claim that the discussion at the 2021 FTM about the purchase of the Carmelite monastery property “was as much about open space as it was about housing”.

That is simply not true.

From the beginning, the intent of the purchase was always about the Town’s control of developing housing, specifically senior housing - for those of us who wish to stay in Barrington and not move to Warren or Bristol in order to downsize.

Why else would the Town have insisted on keeping the building at that time?

Barrington has housing needs, especially for seniors and for smaller starter homes, not a neighborhood park.

Kate Weymouth

Barrington

2024 by East Bay Media Group

Barrington · Bristol · East Providence · Little Compton · Portsmouth · Tiverton · Warren · Westport
Meet our staff
Jim McGaw

A lifelong Portsmouth resident, Jim graduated from Portsmouth High School in 1982 and earned a journalism degree from the University of Rhode Island in 1986. He's worked two different stints at East Bay Newspapers, for a total of 18 years with the company so far. When not running all over town bringing you the news from Portsmouth, Jim listens to lots and lots and lots of music, watches obscure silent films from the '20s and usually has three books going at once. He also loves to cook crazy New Orleans dishes for his wife of 25 years, Michelle, and their two sons, Jake and Max.