To the editor:

The public presentation in Newport on April 27, billed as Housing & Business: Community Conversation, was decidedly not a “conversation.” It was a one-sided rationalization for the state’s take over of citizen control of housing in their communities.

Speaker of the House Joseph Shekarchi headlined a presentation sponsored by the Greater Newport Chamber of Commerce. This event was about the affordable housing legislation passed in the last three years. The event was hosted by Rep. Terri Cortvriend. In addition to Mr. Shekarchi, the Middletown Town Administrator and representatives of Raytheon and NOAA were panelists. There were no questions from attendees, and the other side of the affordable housing issue was not presented, or even mentioned. There are at present eleven other town councils which have joined Portsmouth in passing resolutions opposing the loss of much of the discretion their planning and zoning boards exercise, as well as the council’s control over writing residential zoning code itself.

In almost half of the towns in our state, the councils — on a bi-partisan basis — have voted to enter Superior Court to obtain a temporary injunction on the housing laws passed in the recent Assembly sessions. This is being done to both evaluate the actual impact on the infrastructure of their towns and its cost. They also intend to ask the court to rule on the constitutionality of the 35 or so laws passed, and specifically how Article XIII, the home rule section of the Rhode Island Constitution, applies to that legislation.

While there are conflicting interpretations on the home rule provisions of the state constitution, there can be no dispute on one hard fact: two years ago, local government wrote and administered residential zoning code, and now they do not. Citizen oversight of that process is also now gone. In addition, the new laws put an end to the protections in the zoning code for single family homes on single lots.

The citizens of our towns are depending upon these courageous councils to fight for their property rights. This is because the loss of town residential zoning control now denies them a long tradition of easy access to the planning and zoning board, as well as a rewrite option with their councils. Now, they must file in Superior Court in any effort to oppose a bad building idea next door. That is a long and expensive process.

The Assembly and state government have been fighting the affordable housing battle for at least twenty years, with no evidence of success. Why is it now necessary for the local governments and our citizens to surrender their oversight and access to zoning management remedies to the State of Rhode Island and change the nature of our towns to deal with affordable housing shortfalls.

Why didn’t this panel include any of the local town councilors so the public could hear both sides of this story?

Larry Fitzmorris

President, Portsmouth Concerned Citizens

Portsmouth