As Tiverton braces for the possible influx of hundreds of new housing units, residents, legislators and members of the town council and planning board want state legislators to change a state law they believe strips them of their power to direct the town’s future and reject proposals that might otherwise be denied on legitimate grounds.

Town planners are currently reviewing five “comprehensive permit” applications for housing developments that, if ultimately approved here, would see 737 new homes and condos built across town (see sidebar, bottom of story).

Comprehensive permits are a streamlined development tool allowed under the state’s Low and Moderate Income and Housing Act. In towns like Tiverton, where less than 10 percent of the housing stock is deed-restricted as “affordable,” comprehensive permit applications allow developers to side-step some zoning and other local requirements, if they set aside at least 25 percent of their planned units for those of low to moderate income. Tiverton’s percentage of affordable housing units sits at 4.26 percent.

Those concerned about the law’s impact here say it has the potential to affect nearly every aspect of life in town — population density, school populations, parking and traffic, environmental issues and development that isn’t consistent with the town’s Comprehensive Community Plan.

Petition drive, and planning ideas

With little means for town officials to reject proposals they don’t believe fit the town, planning board and council members have asked for help from Tiverton’s legislative delegation. And residents are also stepping in.

Highland Road resident Stu Gilfillen, chairman of the Tiverton Recreation Committee, started a petition drive earlier this month which seeks changes to the state law. About a week after it was started, the petition has 300 signatures.

“We need more affordable housing in our community, but I believe there are better, more collaborative ways to accomplish that goal,” Gilfillen said.

Last week, planning board members went over a host of strategies they hope will help. They include:

• Regular reports (more than one per year) from the state on where the town sits with regard to its affordable housing percentage;

• An increase in the number of units that must be designated affordable under comprehensive permits, from the current 25 percent to 50 percent, as recommended by board chairwoman Patricia Hilton;

• The reduction or elimination of “state density bonuses,” which eliminate restrictions on how many housing units can be built on particular parcels, in exchange for at least 25 percent of the dwelling units being designated affordable. In a letter to the town council, board members wrote that “our underlying zoning is based on the amount of density determined to be sustainable by the carrying capacity of the land and should not be superseded by a one-size-fits-all state regulation;

• A change in state law that gives Rhode Island residents priority to purchase units deemed affordable.

“I think that if we’re going to address the community needs, including the greater Rhode Island community, I think the affordable units should be restricted to Rhode Island residency,” Hilton said.

• Changes that would require more parking than comprehensive permits applications are now required to provide.

• To avoid “land banking,” the practice of purchasing developable land but then sitting on it for years with little action, members want vesting and construction periods required under state law to be considerably shortened.

“If you’re building 30 units, it should not take you five years to build the thing,” Hilton said during the planning board meeting.

Legislators working on it

The four members of Tiverton’s legislative delegation (Representatives Michelle McGaw and Jay Edwards, and Senators Louis DiPalma and Walter Felag) told town council members Monday evening that they are working on bills they hope will address many of the suggestions previously made by planning board and council members.

Specifically, legislators said they are focusing on three key areas:

• Raising the minimum percentage of affordable housing units in any new development from 25 to 50 percent. A bill to that affect, sponsored by Sen. Felag, has already been introduced.

• McGaw and Edwards spoke in favor of changing vesting and construction windows within state law to avoid the ‘land banking’ referred to by planning board chairwoman Hilton;

• And legislators said they will look at how to account for mobile homes in future developments. McGaw and Edwards are expected to introduce a bill that would allow manufactured homes to be credited toward affordable housing requirements. Currently, such homes are not credited towards developers' affordable housing percentages.

Felag added that Section 8 homes, which are owned or rented by residents with financial assistance from the federal government's housing choice voucher program, will be included towards affordable housing going forward. He said that should bring the town's percentage of affordable housing units up.

‘Affordable’ housing developments: Where are they?

Five projects that together include 737 new housing units are currently under review by the Tiverton Planning Board. They include:

• The Pocasset Reserve Development, also known as Tiverton Heights, at 787 Fish Road. Proposed by Harking Homes LLC, the development would include 275 housing units, 69 of which are designated as affordable.

• The Sunset Ridge Development, 439 Main Road. Proposed by JML Excavation Inc., the development would include eight townhouses, two of which are designated affordable. The project has been given conditional approval by the planning board, but plans for final approval have not yet been submitted.

• The Vital at Tiverton Commons, Souza Road. Proposed by BCP Properties LLC, the development would include 256 units, 64 of which are designated as affordable. The proposal also includes a neighborhood daycare facility, a dog spa and a resort-style clubhouse.

• Friendship Farm, Stafford Road. Proposed by Tiverton Investments, the development would include 155 units, approximately 39 of which are designated as affordable.

• The Souza Road Condominiums, Souza Road. This development would consist of 43 units, 11 of which would be designated as affordable.

— With reports by Ted Hayes