Providence Mayor David N. Cicilline’s decision to go ahead with a revision of the city’s comprehensive plan before revamping the zoning code, an abrupt change from his previous stance, is better late than never.
Still, one has to wonder why it took such a strong and sustained outpouring of opposition by neighborhood activists before the mayor reversed course this week. The same kind of dissatisfaction with key elements of the city’s planning and development process, after all, has long been evident (see “Boiling Point,” October 8, 2004). In particular, activists around town felt that the city was doing things backwards by pursuing a rewrite of the zoning code before articulating a comprehensive vision for planning and development.
Residents’ deep misgivings about the city’s course were on prominent display during a February 15 meeting of the Providence City Plan Commission. Although municipal meetings are not uncommonly deadly dull affairs, the strong emotions at this gathering reflected a distinct lack of confidence that neighborhood concerns were being adequately taken into account in the Cicilline administration’s planning and development process.
A crowd of more than 50 people spilled out of the Providence Department of Planning & Development’s smallish fourth-floor conference room during the clammy mid-day gathering, leading to complaints that the location was a poor choice for topics as important as the city’s comprehensive plan and waterfront development. Responding to these concerns, the Plan Commission agreed to table the disc
ussion before resuming on Tuesday afternoon. As it turned out, the February 15 meeting seems to have convinced Cicilline to change course.
As part of his upbeat spiel, the mayor regularly trumpets the high level of development unfolding around Providence — an amount that hasn’t been seen in a very long time. Even in a cash-poor city like Rhode Island’s capital, though, development remains a double-edged sword, particularly when much of it caters to the upper end of the market. Sustaining Providence’s distinct character amid this relative gold rush requires vigilance and a deliberate planning process. Thanks to the steady interest of neighborhood activists, the prospects for this now seem a little brighter.
