LNG bill becomes law

PROVIDENCE — Legislation requiring a host of new approvals for any emergency-response plan governing the transportation of liquefied natural gas through Rhode Island waters has become law. The bill passed into law July 3 without Governor Carcieri’s signature. Sponsored by Rep. Raymond E. Gallison Jr., D-Bristol, Portsmouth, the law gives the General Assembly and all Rhode Island cities and towns on Narragansett Bay and Mount Hope Bay authority over any emergency-response plan for LNG that would be developed by the state Emergency Management Agency. Gallison introduced the legislation earlier this year to not only give local communities a say in the plan but also to complicate the approvals process for a proposed LNG terminal in the Fall River area.

Hydro plant could reopen

WOONSOCKET — A proposed agreement between the city, the Department of Environmental Management and a Connecticut company that would reopen the Thundermist Hydroelectric Plant, which has been closed since 2002, will be considered by the City Council on Monday. Putnam Hydropower Inc. of Woodstock, Conn., wants to lease the hydroelectric facility for 20 years and is offering $3 million to do so. That amount would help the city pay off a debt of $2 million it incurred when it ran the plant, according to Michael Annarummo, director of administration/public works. The city would receive $150,000 a year from Putnam Hydropower. The hydroelectric facility was completed in 1982. The city built the plant thinking it would be profitable but between the cost of operations, regulatory issues and the ups and downs of the electric market, the city lost $2 million, Annarummo said. The plant is capable of providing power for more than 800 homes, he said.

Wind power in Barrington

BARRINGTON — A town-owned site at the end of Legion Way has become the prime candidate for Barrington’s wind turbine after Governor Carcieri’s office announced that it would allow net metering legislation to become law. The law allows a community to produce wind power at one location but use the electricity at other town-owned buildings. “That’s something we’ve been waiting for,” said Town Council President Jeffrey Brenner. Under the old law, communities had to consume the power at the place they generated it, severely restricting where the turbines could be economically located. That’s why officials originally said they needed to erect the windmill at the high school, easily the town’s largest consumer of electricity. The high school proposal has sparked opposition from many neighbors. The new site, at Brickyard Pond, is more remote and is believed to have stronger winds.

Business unit relocates

The Department of Business Regulation has completed its relocation from 233 Richmond St. in Providence to the John O. Pastore Complex in Cranston. The DBR’s new address is 1511 Pontiac Ave., and the offices are now located in buildings 68 and 69 in the Department of Labor and Training complex. The address was incorrectly listed in yesterday’s Business Section. Directions to the new office are available at the department’s Web site, www.dbr.state.ri.us. The new phone number is 401-462-9500. The fax number is 401-462-9532.

Narragansett parking woes

NARRAGANSETT — The Town Council and Gilbane Development Co. have agreed to seek a solution for some of the parking woes in the Pier area, but they made no headway on a larger issue: How Gilbane should move forward with the next phase of its commercial redevelopment in the area. The parking issue, sparked by the recent opening of Trio, an upscale 275-seat restaurant on Kingstown Road, had the two sides going back and forth during a special workshop until Gilbane agreed to talk with the people running Trio and see if they can live with fewer designated spaces. At present, the new restaurant has more than 70 parking spots, all of them on Gilbane land but many near the town library and long used by library patrons when the small town-owned lot outside the library was full. The sudden appearance of Trio-only signs in a large lot between the restaurant and the library angered some residents last month and sparked a petition calling for the town to limit on-street parking in front of the library to two hours. The town has since determined that there was already a two-hour limit in place from May 15 to Sept. 15, but Town Manager Jeffry Ceasrine said Trio risks losing business during the off season if year-round residents are angry because they can no longer park near the library.

Affordable-housing ruling

BURRILLVILLE — A recent state Supreme Court ruling has extinguished a legal struggle with some developers who wanted to alter the character of the town by putting up three affordable-housing projects, totaling 304 units, a town lawyer said this week. “It’s a huge victory,” lawyer Patrick Dougherty said. The court has ruled that the applications for the three projects were incomplete when they were filed in 2004, amid a rush of such proposals around the state. At the time, developers were trying to take advantage of less restrictive rules for affordable-housing projects. A month later, a moratorium stalled many such projects. However, a state appeals board later found that the three Burrillville projects — in the East Avenue, Pascoag and Crystal Lake neighborhoods — were special. The top court ruled July 3 that the state appeals board had not followed its own 10-part standard for determining the completeness of the applications. The prospects for the projects are now doubtful because the proposals don’t meet the terms of the town’s newly established affordable-housing plan, Dougherty said.

New proposal for affordable housing

NARRAGANSETT — Encouraging developers to build affordable houses alongside market-rate houses is a key goal for communities across Rhode Island as they try to comply with housing requirements set by the state. In Narragansett, rather than lure developers with more potential lots or units, the town would provide a mandate: If a developer is building six or more houses, or “dwelling units,” at least one in five must be affordable. The proposed ordinance, which received the first of two needed approvals from the Town Council on Monday, is something of a compromise. For more than a year, the council went back and forth on a so-called “inclusionary zoning” ordinance that would have given developers a density bonus for building affordable housing, but council members and residents said increasing the density could change the character of Narragansett. Last month, Councilman Christopher Wilkens offered a solution: Adopt an ordinance that requires developers to build affordable units but offers no density bonus. That way, the town would at least have an ordinance on the books, giving it some credibility with the state.

Ordinance would regulate Segways

NEWPORT — The City Council didn’t seem to like the idea of Segway two-wheeled scooters scooting anywhere in the city, but members have given preliminary approval to an ordinance regulating their use. City Solicitor Joseph Nicholson said, “The General Assembly has told us we have the right to regulate the operation of these vehicles,” he said, but not to ban them outright. The “electric personal assistive mobility device” legislation forbids them to operate on sidewalks. In addition, the scooters can’t be used in bicycle lanes or on school playgrounds or ball fields, except when used by someone who is disabled. They may be operated on roads and shoulders from sunrise to sunset. To be considered an EPAMD, the vehicles must not be capable of traveling at speeds in excess of 15 mph, and the city’s public safety director may establish areas where a 5 mph speed limit may be enforced.

Revaluation company makes adjustments

NORTH PROVIDENCE — The firm that conducted the recent statistical revaluation of town properties took appeals in late May and early June from 745 taxpayers who thought the assessments were too high and approved changes to 438 of them. That was the word from Robert Battey, director of revaluation services for Appraisal Resource of East Greenwich. Battey said the numbers disprove the assertions of some residents that the company ignored what taxpayers had to say. He said the firm’s hearing officers listened for relevant information and made adjustments accordingly. Most of the adjustments were small.

Smith Hill liquor store is closed

PROVIDENCE — SNM Liquors, a Smith Hill shop that critics said had become known as a place where teenagers could illegally buy beer and liquor, apparently is closed for good. The city Board of Licenses revoked SNM’s liquor license after SNM’s sales were linked to a fatal car accident in Barrington that involved teenagers. But then SNM appealed the revocation to the Rhode Island Department of Business Regulation in May. Assistant City Solicitor Steven L. Catalano reported that the appeal recently was withdrawn, after state hearing officer Catherine Warren refused to allow SNM to reopen during its appeal. That means the store is closed permanently, Catalano said.

Eatery told to curtail the noise

NORTH PROVIDENCE — The Town Council has advised the owner of the Golf Restaurant & Lounge to take additional measures to control noise or risk a suspension or revocation of his liquor and entertainment licenses. In a show-cause hearing last week at Town Hall, council members heard testimony from the restaurant’s owner, Thomas J. Polselli, and from two homeowners who complained that patrons were making too much noise when they went outside to smoke, make phone calls or use a putting green the owner installed next door. The neighbors also complained that matters were made worse by holding cookouts at its location at the rear of 1601 Mineral Spring Ave.