BARRINGTON -- A developer is exploring a
plan to put 75 condominium units on nine acres between the Palmer River
and Sowams Road. And the plans calls for 25 percent of the housing to be
affordable under state law -- housing Barrington is supposed to increase
as part of a statewide effort to provide people of low and moderate
income with more places to live.
Developer Tom Chase presented the preliminary concept for Osprey
Landing, as it's known, to the town's Technical Review Committee last
week, Chase's lawyer on the proposal, Bruce Cox, said by phone
yesterday. Cox said the plan is in the very early stage. An eventual
next step would be to present a proposal to the Planning Board.
By Cox's calculations, the 25 percent affordable housing would work out
to roughly 18 or 19 of the units, on a site where the Sowams Nursery has
been. He suggested that units could be aimed at people such as teachers
and police officers who serve communities but find it difficult if not
impossible to secure places to live nearby.
The state has required communities to come up with plans that include
strategies for increasing their affordable housing.
"Barrington has a severe deficit in that regard," Cox said of the
percentage of affordable housing.
A recent report by HousingWorks R.I., a group advocating more affordable
housing opportunities, put Barrington's affordable housing at 1.5
percent of the town's total housing stock, well below the 10 percent
goal mandated by the state. The town has been seeking state approval of
its affordable housing plan. Most Rhode Island towns have state-approved
plans.
Whether any proposal for the land between Sowams Road and the Palmer
River would fit into the town's affordable housing plan was not clear
yesterday. Even while the town's affordable housing plan is pending
state approval, the town's solicitors have said local zoning officials
can hold a developer to standards outlined in the plan because the Town
Council approved it more than a year ago.
However, if a developer, using the comprehensive permit process for
affordable housing, were to appeal to the state Housing Appeals Board
after a local zoning denial, a town is considered to be on stronger
ground if it has a state-approved affordable housing plan. It was not
clear if Barrington's plan still awaits state approval; it had not been
posted as of last night on the Web site of the Office of Statewide
Planning, where communities' approved plans are posted.
Still, town officials have said they believed the town's plan will get
state approval before a developer's proposal reaches the state appeal
level.
Cox said one idea for the development is "to have the lion's share" be
for people age 55 and older. The units that would come under the
affordable-housing provision may not end up being age restricted.
Cox said that many people age 55 and older are downsizing from larger
homes these days. He added that "a tremendous amount of green space" is
allotted in the current configuration of the housing units, which he
described as one- and two-bedroom units. A copy of the early plan for
the development was not available late yesterday.
"We wanted to get some feedback from the Technical Review Committee,"
Cox said.
Staff writer Michael P. McKinney can be reached at (401) 277-7447 or at
mmckinneATprojo.com
ARTICLE TOOLS: 
