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2006 EPpy Winner -- Best multimedia Providence, R.I., Partly cloudy 66° |
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11.9.2001
Quonset: Surrounding towns give 'possible' port thumbs down BY ALEX KUFFNER Journal Staff Writer Talk of building a container port at Quonset Point-Davisville has touched a nerve beyond North Kingstown. It's an issue that's sparked official responses from almost all of Washington County's nine towns and from neighboring communities. The reaction has been far from positive. Charlestown, Hopkinton, Narragansett, New Shoreham, North Kingstown, Richmond, South Kingstown and Westerly have voted their opposition to a port facility or voiced concerns with its effect on the environment. Three towns in Newport County -- Bristol, Jamestown and Newport -- have followed suit. Exeter is the only town in Washington County that hasn't taken a position on a possible container port. The Town Council there discussed the prospect of a port but didn't take a vote on whether to oppose it. Opponents of building a cargo port at the former naval station have mostly cited fear for the environment. They say that container ships could contaminate the waters of Narragansett Bay and generate unacceptable levels of air, sound and light pollution. In 1999, North Kingstown, South Kingstown and Jamestown all passed resolutions against a plan at the time for a megaport put forward by Quonset Point Partners. That proposal was eventually dropped, but the possibility of building a container port in Quonset's industrial park has been raised again in the recently revised draft plan for the site. The Jamestown Town Council again voiced its disapproval of a port facility last year, stating that such a plan would be "expensive, time-consuming and divisive with an uncertain outcome." "We urge you not to include a container facility in your vision," the council wrote to the Economic Development Corporation. In March, the North Kingstown Town Council unanimously voted against building a port facility in Quonset. The resolution raised the prospect of adverse repercussions if the port were built, including increased traffic congestion and development pressures in a town seeking to manage growth. The council warned that going forward with a container port could sink the overall plan for Quonset. "A long, expensive permitting process at taxpayer expense could halt or even set back ongoing successful development and job creation at Quonset Point/Davisville," the council said in its motion. The council said it would support a "small, mixed-use" port at Quonset but only if it didn't require filling in parts of Narragansett Bay. In the months following its decision, the North Kingstown council mustered support from other Washington County towns, which filed their own resolutions against a port facility. South Kingstown officials outlined their opposition in a statement that touched on concerns for transportation, the public water supply, and commercial and residential development. The Westerly Town Council labeled a potential port "destructive to [the] quality of life" in neighboring communities. The council also raised the prospect of taxes being raised throughout Rhode Island if state subsidies were needed for such a project. Charlestown Town Council president Karen L. Lytle said a port wouldn't be feasible because it wouldn't turn a profit. Lytle, a member of the Washington County Regional Planning Board, also said a port would damage Narragansett Bay and in turn hurt tourism. The Charlestown council took the same position and voted to oppose a container port. Without going so far as opposing the plan, the Richmond Town Council voted to express concern with its possible effect on the bay. Council president W. Michael Sullivan said the main issue during discussions was whether there would be any dredging in the waters around Quonset Point to make room for a port facility. "The spirit of our motion was a concern for the future of the bay," said Sullivan this week. What officials from all these towns agree on is that their input is essential in developing a final master plan. The development of Quonset, they say, is a regional issue. "All of South County will be affected," said Lytle. "Anyone who doesn't think that is wrong."
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