Route 195 land reuse bill moving swiftly, too swiftly?

Panel would have power over redevelopment of Route 195 land [The Providence Journal]

In addition to deciding on all redevelopment plans for the soon-to-be-vacant highway property, the proposed quasi-public commission would have the power to buy and sell land, borrow and lend money, invest money and negotiate tax agreements | all without state or city approvals. Employees of the commission would not be considered employees of the state or the city.

The legislation would give the commission such powers as setting zoning regulations and granting sales-tax exemptions to the companies it chooses to redevelop the land.

“Reading this bill set off a lot of alarm bells in terms of good government,” Common Cause Executive Director John Marion said in an e-mail. “Quasi-public entities should only be created when absolutely necessary. This entity will have the ability to tax, fine and hold elections. That is incredible power for an appointed entity.

“Even more worrisome is that this quasi-public [agency] will possess the powers of a number of city and state agencies, including planning and zoning, among others,” Marion said. “Essentially, this creates a separate city within the City of Providence, and one that is not controlled directly by the people.”

The powers of the proposed commission would stretch beyond the former highway land if a developer chosen for a project within the highway zone also owns abutting parcels. In that case, the abutting land would be subject to all the “powers and authority of the commission,” and not subject to any local review or approval.

The commission is authorized in the legislation to sell two parcels to Johnson & Wales University, provided that construction would begin within 12 months of the contract date and be completed within three years.

The university wants those irregularly shaped chunks of land along Friendship Street that adjoin its campus | known as parcels 31 and 36 | for student housing and academic buildings.

Well, we are working on re-zoning all of Downtown, including the Jewelry District and the Hospital District in order to prepare them for the “Knowledge Economy” businesses the city wants to attract. If the state creates a quasi-public authority that has zoning and regulatory jurisdiction over the 195 land and connected properties, that to me, means that the work we do, will not apply to the 195 land.

Perhaps the 195 authority will defer to the city’s zoning, but the legislation, as far as I understand it, does not require that.

I’ll just reiterate this:

“Essentially, this creates a separate city within the City of Providence, and one that is not controlled directly by the people.”

And, anyone who is aware of my personal politics might be surprised by this, but I would encourage people to read this article at Anchor Rising.

And, finally, the Senate has put off voting on this until Thursday, so people still have time to express their feelings on this issue to their Senators…

Senate committee won’t vote Tuesday (yesterday) on land bill [ProJo 7 to 7 Newsblog]

The idea that a mayor might appoint commission members appears to be in conflict with the state’s Separation of Powers law, Ruggerio said. Thus, he’s having the Senate’s legal counsel double check how members of the commission would be appointed.

Then, he intends to re-post the bill for Thursday, but he’s not sure yet whether he will post the bill for a hearing — when people would be allowed to testify about proposed changes — or simply a vote.

Even if public comments won’t be taken on Thursday, anyone can submit written testimony prior to that hearing for the committee to consider, Ruggerio’s assistant, Stephen Iannazzi, said.

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ProJo reports that AG Kilmartin opposes the proposed structure of the I-195 Redevelopment District Commission.

ProJo has also posted a copy of the AG’s letter [.pdf].