Portsmouth residents to have say on
development
Newport Daily News online 8.9.07
By Matt Sheley/Daily News staff
 | ||
This tradesmen's center was recently built
at the corner of West Main Road and Locust Avenue in
Portsmouth. Commercial development is a hot topic in town.
(Jacqueline Marque/Daily News staff)
PORTSMOUTH - In the wake of last month's
withdrawal of a controversial proposal to build a Target
shopping center in town, local officials are taking a
two-pronged approach to determine what residents want in future
retail development.
A charrette, or planning workshop, will
be held Thursday, Aug. 23, at 7 p.m. at the Portsmouth senior
center on Bristol Ferry Road. Participants will break into
small groups to discuss various ideas before coming back
together to work toward a consensus.
The town also is forming a team to
test the community's development regulations by using a
hypothetical application to determine its strengths and
weaknesses.
"With the charrette, our intention
is to get a sense of what people want in terms of retail
development in town," said Gary R. Crosby, the assistant
town planner, who is coordinating both efforts.
"We'll be asking questions like,
'How far are you willing to drive for a refrigerator or a pair
of pants and a toothbrush?' Those are real questions, and we'll
see what people have to say.
"As for the simulation, we'll run a
big project through the process to see if the boards have the
tools to address development the way we want."
The Town Council voted last week to add
six months to the moratorium on all large-scale retail
construction at properties zoned for commercial, light
industrial and town center uses with frontage on
traffic-sensitive zones.
The council instituted a temporary ban on
such projects in mid-June after an outcry from some circles
that Portsmouth neither wants nor needs a 146,000-square-foot
Target on the west side of town.
During the public hearing last week,
residents expressed mixed opinions about the moratorium.
Town Administrator Robert G. Driscoll
said now seems like a good opportunity to step back and see
where things are working and where improvements are necessary.
"The idea is to get some dialogue
going," Driscoll said. "There are questions about
what sort of commercial and retail development should happen in
Portsmouth and this will be a good opportunity to answer
that."
Crosby said a group made up of lawyers,
residents with expertise in the area and local leaders will
take a mock development proposal and run it through the town's
entire regulation process as a test of the system.
That way, Crosby said the town will get
advice from those familiar with the rules and used to dealing
with them most.
"I suspect they're pretty good, but
we'll have to see what happens as a result of this
exercise," Crosby said. "It should prove to be
interesting."
LEARN MORE
Assistant Town Planner Gary Crosby is
coordinating an effort to examine Portsmouth's regulations and
suggest improvements. For more information, contact Crosby at
643-0332, by e-mail at gcrosby@portsmouthri.com or at Town Hall
at 2200 East Main Road.