Providence residents voiced their concerns on issues ranging from the University's recent construction projects to public drunkenness on Thayer Street in a forum Monday night concerning the future of College Hill.
The meeting, sponsored by the College Hill Neighborhood Association and held at the Moses Brown School, featured presentations from Providence Mayor David Cicilline '83 and Thomas Deller, director of the Department of Planning and Development.
Cicilline took time to address broader citywide issues and highlighted improvements in public safety, neighborhood planning and economic development made under his administration.
"I don't think you can talk about the future of College Hill in isolation," he said.
Cicilline emphasized improvements in public safety, gains he said are primarily the result of improving relations between the Providence Police Department and Brown police officers.
College Hill residents voiced specific concerns regarding changes in the neighborhood. Many of these issues involved the expansion of "institutional land use" by the University and the Rhode Island School of Design.
The construction of the Life Sciences Building drew particularly heated criticism from several residents, who said the large scale of the project cheapens the neighborhood's residential appeal.
The Life Sciences Building "has changed the whole character of this hill," Gerry Immon said, to applause from the crowd. "I feel like I'm living underneath the pyramids."
Immon and other residents stressed the importance of preserving pedestrian access to the neighborhood, an element they believe is compromised by such large-scale developments.
"We don't want the six-story buildings ... and I hope they don't build any more," Alma Sanderson said. "A lot of people here aren't too happy with Brown."
Residents also expressed frustration with Thayer Street's growing nightlife scene, a trend some say increases public drunkenness and other incidents that disturb the peace and violate College Hill's status as a residential neighborhood.
"I feel like I'm living on Bourbon Street," one resident said.
Deller said part of the problem is due to the approval of liquor licenses for Thayer Street establishments. He said the issue "is something we're aware of."
Deller used the meeting to outline two of the planning department's current initiatives, which address land-use concerns and zoning ordinances in the city.
Under the Neighborhood Investment Project, the Planning Department will draw up land-use maps for each of the city's 25 neighborhoods and address other issues concerning residents of each area, Deller said. Once the Planning Department completes this research, it will solicit feedback from residents through town meetings and discussions to gain a "clear vision" for future planning efforts in each neighborhood.
The planning department then hopes to revise these land-use maps to address residents' concerns, producing complete neighborhood plans by October 2005.
Deller said this process will help the city deal with the increase of proposals from developers looking to take advantage of Providence's "hot real estate market."
"We haven't been given clear direction in what we want," Deller said, in reference to plans for further development in the city. The planning department's primary goal is to maximize financial gains from these potential developments while maintaining each neighborhood's character and history, Deller said.
This focus on preservation means that the department will be reluctant to consider any large-scale "suburban-style" retail projects.
"We want the city to feel like a city," Deller said.
The planning department is also in the process of developing new zoning ordinances for individual neighborhoods, a process Deller said he hopes to complete by the end of March. If the department remains on schedule, these revised ordinances will become law by mid-June, he said.
The planning department has spent eight months reformatting ordinances in light of recent legal challenges to its decisions on certain developments, Deller said. For example, when the department rejected one proposed project, the developer successfully challenged the ruling in court, he said.
In order to prevent further undermining of the department's authority, Deller said the department plans "to rush forward to revise zoning ordinances to conform with state law."
The meeting was "more about laying the groundwork of what we're trying to do," Deller told The Herald. "I thought the group responded fine."
Barbara Harris, president of the College Hill Neighborhood Association, said the meeting gave officials the opportunity to present to residents a general outline of future plans.
"We wanted to give feedback to the city," she said.
Residents offered mixed responses to the meeting. While some said they appreciated the broad overview of the city's planning agenda, others said they thought the presentation and discussion could have dealt with more issues specific to College Hill.
Victoria Veh said she believed the presentation's content was "appropriate for this point in the process."
Sara Bradford said an overview of the city's planning process "is something the neighborhood is interested in, because (residents) want to be a part of the process."
But Immon said he was disappointed the meeting did not address many specific issues pertaining to College Hill.
"I think we had an overview. ... This neighborhood needs more discussion," he said.
