TOWN OF WESTERLY, RHODE ISLAND COMPREHENSIVE COMMUNITY PLAN 2020 – 2040 DECEMBER 3, 2020 FOR PUBLIC HEARING ON JANUARY 4, 2021 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The Town of Westerly extends its sincere thanks to the many residents, community advocates, business leaders, stakeholders, and staff who have participated in the creation of this Comprehensive Plan. The sharing of your knowledge and experiences and the volunteering of your skills and time has been instrumental to the future we have envisioned herein. Town Manager J. Mark Rooney TOWN COUNCIL PLANNING BOARD Council President Christopher A. Duhamel Chairman James A. Hall, IV Council Vice President Suzanne K. Giorno Vice Chairman Richard W. Constantine Sharon E. Ahern Secretary Christopher K. Lawlor William J. Aiello Alternate Secretary Justin M. Hopkins Karen A. Cioffi Jason A. Parker Caswell Cooke, Jr. Dylan A. Kosten Joseph Montesano Brian H. McCuin Salvatore Zito DEPARTMENT OF DEVELOPMENT SERVICES COMPREHENSIVE PLAN CITIZENS’ ADVISORY COMMITTEE Lisa Pellegrini, Director of Development Services Former Chairwoman Gail E. Mallard Nancy E. Letendre, Esq., AICP, Town Planner Vice Chairman Joseph T. MacAndrew Nathan Reichert, Zoning Official Faith Bessette-Zito Benjamin R. Delaney, Principal Planner Stuart G. Blackburn Alyse Y. Oziolor, Principal Planner James J. Federico, III John Armstrong LEGAL COUNSEL Atty. Scott Levesque, Bengtson & Jestings, LLP Gina T. Fuller Nancy N. Richmond CONSULTANTS Catherine DeNoia Mason & Associates, Inc. New England GeoSystems 2020 Comprehensive Plan | i TABLE OF CONTENT 2020 Comprehensive Plan | ii TABLE OF CONTENT Acknowledgements ................................................................................................ i Part I – Community Land Use ............................................................................... 1 Chapter 1 – The Vision ............................................................................................................. 3 Section 1.1 – Preamble .................................................................................................................................... 3 Section 1.2 – Introduction .............................................................................................................................. 3 Section 1.3 – Vision ......................................................................................................................................... 4 Chapter 2 - Overview ............................................................................................................... 7 Section 2.1 – Purpose and Intent ................................................................................................................... 7 Section 2.2 – Summary of the Plan ................................................................................................................ 8 Section 2.3 – Public Engagement and Plan Development ........................................................................... 9 Section 2.4 – Using the Plan ......................................................................................................................... 12 Section 2.5 – Consistency in Land-use Regulation ..................................................................................... 12 Section 2.6 – Land Use and Zoning .............................................................................................................. 13 Section 2.7 – Community Character ............................................................................................................ 15 Section 2.8 – The Future ............................................................................................................................... 23 Section 2.9 – Long-term Priorities ............................................................................................................... 23 Chapter 3 – Land Use and Zoning ......................................................................................... 31 Section 3.1 – Existing Land Use .................................................................................................................... 32 Section 3.2 – State Land-use Policy ............................................................................................................. 35 Section 3.3 – Existing Zoning ....................................................................................................................... 36 Section 3.4 – Buildout Analysis .................................................................................................................... 42 Section 3.5 – Upgrading Westerly’s Regulatory Climate ........................................................................... 47 Section 3.6 – Future Land Use ...................................................................................................................... 48 Section 3.7 – Land Use Goals, Policies, and Actions ................................................................................... 64 Chapter 4 – Implementing the Plan ..................................................................................... 73 Section 4.1 – Goals, Policies & Actions ........................................................................................................ 73 Section 4.2 – A Process for Implementation ............................................................................................... 74 2020 Comprehensive Plan | iii TABLE OF CONTENT Part II – Inventory & Analysis .......................................................................... 105 Chapter 1 – Sustainable Natural Resources ....................................................................... 107 Section 1.1 – Watersheds ............................................................................................................................ 107 Section 1.2 – Surface Water ........................................................................................................................ 108 Section 1.3 –Water Quality ......................................................................................................................... 108 Section 1.4 – Water Resources Management and Protection ................................................................. 115 Section 1.5 – Agriculture ............................................................................................................................ 119 Section 1.6 – Natural Habitats and Vegetation ........................................................................................ 121 Chapter 2 – Open Space and Recreation ............................................................................ 127 Section 2.1 – Existing Open Space For Conservation ............................................................................... 128 Section 2.2 – Regional Conservation Plans and Strategies ...................................................................... 129 Section 2.3 – Conservation Tools ............................................................................................................... 130 Section 2.4 – Recreation ............................................................................................................................. 131 Section 2.5 – Water Access ......................................................................................................................... 137 Section 2.6 – Recreation Programming Providers .................................................................................... 141 Chapter 3 – Historic and Cultural Resources ..................................................................... 143 Section 3.1 – Historic Places ....................................................................................................................... 143 Section 3.2 – Regulatory Protection .......................................................................................................... 145 Section 3.3 – Funding Assistance ............................................................................................................... 146 Section 3.4 – Community Accomplishments and Opportunities ............................................................. 146 Section 3.5 – Community Institutions and Events .................................................................................... 147 Chapter 4 – Housing Opportunities.................................................................................... 149 Section 4.1 – Demographics ....................................................................................................................... 150 Section 4.2 – Housing Availability ............................................................................................................. 152 Section 4.3 – Rental Housing ...................................................................................................................... 154 Section 4.4 – Housing Conditions .............................................................................................................. 156 Section 4.5 – Housing Affordability ........................................................................................................... 159 Section 4.6 – Affordable Low-and Moderate-Income Housing ............................................................... 165 Chapter 5 – Economic Vitality ............................................................................................. 183 2020 Comprehensive Plan | iv TABLE OF CONTENT