[Summit] Important City Meeting on neighborhood's future this Thursday

[Jonathan Howard]

Dear Neighbors,

The Summit Neighborhood Association urges you to attend an important city 
meeting to be held this Thursday, June 23, at 6:30 in the cafeteria of the 
Martin Luther King Elementary School, 35 Camp Street.

The topic will be the complete overhaul of the Providence Zoning Ordinance, 
the fundamental law that shapes all construction and development in the 
city. Here's a broad overview of what the City is trying to achieve with 
the proposed new ordinance:
    * Higher density in some residential and commercial areas.
    * Higher buildings in commercial areas and more mixed-use areas where 
residential apartments would be built over storefronts.
    * Waterfront zoning that makes a trade off between public access and 
private development.
    * Restraint of institutional sprawl and more appropriate building on 
the edges of institutional complexes in residential neighborhoods.
Whether the city's draft accomplishes these objectives fairly has already 
been the subject of many hours of discussion and debate among experts and 
stakeholders selected by the City to help it develop the proposals. SNA 
board members have devoted dozens of hours to meetings with city officials 
and other stakeholders so that we can advocate for your interests.

The interests of Summit residents include the preservation of neighborhood 
businesses and character on Hope Street. We worry about preserving the 
overall cohesiveness of our streetscapes and historic areas. We want an 
ordinance that enables and encourages more intensive and high-quality 
commercial development on North Main Street. And, we want clear and binding 
limits on the future growth of Miriam Hospital. Lifespan and Miriam must 
now live up to their repeated assurances that this expansion will be the 
last expansion in Summit.

As we have not seen the full draft ordinance, we don't yet know whether our 
concerns have been met. That's why this meeting is so important. Please come.

This meeting will be one of four held around Providence to present the plan 
and listen to the public before finalizing the draft ordinance. That draft 
will then go to the City Council for consideration. The City Council 
process will include a number of public hearings over the summer and fall 
leading to a final vote by year's end.

Here is the official information on the meeting:

Event Information
Title: Zoning Ordinance Update - Public Information Meeting
Category: Public Meetings
Date:

Thursday, June 23, 2005
Time: 6:30 p.m. - 9 p.m.
Calendar: Providence Zoning Commission
Contact: <mailto:painterL%40planning.providenceri.com>Linda Painter

Complete Description:
Martin Luther King Elementary (35 Camp Street)

6:30 pm Open House

7:00 pm Welcome and Introductions

7:20 pm Rotating discussion groups (Residential Zones, Commercial Zones, 
Institutional Zones, Downtown Zone, Environmental Regulations)


Jonathan Howard
President, Summit Neighborhood Association
178 Ninth Street, Providence, RI 02906
401 331 2272 
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