Five Questions With: Thom Deller

This week, members of the Providence Department of Planning and Development again met with residents and business owners to talk about potential strategies for growing – and possibly rezoning – the city’s industrial working waterfront. Before the meeting, Director of Planning Thom Deller took a few minutes to tell Providence Business News why the city views the Allens Avenue corridor is a vital area for economic development.

PBN: Why was the city’s waterfront north of Thurbers Avenue pegged in the initial phases of “Providence Tomorrow” – the city’s public-input process for the update of its comprehensive plan – as one of the few areas where Providence can grow its economy?

DELLER: The interim comprehensive plan identifies several potential “Growth Districts” and “Growth Corridors” totaling perhaps 10 percent of the city’s land area. These districts were identified to ensure the continued health and vitality of our stable residential neighborhoods. The waterfront north of Thurbers Avenue is one such area. The city has limited land on which to grow and our residential neighborhoods need to be supported by economic growth and job creation in those areas that have been so designated.

The Allens Avenue waterfront in the area north of Thurbers Avenue has great potential for economic growth for several reasons:

• It has a relatively large area of contiguous under-utilized and vacant property;

• There is a lower concentration of water-dependent uses than in the port area to the south;

• The city doesn’t realize a sufficient return in terms of jobs for city residents or property tax dollars on this property in its current use;

• It is the best location for economic growth by virtue of its proximity to downtown, Interstate 95 and the waterfront.

PBN: What has the city’s consultant, Ninigret Partners, concluded about the scenarios discussed during the June waterfront charrettes?

DELLER: There are no “conclusions.” The findings of the study will be presented at the Charrette Follow-up Meeting on Sept. 24 and will include analysis of the implications of the scenarios. The intention is to look at the range of possibilities for future development, not necessarily to select a discrete scenario. These findings and the results of Charrette input will inform the waterfront plan.

PBN: Is there a scenario for the waterfront’s future that’s outlined by Ninigret that the Department of Planning & Development and city favor? Why?

DELLER: The City of Providence will use the findings of the Ninigret study to work towards a scenario that will produce economic growth and jobs and best achieve long-term economic vitality in the waterfront area while protecting the interests of the adjacent residential neighborhood and without harming existing viable business.

PBN: If there is rezoning – with residential, hotel or recreational uses allowed – what role would the city play in making sure new developments could co-exist with the current industrial tenants on Allens Avenue? The mayor has mentioned a possibility of creating “vertical and horizontal separation and regulatory means” – what does that mean?

DELLER: Ninigret Partners has been reviewing the zoning ordinances of port cities across the country to identify the strategies and regulations used in mixed-use waterfronts that allow different uses to co-exist. Examples include:

• Separation distances between uses to mitigate sound, blast, dust and other potential conflicts;

• Vegetative and visual buffers;

• Performance standards upon which uses are conditioned;

• Legal agreements by which property owners and tenants consent to accept the industrial character of the area as not being a nuisance or otherwise inappropriate.

PBN: Overall, would you say the process of holding neighborhood charrettes has been – or will be – a success in bettering the planning department’s internal and external operations?

DELLER: The neighborhood charrettes aren’t about operations but about establishing a very clear plan for the neighborhoods; a plan that will help the Planning Department, the City Plan Commission and other boards and commissions to better evaluate development proposals. The charrette process has proven valuable in:

• Revealing and explaining nuances of neighborhood life and conditions that city staff may not have previously understood.

• Validating the comprehensive plan regarding the importance of quality of life issues and the need for job creation.

• Developing plans for each set of neighborhoods that will help direct future development decisions.

News and information about the City of Providence and its Department of Planning and Development is available at www.ProvidencePlanning.org.