Town Council To Weigh Zone Change For Wickford Junction Area

The Town Council will hold a public hearing Dec. 9 on a recommendation from the Planning Commission to create a "Wickford Junction District" along Ten Rod Road from the train tracks to Quaker Lane and including the train station and Wal-Mart plaza as well as businesses on the northern side of Ten Rod Road. The new district, known as a TOD (transit-oriented development) would allow for a mix of commercial and residential development. 

The Planning Commission has been discussing this for many months; they voted 6-0 in favor of the recommended changes Nov. 5. Property owners within 200 feet of the new zone received a letter last week notifying them of the hearing. 

A TOD neighborhood typically is located around a transit station (in this case, the train station), and surrounded by relatively high-density development, to create a pedestrian-friendly area. The way to achieve that in an area like Ten Rod Road, which comes with groundwater protection requirements, is not to increase the overall development, but rather to cluster it. The phrase in planning circles is to use "transfer of development rights" or TDRs.

"The more we use TDRs to direct development to those areas where we have the infrastructure, it will save money down the road," said the town's Director of Planning Jon Reiner at a Planning Commission meeting Oct. 1. The proposed zone change would allow developers to build up to 30 units per acre in the Wickford Junction District by decreasing the density in another part of the same groundwater zone. In other words, they would have to buy the development rights to open land that you would then transfer to the developing area.

"What you're doing is concentrating the density, you're not increasing the density," said Planning Commission Chairman Gardner "Chip" Palmer. "What that winds up doing is you concentrate your density in areas where there's already infrastructure in place – roads, water, bus lines, train station – to handle that density. It's theoretically a win-win."

During Planning Commission discussions, there was some skepticism about using the train station as a hub, since MTA ridership has been minimal since the station opened with great fanfare in April 2012. Member Paul Dion was particularly vocal. 

"I don't have a problem with what's there now," Dion said in October. "From what I can figure out, it's worked. It's worked well enough that it has other things around it."

He also questioned whether people would want to rely on public transportation when it's still relatively easy to get around in a car. 

"The market will dictate how that land will be used," said Gardner at that meeting. "I think we need to consider whether or not we want to provide that flexibility."

The public hearing will take place Monday, Dec. 9, at 7 p.m. Copies of the proposed amendment may be examined at the Department of Planning and Development in the Town Hall Annex, 55 Brown St., or the Town Clerk's office at Town Hall. Both offices are open Monday through Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.