Cranston’s Plan Commission recently approved updates to the city’s comprehensive plan, moving one step closer to meeting a state-mandated deadline.

The vote of approval was expected. It followed weeks of deliberation between the Plan Commission, the city’s planning department and an external consulting firm, all working to bring the plan in line with updated standards since last approval in 2012.

Jason Pezzullo, Cranston’s planning director, said the approval paves the way for the plan to be sent to Cranston’s City Council, which could begin outlining its own approval process at its upcoming Sept. 23 meeting. In the coming weeks, the city will be seeking greater public engagement through a survey, advertisements and an event.

The meeting at City Hall, in the third floor’s council chambers, was attended by city planning staff, appointed commissioners and members of the public. It was streamed online and is available for viewing on Cranston’s YouTube channel.  

Why it matters

If you’ve ever wondered what your neighborhood will look like 10 or 20 years from now, Cranston’s comprehensive plan is a good place to start for answers.

A comprehensive plan serves as a guide for addressing big questions about the future: How and where should Cranston build more housing? How many homes should it build on certain lots of land? Which parts of town need bike lanes?

Yet Cranston’s comprehensive plan has been outdated since 2017, according to state guidelines.

The process to update the plan began in September 2023, in response to a new state law requiring all Rhode Island municipalities to revisit and receive approval for their comprehensive plans every 12 years. Cranston is one of 11 cities and towns in Rhode Island with expired plans.

At the meeting, Ashley Sweet, of Weston & Sampson, the firm hired to help Cranston, said not much is changing in terms of the plan’s core components, known as “goals, policies and actions” in planning parlance.

“The goals, policies and actions that you’ve been operating under for previous years stay in place, almost in their entirety,” said Sweet.

She noted that the comprehensive plan does have new “goals, policies, and actions” — specifically in the areas of energy, natural hazards and climate change — which are required by the state.

Last Minute Change

One final amendment to the plan followed Sweet’s remarks.

Steven Frias, a member of the Plan Commission, proposed to rezone land near Alpine Estates, a western Cranston subdivision where residents have fought denser development for years.

The Alpine Estates land-use debate is focused on three land parcels abutting the suburban subdivision, enough to build just a handful of homes. It represents a small fraction of residential development projects underway in other parts of western Cranston.

Yet opponents say the city has not sufficiently planned the infrastructure to accommodate construction of four additional homes on the parcels. In particular, they cite limited capacity at nearby elementary schools.

Earlier this year, it caught the attention of Mayor Ken Hopkins, who backed the local residents’ cause and vetoed a City Council effort to push through higher-density development.

Alpine Estates residents attended last week’s meeting to voice support for Frias’ amendment. Janice Cataldo, part of a residents group that has fought the rezoning for years, said “there’s no way to stop” development pressures in other parts of western Cranston. She urged commissioners to support Frias’ amendment as a small way to manage growth in the area.

“You can stop this,” she said.

The Plan Commission ultimately voted to pass the amendment, but not without opposition. The lone objection came from Robert Coupe, vice president of the commission.

“Western Cranston has probably hundreds of lots worth of land that are zoned for development,” Coupe said. “A handful of parcels is not going to change what happens to the realignment of schools.”

Energy Matters

At the meeting, Sam Brusco, a Cranston resident, an energy consultant and self-described “amateur traffic engineer,” who made headlines for his efforts to curb speeding near his Edgewood home, raised concerns about the city’s plans for renewable energy. He said the city should be more strategic about where and how it installs solar panels within its built environment.

“It pretty much just talks about solar farms,” said Brusco. “What about roofs that are already on developed land, some of which the city owns?”