The Central Falls Town Council, meeting Monday, July 13, took up two competing zoning requests, approved a series of one-day entertainment and liquor permits, and heard a resident's damage claim against the Department of Public Works, according to the meeting's published video recording.
Washington Street rezoning approved with conditions
The council voted 6-0 to rezone 162 Washington Street from R3 (residential) to C1 (neighborhood commercial), allowing a resident to open a small retail business selling bulk household goods such as laundry detergent and shampoo at discounted prices. The applicant told the council the business would operate out of a separate commercial building next to her home, with its own entrance, and would not affect the two residential units on the property.
Joshua B. Magnone, principal deputy director of the planning department, told the council the planning department did not formally recommend the change but was "not opposed," provided the council attached specific conditions. Those conditions, which the council adopted as part of its approval, limit the property to only two permitted uses — the convenience-style retail store and the existing two-family residential units — cap the commercial space at roughly 768 square feet, and hold any future construction to the stricter dimensional rules of the R2 residential zone rather than the broader commercial standards. Magnone said the goal was to prevent the property from taking on commercial uses well beyond what the applicant is proposing.
County Street food truck rezoning denied
The council voted 5-0, with one member abstaining, to deny a separate request to rezone 2006 County Street from R3 to C2 (general commercial) to allow a food truck to operate from a residential driveway. The town's solicitor told the council that a 2019 update to the city's food-vendor ordinance already bars food trucks from operating in driveways, regardless of the zoning designation. Magnone added that food trucks are generally limited to industrial zones under local rules, so even a shift to commercial zoning likely would not have permitted the use as proposed. Planning staff recommended denial, citing concerns about street congestion, lack of on-site parking, and noise and odor if the business succeeds. One council member noted the applicants appeared to have been navigating the zoning process without guidance and said she wanted to make sure they understood why the request did not fit current rules.
Flood-prevention and tree ordinance updates advance
The council voted 6-0 on second reading to amend the city's flood-prevention ordinance, a change Magnone said is required to keep the city's maps and rules consistent with updated federal floodplain maps from FEMA and to preserve the city's standing in the National Flood Insurance Program.
The council also voted 6-0 on second reading to amend the city's tree ordinance, restructuring the membership and duties of the tree advisory board — including adding the city's tree warden as a nonvoting member — and updating rules on tree planting permits and DPW's authority to intervene when trees pose problems.
Damage claim against DPW held open
A Providence resident asked the council to approve a $2,217 claim for a shattered car window, which he said was caused by debris from a Department of Public Works weed-whacking crew on Broad Street on July 3. He said a DPW employee at the scene acknowledged causing the damage. The city solicitor noted a discrepancy between a $399 repair invoice in the council's packet and the resident's $2,217 claim, and said the city typically takes about a month to complete its own investigation before paying a claim; this one was filed only 10 days earlier. The council voted to approve the claim by voice vote on the condition that DPW's internal investigation confirms its crew caused the damage; if DPW disputes that, the claim would return to the council.
Other permits approved
The council also approved, by voice vote, a series of one-time entertainment and liquor permits for local events, including an adult co-ed soccer tournament at 127 Perry Street with a rain-date arrangement at a local middle school; a small outdoor Pentecostal service at a Washington Street church on July 25; a health fair organized by a local nonprofit, now relocating to Jenks Park on July 25-26; a Polish-American parish picnic at a High Street church in September, for which the organizer asked the city to clearly note on the license that only beer and wine, not liquor, are permitted; and an entertainment permit tied to relief efforts for Venezuelan families, for which the council also voted to waive city fees given the event's humanitarian purpose.
The council additionally approved a Class A restaurant license for a new Japanese restaurant planned for 361 Dexter Street, and a hawker's permit allowing a produce wholesaler to sell tropical fruit outdoors on weekends through early November at a Lonsdale Avenue plaza. A separate request to extend an existing liquor license tied to ongoing construction at a Central Falls property was also approved, with the applicant estimating the work would be finished within four to eight weeks.
Residents with questions about any of these zoning changes, permits, or the pending DPW claim can contact the city clerk's office; the flood-prevention and tree ordinance changes take effect as adopted following this second-reading approval.