Pawtucket, RI, Officials Consider Self-Storage Development Restrictions

Officials in Pawtucket, Rhode Island, are considering an ordinance amendment that would place new limits on self-storage development. The measure would change the business use from permitted to non-permitted in general-commercial and Riverfront Commons districts. It would also be permitted with a special-use permit in industrial-open and industrial-built-up zones. Applicants would have an appeal process for projects intended for areas in which self-storage is prohibited, according to the source.

The ordinance was initiated by planning and zoning officials who want to protect the city’s affordable-housing goals and preserve some of the municipality’s large redevelopment sites for uses other than self-storage, the source reported. Bianca Policastro, director of planning, indicated there are limited uses for the open space available, and officials want to prevent self-storage overdevelopment.

The proposal was scheduled to be discussed by the city council’s ordinance subcommittee on Wednesday.

In July, officials in Providence, Rhode Island, enacted a self-storage development ban in some zones, citing the need to restrict the number of businesses as well as preserve land for affordable housing.

Source: The Valley Breeze, Pawtucket Looks to Put Limits on Self-Storage