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- Join Us in Celebrating 6 Years of Preserve Portsmouth! May 2, 2013 pres2821
- Help Prevent a Toll on the Sakonnet Bridge April 21, 2013 pres2821
- Hoping the Town Council Sticks to Their Word Next Monday March 7, 2013 pres2821
- Happy March First March 1, 2013 pres2821
- Sakonnet Tolls Lingo December 8, 2012 pres2821
- Sakonnet Tolls Information/Links December 8, 2012 pres2821
- Town Council Candidates Gather for Bus Tour October 22, 2012 pres2821
- Vote for Town Council Members 11/6 October 4, 2012 pres2821
- No Tolls On The Sakonnet Bridge! August 21, 2012 pres2821
- Walk & Talk This Saturday, July 7th July 3, 2012 pres2821
- Promoting Small Businesses in Portsmouth! June 14, 2012 pres2821
- Recap of Public Hearing Regarding Glen Proposal May 25, 2012 pres2821
Don’t Forget to Vote!!
We are Asking the Portsmouth Town Council Candidates
to Answer a Few Questions
Here’s What They have Been Sent Via Snail Mail:
Dear Candidates and Incumbents for Portsmouth Town Council,
Congratulations on your decision to run for Town Council 2012. Our grassroots group, Preserve Portsmouth, has had folks asking us where candidates stand on different issues. We felt it more effective this year to ask you questions relating to our mission, of “raising awareness in our community, regarding land use, buy local and smart growth issues.
If you would kindly fill out the questionnaire no later than October 18, we will begin posting them as they are received on our website. We would also like to cordially invite you and a guest on a “school bus” educational tour to visit various sites in town with experts on hand to answer any questions you may have. Please see details below:
To Our Town Council Candidates
|
Candidate Questionnaire 2012
Please circle yes or no and write a brief answer in the spaces provided.
1.) Do you support the Aquidneck Land Trust’s proposal to conserve and enhance the Glen?
Yes
No
2.) Do you believe that agriculture is an important part of Portsmouth in terms of providing local businesses, producing fresh foods, affording beautiful scenic vistas that distinguish Portsmouth and make it a desirable place to live, work and visit, limiting the amount of residential subdivisions that cause costly community service demands for the Town, serving as a direct link to the Town’s history, and other community benefits?
Yes
No
3.) Do you support the Big Box regulations implemented in March of 2008 which state that no single retailer can build a big box store larger than 45,000 square feet? (Clements is approx. 31,500 sq.ft.)
Yes
No
4.) Do you support an effort to locate points of public access to the shore, and to have those points clearly marked?
Yes
No
If you have any questions, please feel free to email us at info@preserveportsmouth.org.
Study Says Portsmouth Houses Nearly 50%
of Aquidneck Island’s Open Space
Tina Dolen of The Aquidneck Island Planning Commission
Ted Clement of The Aquidneck Land Trust
Click Link Below for Full Article
Hearing Ends With Unanimous Vote to Refuse
Request to Rezone Parcel
The Brigg’s property hearing ended with a unanimous vote by the Portsmouth Town Council to reject the petitioners request for rezoning the parcel from lt. industrial to commercial. Residents packed the room and had many concerns and questions for the council. Despite the variety of speakers, the consensus was that it would not be in the best interest of the surrounding are and town in general to grant this request. We DO NEED a way to generate revenue for the town tax base. IF ANYONE has any good, viable ideas to do so, please contact the Portsmouth, RI EDC (Economic Development Committee) as they are working very hard to generate ideas for supplemental revenue. Their link is below…
http://portsmouthrienergy.com/
Families In Area Concerned About Possible Rezoning
Very Important Meeting January 30, 2012!
We would like to make you all aware of the potential for development at The Brigg’s Farm property just west of The Hedley St. intersection in Portsmouth. Whether you approve or disapprove of this development, it is important that all residents, abutters and neighbors in the area know that this is proceeding to the next step.
Anyone interested in more details may view the file at Town Hall and then attend the meeting on January 30, 2012 at 7:00pm, at Portsmouth Town Hall.
Please go to “posts” page to leave a comment!
Very Important Planning Board meeting this Wednesday October 12th 7:00 p.m. Town Hall.
Vincent Mesolella a developer from North Providence
wants to change the use of the land from light industrial to
commercial at the Briggs Farm Property. This gentleman would
like a massive Big Box Store development at the corner of West
Main Rd and Corys Ln. Our neighboring town didn’t want the
development do we??……..
Yes, we have a store size cap in Portsmouth
HOWEVER we need to continue to show up and pay
attention!!! See you there!
We Want to Hear From You!!
As a Portsmouth resident or “fan”
of “The Town of Portsmouth,”
what makes this such a
SPECIAL place for you?
if you need some help in deciding, feel free to go to this link
and watch the wonderful video of Portsmouth, (just click on Welcome)
under Portsmouth Video Tour Book…
Very nice, i suggest Admin can set up a forum, so that we can talk and communicate.
Nancy
Great idea, will do shortly.
In many respects, I agree what residing in Portsmouth, is of relatively higher quality than our sister towns, by comparison, south of us. However, the threat from further development, partially precipitated by the availability of excess Navy property, provides for uncertainty in our ability and willingness to preserve the “Quality of Life” we enjoy now for future generations. I still see certain zealousness in promoting real estate development, retail centers, and housing projects and perhaps, if we are lucky, some open space for public parks.
One of my major concerns is the fact that the EPA has yet to fully certify the carcinogen heavy metal levels in our aquifer ground water. The fact that the tank farms were collapsed, soil remaining of questionable residual content, and that the land was not returned to a state representative of what it was when the Navy occupied it and leaving the cost to the state tax payer to clean up rather than have the cost distributed across the country by having the US Navy assume the burden in total; a concept promoted in the DOD back in the 90′s, named: “Total Ownership Cost”.
I am fortunate to have had the opportunity to reside on the East Side of EMR where the community has found kind and generous folks willing to support open space. Although I wanted to plant rare conifers on available land, I was quickly discouraged by the fact that at 1/2 million dollars an acre, one has to be in the 1% bracket to have spare change to pursue a hobby in horticulture. In my mind, Portsmouth does not need further development since yearly water restrictions, pollution alerts, harsher environmental laws, and eroding coastlines should dissuade the economic experts and developers from continually pursuing speculations for personal gain. I believe in an approach that everyone can participate in following the principle of a “Permaculture” very much active in New England, except Rhode Island. Perm culture embraces sustainability with emphasis on organic farming and gardening, somewhat of a challenge for golf course owners with fertilizer and herbicide run-off into our water systems.
I hope this message finds open minds to promote “continuous improvement” of qualify of life opportunities for our Portsmouth Township, the “City of Trees”.
For me , it is the sense of community and the safe,
scenic setting which is ideal for raising a happy & healthy family…
We believe that the majority of folks who move to Portsmouth and stay here do so for those very reasons! Thanks for Posting!
conniharding
While I agree with you 100% Conni, we cannot afford to relax and must stay engaged as long as we live in a facsimile of a democratic Republic.