Grow Smart Board of Directors
Michael F. Ryan
Chairman of the Board
Susan Arnold
William Baldwin
S. James Busam
Joseph Caffey
Robert L. Carothers
Arnold Chace
Jen Cookke
Trudy Coxe
Peter Damon
Louise Durfee
Stephen J. Farrell
Thomas E. Freeman
J. Joseph Garrahy
John R. Gowell, Jr.
Stephen Hamblett
Robert Harding
Michael S. Hudner
Stanley J. Kanter
Howard M. Kilguss
Thomas A. Lawson
Dennis Langley
James Leach
Frederick Lippitt
Roger Mandle
Rev. James C. Miller
George Nee
B. Michael Rauh, Jr.
Gary Sasse
Richard Schartner
Deming Sherman
Merrill Sherman
Curt Spalding
James F. Twaddell
Sandra Whitehouse
Frederick C. Williamson
W. Edward Wood
Board Listing with Affiliation (pdf)
Staff
Scott Wolf Executive Director
Sheila Brush Director of Programs
John Flaherty Director of Research & Communications
Lynn Burns Office Manager / Executive Assistant
Dorothy Dauray Office Assistant
Linsey Cameron Research Assistant
About Us
Grow Smart Rhode Island is a statewide public policy
group representing a broad coalition of partners fighting
sprawl and promoting innovative policies and programs
to revitalize city and town centers, preserve cultural
and natural resources and expand economic opportunity
throughout Rhode Island.
If you Appreciate our Work....
... please make a contribution. Grow Smart depends on tax-deductible contributions from concerned individuals and organizations to lead the charge for better-managed growth, a strong, sustainable economy, a healthy environment and a just society for all Rhode Islanders. Simply click on the credit card below to make a donation. Thank you.
Or, download our printed form and mail in
See who else is contributing to Grow Smart (pdf)
What is Smart Growth?
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Dear John,
Welcome to the November issue of "Smart Growth
e-Briefs", a monthly update of the latest happenings in
the smart growth movement from Grow Smart Rhode Island.
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Grow Smart, Partners Recognized for Training Program | | "Making Good Land Use Decisions", the statewide
municipal land use training initiative developed by Grow
Smart in conjunction with several partners, has earned
a planning award from the Rhode Island Chapter of the
American Planning Association.
As sprawling development patterns threaten Rhode
Island's open space, urban vitality and community
character, the need for proactive, efficient and
effective land use planning has become increasingly
critical. Municipal officials and staff have long noted
the need for training to better understand the laws and
innovative tools that can be used to promote
sustainable growth. More (pdf)
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Tough Economic Times Reinforce Need for Smarter Growth | |
Despite conventional wisdom, public policy experts at
the independent Brookings Institution agree that now is
precisely the time for governments to re-evaluate and
reform longstanding, destructive and wasteful policies
that encourage more sprawl.
Research documents that compact growth can be as
much as 70 percent less costly for governments (and taxpayers!) than equivalent volumes of scattered growth. It simply costs less to provide and maintain infrastructure (such as streets, schools, flood control or sewers) and often services (such as police or fire protection) for denser neighborhoods than for far-flung,
low-density communities.
Brookings Center for Urban & Metropolitan Policy - Analysis & Commentary
The Costs of Sprawl & Urban Decay in Rhode Island - Executive Summary (pdf)
EPA - Creating Great Neighborhoods: Density in Your Community | |
Growth Planning Council Takes Up "Growth Centers" | | At its October 29th meeting, the Governor's Growth
Planning Council heard presentations from two Rhode
Island communities proposing growth center type
redevelopment initiatives. This comes as the
Council is still considering the best way to implement its
proposal for targeting state investments to municipally
designated growth centers. Burrillville and East Providence officials presented the
details of major redevelopment planning efforts now
underway with the help of millions of dollars in federal
grants. Grow Smart applauds Growth Planning Council
Co-Chairs Michael McMahon (RIEDC) and Jan Reitsma
(RIDEM) for their leadership of this important policy
initiative.
A "Growth Centers" strategy for Rhode Island
Governor's Growth Planning Council
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Brownfield News | |
What Are Brownfields?
HUD Awards $29.4 Million in Grants to Help Communities Redevelop Brownfields and to Create Thousands of Jobs.
Burrillville among list of national recipients with a $910,000 grant to assist in the redevelopment of the Stillwater Mill Complex. Funding was provided through HUD's Brownfields Economic Development Initiative (BEDI). See BEDI Quick Facts.
EPA Loan Fund, Assessment and Cleanup Grant Applications due by December 4.
Guidelines for first round applications are now available. Interested parties may also contact Susan Kaplan, Brownfields Coordinator at the RI Economic Development Corporation with any questions or to obtain a copy of a sample completed application.
Rhode Island Brownfields website
MA, PA and MD take lead in actively marketing brownfield sites for redevelopment
State governments in Pennsylvania, Maryland and Massachusetts are taking advantage of web-based innovations to help drive investment into brownfield sites.
Massachusetts' Brownfield Jump-Start Program
Pennsyvania's SiteFinder
Maryland's Smart Sites
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George Nee Joins Grow Smart Board of Directors | | Rhode Island AFL-CIO Secretary/Treasurer George Nee
was unanimously approved as a new member of the
Grow Smart Board of Directors at the Board's October
29th meeting. The move reflects Nee's longstanding
reputation as a forward thinking community leader and
a growing trend nationally of organized labor's support
for smart growth.
Aside from his personal support of smart growth quality
of life principles such as compact and mixed-use
traditional neighborhood design, Nee has noted that a
central objective of the smart growth movement - the
rehabilitation of abandonned or neglected properties -
can employ more people than greenfield development
projects and can contribute substantially to the cultural
and historic character of Rhode Island. Labor and Smart Growth - A National Perspective (pdf)
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Smart Stuff | |
Each month Grow Smart highlights a sampling of policy developments or other creative smart growth initiatives being implemented or pursued around Rhode Island. Do you have a story to tell? We want to hear from you
South Kingstown
1. Council among first to adopt "inclusionary zoning" as key housing strategy
2. Inclusionary Zoning primer from the National Association of Realtors
Cumberland
1. Town is first to get housing plan approved by state
Washington County
1. Grow Smart Board member Michael Rauh recognized for vision to launch regional planning council (pdf)
2. Greenspace Project earns Comprehensive Planning Award (pdf)
Providence
1. Sustainable Development in South Providence takes Student Project Planning Award
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Carcieri to Propose Open Space Bond Vote in 2004 |
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Governor Carcieri will propose a referendum for an open
space bond for the 2004 ballot so "future generations
have the opportunity to explore the natural beauty" of
Rhode Island. The Governor made these remarks at an October 20, 2003 awards luncheon of the Rhode Island chapter of
The Nature Conservancy.
"Through our state's open space bond funds and
through the support of our local partners and
organizations, including Champlin Foundations, the
Nature Conservancy, and local land trusts, we have
preserved over 5,500 acres over the last three years,"
the Governor said. "This new bond will enable us to build
upon the success we've seen.".
Providence Journal Article - 10/20/2003
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CALENDAR |
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November 6
Housing Task Force Meeting - 3:00 pm
RI Housing Resources Commission
William Hall Library - Cranston
November 8
World Town Planning Day
The American Planning Association
November 17
Housing Task Force Meeting - 3:00 pm
RI Housing Resources Commission
William Hall Library - Cranston
November 19
Unique Approaches to Preservation & Conservation - 6:30 - 8:30 pm (FREE)
Preserve Rhode Island
The Meeting House at Tiverton Four Corners
Submit a "December Event" for next month's e-brief
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Help Advance the Smart Growth Movement in RI |
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Grow Smart already reaches more than 3,100 opinion leaders, state and local officials, developers, professionals and citizens connected to land-use management and quality of life issues in Rhode Island. And yet, we know it's critical that we continue engaging more people to affect positive land-use changes in Rhode Island. You can help.
Just click "Forward Email" in the bottom left corner of this email to easily forward to friends or associates whom you believe have an appreciation for how Rhode Island grows in the years ahead. Subscribing is easy and FREE. Our goal is to reach 5,800 Rhode Islanders by December 31, 2004.
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Sierra Club Calls for Commission to Study Transit Service |
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On the heels of RIPTA's announcement that it is facing
the biggest service cutbacks in 20 years, the Sierra
Club has called on Governor Carcieri to create a Blue
Ribbon Commission to look at what Rhode Island needs
from a transit service.
To that end, they are organizing a coalition to advocate for a commission and to look beyond the proposed cuts to examine what is truly needed to sustain a transit service that protects the environment, fosters economic development and serves the needs of Rhode Islanders who rely on public transit.
The Sierra Club of Rhode Island
Email the Sierra Club to join the coalition
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Partner Profile |
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Preserve Rhode Island
As the statewide non-profit for historic preservation, Preserve Rhode Island (PRI) protects Rhode Island's historic structures and unique places for present and future generations. PRI was chartered by the State Legislature in 1956 to be the non-profit force guiding and fostering historic and heritage preservation.
PRI is a vital resource for information, education, advocacy, technical and financial support for historic homeowners, concerned citizens, legislators and preservationists in Rhode Island. Grow Smart has partnered with PRI and other historic preservation organizations in recent years to help win passage of a progressive State Building Rehab Code as well as a 30% State Commercial Historic Tax Credit, both of which have resulted in increased investment in historic preservation and redevelopment of Rhode Island's existing infrastructure.
Preserve Rhode Island
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