Massive housing development proposed

Plan for 2,300 units with 690 of them deemed affordable submitted last month in Westerly

Westerly — A proposed $703.5 million, 2,300-unit housing development with 690 affordable units would eradicate the town’s only public golf course but help alleviate a shortage of affordable housing.

Winn Properties, LLC, whose principal is Jill Scola, submitted a conceptual master plan in late December for a controversial development of the Winnapaug Golf Course that would more than double the current number of affordable units in town.

Keep Westerly Green, a local grassroots organization that opposed a failed attempt to build a golf resort on the property in 2022, stated its opposition to the new application for the property in a news release last week and encouraged residents to speak out against the project.

The group cited numerous concerns including the loss of greenspace, risks to endangered plant and animal life, and a lack of information regarding the impact on emergency services, schools, utilities, services and traffic, all of which they say could translate to increased taxes and decreased quality of life for residents.

A project narrative states the sevento 10-year-long project will have no environmental impact and will use geothermal heating, solar and wind energy for a net-zero carbon footprint.

According to the plan, submitted as part of a comprehensive permit application, the development of 90 three-story buildings, divided into 10 development areas across the more than 120-acre property, would address the current shortfall of affordable housing in town. Affordable housing currently makes up 4.87% of the housing supply, about half of the state mandated minimum of 10% per town.

The comprehensive permit process speeds up and streamlines the approval process for affordable housing developments by allowing developers to bypass standard requirements and go directly to the town’s

planning board. It also allows higher-density developments in exchange for the developer guaranteeing a percentage of the units would be set aside for low- to moderate-income households.

Affordable housing is deemed affordable to households earning between 60% and 80% of area median income which, in Westerly, is $82,880.

The application points out that 84% of the town’s affordable housing is specifically elderly and special needs housing, and includes beds in nursing and assisted living facilities, leaving just 16%, or approximately 85 affordable housing units, for families.

Housing Works Rhode Island 2023 data further demonstrate the need for affordable housing in Westerly, showing that 4,485, or almost 43%, of year-round households earn less than 80% of area median income, and 3,288 households are cost burdened, meaning more than 30% of their household income goes solely to housing.

In a scathing interim report to the Town Council in December, the town’s Ad-Hoc Affordable Housing Study Committee said Westerly has not done enough to promote affordable housing and noted the town is almost 600 units short of state requirements.

“It is known the Town’s historical action has been insufficient to meet the State mandated 10% affordable housing goal,” the report said.

Committee Co-Chairman Ted Rice said Tuesday that current policies provide two poor options: forcing affordable housing into neighborhoods despite resident objections, or losing younger residents, and the town’s vibrancy, to more affordable communities, ultimately creating a stagnating town of disproportionately older residents.

To that end, he said the committee, whose members include Attorney Nick Scola, Jill Scola’s husband and owner of Winnapaug Country Club, is advocating for a creative and multifaceted solution.

In addition to donated town land, design assistance and fee waivers, it suggests a combination of legislative changes, such as allowing accessory dwelling units to count toward the amount of affordable housing stock, incentivizing for-profit developers to maximize affordable units with higher-density bonuses, encouraging non-profit development through waiving town fees, and creating more public housing.

“We want to come to a solution that makes the majority of the people happy and keeps our town alive,” said Rice on Tuesday.

The committee’s final report is anticipated in the spring to coincide with the update to the housing section of the town’s comprehensive plan and development of the affordable housing production plan.

The Planning Board is scheduled to hold a public hearing on the Winn Properties application at 6 p.m. Jan. 23 at Town Hall.