Housing bills heading to committee today

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WLNE) —  Two housing bills that could have big impacts on the an ongoing conflict down in Narragansett are heading the House Committee to be voted on today.

The bill would limit the maximum number of unrelated persons living together to less than one person per bedroom.

Students at the University of Rhode Island have said that this bill is a major issue as they look for housing for the school year.

However, officials said the bill is aiming to ease the housing crisis across the state.

Narragansett has been the center of this issue regarding housing, as the town re-passed a three tenant ordinance last year.

Community members and the Narragansett Town Council have said that this legislation oversteps a boundary, putting a “one-size-fits-all” solution for communities with unique needs.

The bill was pushed back after it was heard originally in March, and will be heard this afternoon.

Rep. Jacquelin Baginski of Cranston is the main sponsor of this bill and is looking at the 17 communities that still limit the number of unrelated residents living in homes, some of them setting that number at 3, regardless of the home size.

“The goal of this bill is to increase available housing supply. In light of someone starting to build more affordable housing at a rapid rate the only way we can increase the current supply is to maximize what we already have,” she said.

“Why should we have 39 different rules from town to town? Rhode Island’s a small place we don’t need 39 different housing rules,” she added.

Baginski said they’ve made some changes since the bill was tabled in March, making sure they don’t step on the toes of drug rehabilitation homes that could be limited by the language.

“I have heard from many people in Narragansett who are upset by this. But it seems to be most of their complaints are hypothetical complaints, concerns about students living together en mass and throwing lots of parties or being loud and disrupting neighborhoods. And my comment to that is…anyone could do that?” said Baginski.

In a statement to ABC6 news, the Narragansett Town Council member Ewa Dzwierzynski said:

“I feel strongly zoning is a local issue, and H-7382 does not help with housing affordability as is being touted by investor business owners.”

The other bill, a part of Speaker Joe Shekarchi’s Housing Bill, would require the creation of an online comprehensive information system of land related resource for all towns and cities by 2026.

The House Judiciary Committee and House Environment Committee will also vote on several bills starting at 4 p.m.