Councilors in Warren spar over affordable housing resolutionRequest to amend state legislation sparks heated debate at times | East Bay RI

By Mike Rego

Resolutions submitted at council meetings typically do not lead into any sort of lengthy, in-depth discussion, but one proposed in Warren at the body's September session on the combustable issue of affordable housing prompted an at times contentious, nearly 45-minute back-and-forth between members.

The council eventually moved the item on a 3-2 tally. Council President Joseph DePasquale along with colleagues John Hanley and Louis Rego were in support of the resolution. Council Vice President Keri Cronin and Derrik Trombley were not.

The resolution at issue was titled, "To the Honorable RI General Assembly Requesting an Amendment to RIGL § 45-53-4, Low- and Moderate-Income Housing Requirements." Sponsor DePasquale read it into the record.

"Be resolved by the Town Council of Warren, as follows:

"Whereas RIGL 45-53-4 allows for developments that contain 25% of the proposed housing as low or moderate income housing, to qualify for the advantages set forth in the statute, to develop affordable high, qualify for the advantages set forth in the statute, to develop affordable housing, and

"Whereas, RIGL 45-53-4, also requires cities in towns with less than 10% of affordable housing to adhere to the streamlined and limited local oversight of affordable housing developments and

"Whereas development, developments that only have one fourth of the housing units in this project, as low and moderate income housing, makes it impossible for cities and towns to achieve the 10% affordable housing goal and

"Whereas these types of developments, particularly larger projects, are creating infrastructure and congestion problems in cities and towns throughout the state and

"Whereas, cities and towns need greater oversight of development in their neighborhoods, but are prevented from properly regulating orderly growth by the above referenced provisions of RIGL 45-53-4.

"Now, therefore, be it resolved by the town council of the town of Warren, Rhode Island, as follows:

Section one, that the town council of the town of Warren hereby request that the Honorable General Assembly amend RIGL 4553 4 to eliminate the 10% requirement for relief from the provisions of the statute. Delete the 25% minimum unit count for projects to be considered affordable. And further, insert language into RIGL 45-53-4, that makes the provisions contained therein optional at the sole discretion of the municipality.

"Section 2, that this resolution shall become effective immediately upon its passage by the Warren Town Council."

DePasquale next asked if there was any discussion, and there certainly was. It ranged from historical actions taken like the creation of the federal agency Housing and Urban Development (HUD) in the 1950s to deeper elements of modern day affordable housing efforts.

It began, though, with a pointed exchange between Trombley, the chair and Town Solicitor Anthony DeSisto.

Trombley, himself an attorney, asked DeSisto who wrote the piece, saying "I find this to be a very poorly drafted document...I'm not saying that to be insulting."

DeSisto replied, "Okay...It is, but go ahead," adding he put the document together at the request of DePasquale and that would certainly be amended/altered if and when it was taken up in the Assembly.

Trombley said, from his reading of the resolution, it would "basically prevent affordable housing from being built in the State of Rhode Island."

DePasquale said it was not a fair comment to make, adding the goal of the proposed legislation would return oversight of the issue to "local control, and increasing the (affordable housing) percentage of the development from 25% to 100%."

Trombley said such a move would return municipalities "to the 1940s. That gets us back to the era where you segregated all of your affordable housing in one area of the community, and it led to blight. It led to many, many undesirable outcomes. It's a failed policy. It's what gave public housing its bad name in the first place."

He said on the contrary having mixed income housing neighborhoods has made places like Warren "such a great place to live."

Trombley also had trouble with the language giving municipalities sole oversight of meeting their affordable housing mandates. By taking out what he called monitoring agents like Rhode Island Housing, he said it could lead to graft.

"Basically, if a developer was unscrupulous and came into a community and said 'I want to build this development,' and then went to an unscrupulous town council person, bribed them, let's say, and then the council says, 'That's affordable, then that would count.' That just opens the door for rampant corruption in our communities," said Trombley.

Hanley questioned that assertion, saying it could conceivably happen with such things as liquor licenses if that were the case.

Explaining her decision not to move the resolution, Cronin said the matter required further discussion and research.

"This, to me, sounds a little elitist," Cronin said. "It sounds a little exclusionary, and a little bit unwelcoming, or a way to prevent the housing being created that we actually need."

For his part, Rego said, "I see things a little differently. I think that some of this stuff has been shoved down our throats, and I think we need some safeguards."

State Representative June Speakman (D-Dist. 68, Warren, Bristol) was invited into the discussion, saying, "I understand the discomfort that communities have with this piece of legislation. I would not refer to it as shoving things down the throat of municipalities, although I've heard it referred to many times that way."

Speakman proceeded to a set of statistics compiled by HousingWorks RI, a research and policy organization based at nearby Roger Williams University, in its 2025 Housing Fact Book, a study marking the years 2019-2024.

In it, the median home price in Warren was set at $522,500 and the median rent was $2,692. The study put the total of households deemed "cost-burdened" due to housing at 4,962, meaning they pay more than 30% of their income on housing. A further 20% of homeowners and 48% of renters pay more than 40% of their income for accommodations.

Speakman used the plight of two local residents who recently contacted to highlight some of those facing a housing dilemma, one who was being evicted because they were unable to pay rent and another who is being forced to move because their rent is being raised by some $600 per month.

Speakman also confirmed Warren's percentage of affordable housing stock is currently approaching 7%. And it needs approximately 140 more units to reach the state-mandated 10% affordable level.

Hanley quibbled with the median rent figure, saying it did not reflect that being asked of those who reside in traditional, multi-family units compared to those who live in more upscale locations like The Tourister property. He pegged the number closer to between $1,800-$2,100.

Warren's Director of Planning and Economic Development Bianca Policastro entered the talks, explaining the affordable funding formula "is kind of a pendulum" that swings over a period of time.

She highlighted her own situation, referring to her publicly posted salary of $89,000 per year. Under the current formula, using $30,000 as the average annual total required for payments, her net income would put her into the housing-burdened category.

Policastro further explained that the implementation of new housing laws, using a timeline dating back to the 1950s, typically takes about 10 years. And due to the changes made at the state level, Rhode Island is in about year five of the latest cycle.

Also referencing his circumstance, Hanley said when he purchased his house decades ago he would have been considered burdened, but that was and is the reality of homeownership.

"Tell you what, when I bought my house in 1990, I was extremely housing challenged because I wanted a house," Hanley said. "I was paying a lot more than 30% of my income at the time from my house...I was housing challenge when I bought my house. I know a lot of people that are probably out there. When you bought your first house, you exceeded your 30% of your income. Okay, that's life."

Town resident Uriah Donnelly, who recently penned an op-ed about the issue in The Times-Gazette ("Understanding 'The Gentrification Cycle' and how to respond," September 9, 2026 edition), provided some color based on his experience.

Donnelly said, "I bought my house, I got lucky. I got it for a lower number. But if I wanted to sell it, where can I go? I can't afford another house in town because the prices are so high. I don't have an answer, but something's got to be done."

Before the tally, Trombley unsuccessfully tried to prod his colleagues, saying "We have credibility as a counsel when we ask for the General Assembly to consider things. We send resolutions up there, and we ask them to consider things like how much our education funding formula changes from year to year. And it's important that we maintain this credibility. I don't think this speaks well of our credibility."