A plan by recreational staple Mulligan’s Island to develop housing on its 55-acre lot has started down the road of city review.

Last Tuesday night, a joint workshop between the Planning Commission and City Council was held in the Cranston East auditorium to hear comments from the public and city officials about a proposed zone change to include homes in the area, known as Garden Hills.

The property in question is currently zoned as a Mixed Use Planned District (MPD) with limited for commercial or recreational uses.  

John Mancini, the lawyer representing Michael Friedman, owner of the parcel, said they are asking for the zone to change to MPD with conditions to allow residential uses.

Those envisioned residential uses include the development of single-family homes, condos and multi-family units.

“The purpose for residential in this parcel is something that my client believes is not only viable, but a necessity,” Mancini said. “The city of Cranston, in conjunction with the state of Rhode Island, has a need for housing and has a need for different types of housing.”

Normally, a zone change request would head to the Planning Commission first for findings and a recommendation before heading to the City Council’s ordinance committee, and then ultimately to the council for a full vote.

Mancini said they decided to hold a workshop first to hear about the project from residents and city officials.

A few years ago, there was a proposal for a commercial development at Mulligan’s, with Costco as the anchor.

Developer tries fresh approach

Following the typical approach of presenting a finalized plan to the city, the developer’s proposal received a negative response from residents in the area who spoke out against it.

Learning from experiences such as that, Mancini said, this time, he and Friedman wanted to approach the city differently.

“We thought to flip that process around,” Mancini said. “We thought that in this scenario, we want to come here first, get your input, and then go back out and then come back with a design and development.”

Local resident Martha Cussler stated that there is a need for affordable housing. She said most people now would not be able to afford their own homes again.

“Housing is like any commodity; we need to make a more fluid market and to allow prices to become more affordable for average Rhode Islanders, more and more of whom are older too,” Cussler said.

Gail Harvey, an 80-year-old Cranston resident, is a renter who says she lives in fear of a hike in rent at her apartment of 10 years.

“You need to see the face of renters,” Harvey said. “We need responsible housing. So please, when you make this decision, remember who is renting, who is living in these places.”

Some residents shared comments that moved away from the overall sentiment of developing housing on the property.

Housing not universally popular

Ward 6 resident Marcus Stephenson said he lives directly across from the Mulligan’s property.

His biggest concern is traffic. He says that what he sees at the traffic lights is “jaw-dropping.” He said more residents in the area would more than double the amount of people using the cut through and at the traffic lights.

“I wholeheartedly believe Cranston needs housing, but Mulligan's Island, it's not the place for it,” Stephenson said.

His suggestion for the site: a massive indoor sporting facility.

“The foundation of Mulligan's was built on sports,” Stephenson said. “Let's build off that foundation. It’s zoned already for sports and entertainment. It should be replaced with something for all families in Cranston, not just families that need housing.”

City officials also had concerns about the project. Councilman Daniel Wall, who represents Ward 6, where Mulligan’s Island is located, voiced his concerns – which some of his colleagues agreed with and reiterated throughout the workshop.

‘With condition’ preserves city control

Wall said he has heard a lot of concerns from his constituents. He mentioned the residential density this project could bring and the impact of traffic, school population, flooding and the language of the proposed zone change.

“If this is proposed and there's a zoning change, I like the phrase “with condition” because what scares me [is] if we offer a zoning change, then it's open to anything,” Wall said. “The city no longer [would have] any power to hold it in favor of what the citizens, the residents want.”

Beth Ashman, acting planning director of the city’s Planning Department, said the workshop was a good first step to the process of developing this land.

She noted that the developer would agree to a required proportion of affordable units.

During the meeting, both Councilwoman Bridget Graziano and Planning Commission President Steve Frias had mentioned that if this proposal were to move forward, they would be looking for some percentage of affordable housing in the project.

“Not everybody here can afford a $500- to-800,000 unit, so I personally would be looking for some percentage,” Graziano said. “… and I think there's a call for that right now in our current climate. So, I definitely would like to see that as part of this proposal.”

Frias said if the project moved forward with a multifamily proposal, he would want to see 15% of it affordable housing.

Ashman said, the next step will be an official request for a zone change.

“I’m cautiously optimistic that there is a pathway to help redevelop this site in a way that will help this city,” Ashman said.