The text
Sec. 6-440. - Statement of purpose.#
The city desires to be a good neighbor with the T.F. Green State Airport in promoting its economic vitality, and in promoting the use and enjoyment of said airport for our citizens.
At the same time, the city recognizes the adverse impact that the expansion of T.F. Green Airport has had to our surrounding neighborhoods. The city further recognizes that this problem is significant and has far reaching implications including, but not limited to, the following: (1)
It adversely impacts the health, safety and welfare of the residents surrounding the airport;
(2)
It reduces the fair market value of homes in the city;
(3)
Vital tax dollars are lost in perpetuity to the city when homes and land are purchased by the state airport corporation, which is a tax exempt entity;
(4)
The haphazard purchase of property around T.F. Green based on noise contour lines creates an inefficient land-use pattern in and around the airport;
(5)
It threatens our economic vitality by placing an increased tax burden on the remaining commercial and residential property owners;
(6)
It destroys the intrinsic visual beauty of the landscape; and
(7)
It increases traffic, increases noise and air pollution, creates safety concerns, and leads to deteriorating roadways.
Therefore, it is clear that in order to protect the quality of life around T.F. Green Airport, city officials must work to develop effective mechanisms to control airport expansion in and around T.F. Green Airport.
(Ord. No. O-00-19, § I, 5-16-00)
Sec. 6-441. - Creation of airport land use commission.#
There is hereby established a neighborhood buyout commission, which shall act as an advisory commission to city officials and as a liaison between and among the state airport corporation, the community noise advisory committee, and the citizens of the city in order to develop a framework for coordinated and consistent planning for the control and development of land use patterns in and around the airport.
The commission will also consider initiatives that will enable the city to lay a realistic foundation for sustainable growth of T.F. Green Airport while protecting the quality of life for residents of the city. These initiatives should include, but are not limited to: (1)
Promoting greater citizen involvement in the planning process around the airport;
(2)
Examining initiatives for alleviating noise and air pollution for neighborhoods surrounding the airport;
(3)
If neighborhoods so desire, assisting them in marketing their land as a whole in order to increase the fair market value of their individual properties which may include assistance with comprehensive plan amendments and/or zone changes;
(4)
Examining the city's infrastructure capacity and setting guidelines for future expansion of T.F. Green Airport, including the development of noise compatibility overlay zones;
(5)
Promoting an active approach to the acquisition of land for open space and recreation to act as buffer zones between the airport and residential neighborhoods, and
(6)
To work with neighborhood residents, whose properties are being bought out and RIAC to address the following concerns:
a.
Establishing a written time table which residents can rely upon to determine when individual homes will be purchased;
b.
Providing the residents with information as to how the fair market value of their homes and property will be determined; and
c.
Providing residents with an informational booklet as to their rights and responsibilities pursuant to the buyout program.
(Ord. No. O-00-19, § I, 5-16-00)
Sec. 6-442. - Members.#
The membership of the commission shall be the following: (1)
Each member of the city council;
(2)
The director of the planning department of the city or his or her designee who shall attend each meeting of the commission;
(3)
The city council constituent liaison who shall attend each meeting of the commission and be a non-voting member of the commission;
(4)
The Executive Director of the Rhode Island Airport Corporation, or his or her designee, who shall be a non-voting member of the commission; and
(5)
Two citizens of the City of Warwick who shall be appointed by the president of the city council.
No member of the commission shall receive any compensation by reason of his or her service on the commission.
(Ord. No. O-00-19, § I, 5-16-00; Ord. No. O-04-1, § I, 2-10-04; Ord. No. O-05-17, § I, 6-22-05; Ord. No. O-08-9, § I, 3-11-08)
Sec. 6-443. - Funding.#
Funding for the commission shall be in such amounts as may be determined by the city council and the mayor for the purposes set forth herein from year to year.
(Ord. No. O-00-19, § I, 5-16-00)
Sec. 6-444. - Meetings and rules of procedure.#
(a)
The commission shall meet once each quarter, and shall comply with the provisions of the open meetings law. A meeting may also be called by the chairperson of the commission.
(b)
Four of the members of said commission shall constitute a quorum, and its proceedings shall be open to the public. At the first meeting of each calendar year, the commission shall elect one of its members as its chairperson and one of its members as its vice-chairperson, who shall serve for a term of one year each. In the absence of the chairperson, the vice-chairperson shall be the presiding officer. A majority of the voting members present shall be required to take any action. Any member wishing to place a matter on the agenda for consideration and/or discussion by the commission at a future meeting, shall submit a brief description of the matter in writing to the chairperson or vice-chairperson no less than 48 hours prior to said meeting. The commission shall have the power from time to time to draft rules governing its proceedings or to amend or repeal any rules thereafter adopted which are not inconsistent with this section.
(Ord. No. O-00-19, § I, 5-16-00; Ord. No. O-05-17, § II, 6-22-05)