The town rezoned the High Street land in April, and last month poured a foundation in back of the duplex for a new 1,600-square-foot, $600,000 modular home. The structure is being built off-island and will be made available to the town manager to rent when it is assembled later this fall.

All of it was made possible when taxpayers voted last year to provide $1.5 million for the single-family house, and two more rental units on the property. The rezoning was necessary to accommodate the new house and additional apartments.

That’s when Cathy Payne, a 10th-generation islander, filed a lawsuit, saying the Zoning Board’s actions were an illegal “spot zoning” that affects her as a landowner and taxpayer. The lawsuit alleges that during the entire Planning Board and Zoning Board process earlier this year no mention was made of Connolly’s trust, or the police.

“As a taxpayer, I don’t want the town in the real-estate business,” said Payne, adding that the town manager, Ed Roberge, has a conflict of interest. Roberge, a civil engineer, has been actively involved in the rezoning process and will ultimately benefit from having a house built for him to rent, Payne said.

“He’s the engineer, he’s designing this house, he’s talking to the contractors, he’s running the show for himself. It’s very self-serving,” she added. Roberge declined to talk about the allegations of conflict of interest because it’s part of the lawsuit.

 

The town rezoned the High Street land in April, and last month poured a foundation in back of the duplex for a new 1,600-square-foot, $600,000 modular home. The structure is being built off-island and will be made available to the town manager to rent when it is assembled later this fall.
All of it was made possible when taxpayers voted last year to provide $1.5 million for the single-family house, and two more rental units on the property. The rezoning was necessary to accommodate the new house and additional apartments.
That&rsquo;s when Cathy Payne, a 10th-generation islander, filed a lawsuit, saying the Zoning Board&rsquo;s actions were an illegal &ldquo;spot zoning&rdquo; that affects her as a landowner and taxpayer. The lawsuit alleges that during the entire Planning Board and Zoning Board process earlier this year no mention was made of Connolly&rsquo;s trust, or the police.
&ldquo;As a taxpayer, I don&rsquo;t want the town in the real-estate business,&rdquo; said Payne, adding that the town manager, Ed Roberge, has a conflict of interest. Roberge, a civil engineer, has been actively involved in the rezoning process and will ultimately benefit from having a house built for him to rent, Payne said.
&ldquo;He&rsquo;s the engineer, he&rsquo;s designing this house, he&rsquo;s talking to the contractors, he&rsquo;s running the show for himself. It&rsquo;s very self-serving,&rdquo; she added. Roberge declined to talk about the allegations of conflict of interest because it&rsquo;s part of the lawsuit.
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A collection of interviews,  press conferences and news actualities from the Newsroom of the Providence Journal, Providence, Rhode Island.

News interviews and actualities from  The Providence Journal

From the Newsroom: The Providence Journal

A collection of interviews,  press conferences and news actualities from the Newsroom of the Providence Journal.

“He’s the engineer, he’s designing this house, he’s talking to the contractors, he’s running the show for himself. It’s very self-serving,” she added. Roberge declined to talk about the allegations of conflict of interest because it’s part of the lawsuit.

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