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View Larger + Proposed Fane Tower The Rhode Island Supreme Court on Thursday issued a decision reaffirming a Superior Court decision and de facto clearing the way for the proposed 46-story Fane Tower to move forward.
Superior Court Judge Brian Stern had previously ruled to affirm the city’s decision to allow the project.
The suit pitted the plaintiff Peter Scotti & Associates, Inc. and Building Bridges Providence against the defendant members of the City Council of the City of Providence (collectively the City Council), as well as the I-195 Redevelopment District (the I-195 District) and Jason Fane.
The project cost was estimated to be in excess of $300 million in 2020.
Justice William Robinson, writing for the court states in the decision, “We are confronted in this case with a contested amendment to the City of Providence Zoning Ordinance (the zoning ordinance) which would allow the construction of a new high-rise building in Providence’s Knowledge District, fundamentally altering the city’s skyline. We do not take such a review lightly but embark on it with due appreciation for the contested nature of the amendment at issue and the tremendous impact our decision will have on Providence and everyone interested in this case.”
He adds in the decision, “For these reasons, in our judgment, the hearing justice did not err in ultimately concluding that he was “not persuaded” that plaintiffs had met their burden of rebutting the presumption of validity of the Amendment as a result of it not having complied with the Knowledge District Plan, even in light of the numerous references to neighborhood plans in the Comprehensive Plan. Without language expressly incorporating the Knowledge District Plan into the Comprehensive Plan (and being mindful of some of the language in both plans suggesting the contrary), we are unable to come to any other conclusion.”
Peter Scotti, one of the plaintiffs who brought the suit, condemned the actions of the 195 Commission.
"It is most unfortunate that The Rhode Island Supreme Court was unable to undo the damage caused by the I-195 Commission’s ill-conceived actions. The Commission’s mission was to foster economic development and create job opportunities instead all they have been able to deliver are outrageously expensive apartments built with taxpayer subsidies and apparently without architectural input. The Commission should be disbanded," said Scotti.
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